The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-11-30
Chapter
 ] 25


 "HREE days later the jam of the
 drive reached the dam at Red
 ding. After the rear had drop
 ped down river from Bedding Carroll and Orde returned to their de- serted little box of house at Mon rovia.
 Orde breathed deep of new satis- faction In walking again the streets of this little sandy, sawdust paved, shan tyfied town. with It's yellow hills and its wide blue river and its glimpse of the lake far fin the offing.
 Hanged if I know what's struck me-" he unused. ..Never experienced any remarkable joy before in getting back to this sort of truck"
 Then, with a warm glow at the heart, the realization was brought to him. This was home. and over wonder under the shadow of the heaven point ing spire slip of a girl was waiting for him.
 The rest of the week orde was ab- sent up the river, experimenting in . general way the latter progress of the drive.
 At the booms everything was in readiness to receive the jam. The long swim arm slanting across the river channel was attached to its winch. which would operate 1t. When shut it would close the main channel and shunt into the booms the logs float ing in the river There. penned at last by the piles driven in row and held together at the top by bolted timbers, they would lie quiet. Men armed with pike poles would then take up the work of distribution according to the brands stamped on the ends Each brand had its own separate sorting pens" the lower end leading again owners property was rafted and lowed to his private booms at his mill below.
 Orde spent the day before the jam appeared in constructing what he call ed a ''boomerang." <.
 Secret invention just yet" he ex- nlained to Newmark. ''Pm going to hold up the drive in the main river until we have things bunched; then I'm going to throw a big crew down here by the swing Heinzman antici- pates. of course. that I'll run the en- tire drive into the booms and do all my sorting there. Naturally if turn his logs loose into the river as fast as I run across them he will be able to pick them up one at n time. for he'll only get them occasionally. If keep them until everything else is sorted only Heinzman's logs win remain, and as we have no right to hold logs we'll have to turn them loose through the lower sorting booms, where be can be ready to raft them. In that way he gets them all right without paying us a cent. Seer
 ''Yes, see" said Newmark-
 Well" said Orde. with laugh, "here Is where fool him. I'm going to rush the drive into the booms all at once, but Pm going to sort out Heinz mans logs at these openings near the entrance and turn them into the main channel"
 Newmark skeptically. ''He gets them sorted just the same, doesn't her'
 "The currents fairly strong" Orde pointed out. "and the rivers almighty wide. When you spring seven or eight million feet on man all at once and unexpected and he with no crew to handle them, he's going to keep all mighty busy And if he don't stop them this side his mill he'll have to raft and tow them back, and if he doesn't stop 'em this side the lake he may as well kiss them all goodby."
 The boomerang worked like charm. Orde. in personal charge, watched that through the different openings in his boomerang the HI" logs were shunt- cd into the river. Shortly the channel was full of logs floating merrily away.
 '.rve got to go down and see how the Dutchman is making it," announced Orde.
 He drove to Heinzman's mill. There he found evidences of the widest ex- citement. Boats piled in all directions. A tug darted back and fortE Con stantly the number of floating logs augmented, however. Many had all ready gone by.
 "If you think you're busy now" said Orde to himself, with a chuckle, 'just wait until you begin to get logs. Whats he doing with that tugf' thought be. "Oh. hol He's stringing booms across the river to hold the whole outfit"
 He laughed aloud and drove fran tically back to the booms.
 Hes shut down his mill" shouted orde, and he's got all that gang of highbankers out and every old rum blossom in Monrovia. and I bet if you say logs to him he'd chase his tail In circles. I'm going to take Marsh and the Sprite and go to town. old Heinzman." he added as an after thought. lis stringing booms across the river-obstructing navigation"
 .Marsh.s he called, "got up steamT'