New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1910-03-23
6he
Rivernlan
By STEWART
EDWARD WHITE
Copyright. 1908. by the Mcclure Com.
pany. Copyright. 1907. 1908. by
Stewart Edward White
CONTINUED

The blazed logs belonging to Heinz
man, drifting slowly, had sucked down
into the corner toward the power canal,
where, caught against the grating, they
had damned. These logs would have
to be foated singly and pushed one by
one against the current across the pond
and into the influence of the sluice
gate. Some of them would be hard to
come at.
II guess that will keep them busy for
day or two" commented Orde.
This, as Orde has said, would be sufe
ficiently annoying to Heinzman, but
would have little real effect on the
main issue, which was that the Ger
man was getting down his logs with a
crew Of less than dozen men, New
ertheless Orde in vast spirit of fun
took delight in inventing and executing
practical jokes of the general sort just
described. One day the chore boy, who
had been over to Spruce Rapids after
mail, reported that an additional crew
of twenty had been sent in to Heinz
mans drive. This was gratifying.
"We're making him scratch gravel
boys, anyway" said Orde.
The men entered into the spirit Of
the thing. In fact, their enthusiasm
was almost too eXuberant Orde had
constantly to negative new and in
genious schemes.
"No, boys" said he, 81 want to keep
on the right side Of the law. We may
need it later"
Logs rarely jam on rising water, for
che simple reason that constantly the
surface area Of the river is increasing,
thus tending to separate the logs. On
the other hand, falling water, tending
to crowd the drive closer together, is
especially prolific of trouble. There
fore, on flood water the watchers
scattered along the stretches of the
river had little to do-save strand
Heinzmans logs. for him.
Up to a certain point this was all
very well. Orde took pains not to
countenance it officially and caused
word to be passed about that, while
he did not expect his men to help drive
Heinzman's logs, they must not go out
of their way to strand them.
"If things get too bad, he'll have
spies down here to collect evidence
On u.s." said Orde, "and he'll jug some
OF us for interference with his prop
erty. We don't own the river
Inside Of two weeks Orde had the
great satisfaction of learning that
Heinzman was working-and working
hard-a crew of fifty men.
"a pretty fair crew, even if he was
taking out his whole drive" COM
mented Orde.
The gods of luck seemed to be with
the new enterprise. The water held
out to carry the last stick of timber
over the shallowest rapids Weather
conditions were phenomenal-and per-
feet. All up and down the river the
work went with vim and dash.
After this happy fashion the drive
went until at last it entered the broad
deep and navigable stretches of the
river from Redding to the lake. Here
barring the accident of an extraordi-
nary flood, the troubles were over. On
the broad, placid bosom Of the stream
the logs would float. AS Orde sat in
his blackboard, ready to go into town
for first glimpse of Carroll in. more
immense satisfaction over the broad
river moving brown and glacierlike, as
though the logs that covered it We're
viscid and composed all it's substance.
The enterprise was practically assur-
ed of success.
\ For awhile now Orde was to have a
breathing spell. A large number of
der, under the direction of Jim Den
ming, would require little or no actual
supervision. Until the jam should
have reached the distributing booms
above Monrovia the affair was very
simple. Before he left, however, he
called Denning to him.
"Jim," said he, 'I'll be down to see
you through the sideways at Red
ding, of course. But now that you
have a good, still stretch of river l
want you to include in our drive all
the Heinzman logs from above you
possibly can. II you can fix it, let
their drive drift down into ours"
'Then We'll have to drive their logs
for them," objected Denning.
Sure" rejoined Orde, "but it's easy
driving, and if that crew Of his hasn't
much to do perhaps he'll lay most of
them of here at Redding''
Denning looked at his principal for
moment, then slow grin overspread
his face. Without comment he turned
back to camp, and Orde took up his
reins.
"Oh, I'm so glad to get you backy'
cried Carroll over and over again as
she chung to him. ri don't live while
you're away. And every drop of rain
that patters on the roof chills my
heart, because think Of it as chilling
you. Dear heart, don't leave me