The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-07-29

and Steve could not help but smile little as he refused.
 -'No more than the usual disturb ances," Steve. answered. q have more or less trouble holding them some of them-over the week ends, of course. But then that's always to be expected. They aren't the sort ot men that go to make up the general run of construction squads. One of my main reasons for wanting them was the fact that they were rivermen, hardened to swamping and white wa ter work and that kind of thing. In a pinch they're good for twenty-four hours a day over stretches that would take the heart out of most gangs. don't know of anything that can beat | a lumberjack on a squeeze job once you get him to realize that he's up against long odds. It's this ten hour a day thing and too much ready money every pay day; it's town too tempt ingly close that makes them a-a tride temperamental, MT. Elliott. Is that | what you meanT
 Elliott pcn6ered for a moment. "That entirely duplicates what Mo- | Lean said just day or so ago." On any other lips Elliott's. deliberate neat ness of phrase might have sounded solemnly funny. Thoroughly logical, of course thoroughly possible. And | yet somehow it doesn't fit the case. We've had the usual Monday morning vacancies right along, as you know. but the delinquents always turned up before the o'clock whistle blew or at least reported Tuesday morning. But this is the end of the week, and we're short right this minute very close to thirty men. They aren't com ing back, Mir. O'Hara. On the con- trary, they continue to dribble away, few every day. And, though they appear to do nothing but talk their time away in the saloons in the lower end of the town, they seem to have just as much money to spend as they did when they were getting their time checks from us."
 "What sort of talking?" Steve want ed to know.
 "Thats just it." Elliott exclaimed. "Their talk leads nowhere. went down and attempted to find out what their grievance might be, but they close up like clans whenever I come within earshot They stare at the cell ing, rub their chins and laugh when there's nothing to laugh at This rnorn- ing, however, I finally convinced Mo- Lean that something was radically wrong. So he took one of them who had just decided to quit and pinned him up against the embankment-bu you know Mclean and his metnods- he showed his jaw up within an inch tof the others nose and invited him to talk, and-well. he found out enough to make him begin to worry too. Somebody's been talking to them, MT. O'Mara.' Somebody has put the fool notion into their beads that this strip of railroad will mean the end of all lumber operations in this countrywide old time river drives, of course. And some of them are beginning to believe, whoever was responsible for that state ment. I
 "You know and know, how absurd 1t is. We know that this road will mean work for every riverman in this section, aSoften as he wants to work. But it isn't going to be.p us any if they can't see it that way. It isn't going to replace the men who quit. I've been deliberating one point Don't you sup pose we might import a regular squad of construction men now. before it's too latew
 Its too late now.'' Steve told him. his words none the less final fer all that they were abssntly ssIiet. Tt was too late the day we began opera tions. And yesterday at this time I wouldn't have. givep much worry to this particular Lrard of trouble. They're an odd lot. They're the hard est working. hardest living crowd of big men that ever failed entirely to grow up But since yesterday-sin yesterday-who. did you say, was re- sponsible for that statement, as you call itY'
 q didn't say. And if Tiff had to guess'- The hand passed across his eyes now "O'Mara, do you know how deeply MT. Ainnesley and myself are involved fin this prospect? |. T don't believe I have ever given it much actual thought" Steve replied.
 I never viewed 1t as any of my af- fair. lBut haven't forgotten the last time we talked the plans over. that you couldn't go into it to lose"
 "Of course" Elliott answered quick ly. "Of course-of coursew He seem- ed groping for fresh beginning, then gave up suddenly all attempt at cir ,. cuity and blurted it out much as though he had lived with the thought too long to endure 1t longer alone. I'm in up to my last dollar," he stated. And Ainnesley Ain nesley wouldn't nave a roof over his head if we failed ffi our obligations! You must, know as well as I do why the banking infef9sts took our paper to those amounts which made it possi- ble for us to drive the first spike"
 When he failed to go on Steve under stood that the last sentence had been n question.
 "ir Allison, I suppose" His voice became utterly iinpersonal. Without doubt you mean NJ. Allison.''
 "They would h6ve laughed at us." the older man came. back instantly. And. what is more. they did! They wouldn't touch the proposition until Allison came in with us. And then but you know what Dexter Allison has done already in this country. don't