Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1917-02-22


remain unchanged STILL no matter what
We think? Suppose we admit that some
one else does want this stretch of
track we're laying. Suppose some
body is figuring on picking it up cheap
at a bankruptcy price if we forfeit to
the Reserve company. You know
yourself that you would never have
begun it simply for the profit there will
be in moving the Reserve logs and the
millions On millions Of feet of lumber,
both to the east and west, which can't
be touched at anything but a prohibi-
tive figure without this road. We were
going through to the border too. And
If some one else is betting that we
don't, if some one else is betting that
we can't yank trainload of logs down
to this end Of the line before the 1st
Of May, that doesn't alter our case any,
does it? Even though We suspect that
some man is playing us to lose, do we
have to know exactly who he is?''
Slowly, but very surely, the oldei
mans face began to smooth.
"Once or twice. he stated, 1--WE
thought to anticipate you, perhaps be-
cause 1 have it on you little. as they
say, in the matter of years. I'm not
going to attempt it any more. for
thought that this converSat ton would
be at least a surprise to you. You sit
there and take it very quietly for a
man who has been badly startled
Fat Joe has been preaching it for
a month Oddly enough, Stephen
O'Mara chose chat point at which to
laugh softly And l. for a month,
have been ridiculing him. That's one
Of Fat Joes pet diversions, YOU know.
When all other excitement fails Joe
invariably falls back upon an imaSina-
ton too totally vivid to be wasted on
technical things. | laughed at him I'M
til last night. Do you-but, Of course,
you know Garry Devereau?" he fin
ished.
Knew his father Elliott answered
succinctly know him we'll. Good
blood, good brains, big heart! Why
And then for the second time that
day Steve related the salient points of
that episode which had ended with
the first gray streaks of returning day.
During the recital the expressions
which chased across EllioN's face were
as varied as they were full of concern.
"Then I wasn't merely hysterical,
was I?' he brooded after Steve had
finished. "Who-who did you say you
thought might be behind the man who
would have had your plans had it not
been for Mr.. Devereau?"
81 didn't say" replied Steve, and for
the first time since his entrance there
was mirth in the unison of their laugh
ter.
'It all brings us back to the point
from which we started" the younger
man went On when they were grave
again. cts a plain enough issue so
far as we are concerned. We've got to
be at the mouth Of that lower valley
by May. We're going to be! And as
| see it, wasting time and energy in
shall we call it sleuthing, Mr.. Elliott?
won't help us much. We thought
that lack of time and the general ma
ture of this country were going to be
handicap enough. But now your mon
ey is in and II never did like to be
beaten. Can't we let it stand like that,
at least until some one else makes
palmer move? We know the cards we
hold If others care to sit in perhaps
We'll all come to a showdown next
spring at Thirty Mile. It'll be easy
enough to explain just how we did it.
Alibis based on yelled opposition would
not interest the Reserve people much
if we left their timber there to rot.
And I'm trying not to over
look any bets, Mr. Elliott"
Hastily the iron gray man thrust his
hat back from his forehead. He came
to his feet and crossed and clapped
one hand upon Steve's shoulder.
"Next Mayv' he parked. "O'Mara,
I'm glad you came down this morning.
I've been carrying lot Of those ideas
around in my head until they had be-
come nightmarish. But I'm through
now. Yop won't hear me croak again.
I staked what l had on you months
ago. I'd do it again this minute.
What's the odds, after all, who it is
that's playing us to lose? It's only
the fact that somebody may be fight
ing us that needs to occupy our atten-
ton. I'm done worrying. Do you hear?
But what about those men who are
quitting us? You are sure it would
be unwise to import labor? It's cheap
er, you know"
Steve, too, had risen.
WED have the prettiest kind of
scrap OH our hands the first day we
tried to use them" he explained. ut
would be dead enough before we got
through. guess I'd better run right
out and have a talk with Mclean. He
knows these men even better than /
do, and I'm almost one of them, you
know. And I'll get line on some of
these delinquents who are crying ca,
lamity for the countryside. I'd better,
because We'll need them. They sim
ply haven't become thoroughly inter.
octod vot. that's all II will take Sou,a.