The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1918-03-29

swift glance Of admiration at Hazel,
and they passed with a mutual $50
long"
"What do you think Of that, old
girlf' Bill observed presently. "a
real, honest-to-goodness railroad going
by within a hundred miles Of our
shack. Three years. It1l be there be-
fore we know. 1t. Wen have neigh
bOrs to burn"
"A hundred milesi" Hazel laughed,
els that your idea Of a neighborly dis
lancet"
whats q hundred milesf" he de.
Tended. "Two days ride, that's all.
And the kind Of people that come to
settle in a country like this don't stick
in sight Of the cars. They're like
me-need lots Of elbow room. ThereM
be hardy souls looking for a location
up where we are before very long.
You'll see."
They passed other rev Of men,
surveyors with translts, chainmen,
stake drivers, az gangs widening the
path through the timber. Most Of
them looked at Hazel in frank sur
prise, and stared long after she passed
by. And when an open bottom beside
a noisy little creek showed the scat.
tered tents Of the survey camp, Hazel
said:
Lets not stop, Bill"
He looked back over his shoulder
with a comprehendlng smile.
Getting shyf Make you uncom'
Portable to have all these boys look at
you, little person." he bantered. "All
right, we won't stop. But all these
fellows probably haven't seer a white
woman for months. You can't blame
them for admiring. You do look good
to other men besides me, you know"
So they rode through the camp with
but a nod to the aproned cook, who
thrust out his head, and a gray-haired
man with glasses, who bumped over
a drafting board under an awning.
Their noon fire they built at a spring
Eve miles beyond.
At length they Jared into Hazelton,
which is the hub Of q vast area over
which men pursue gold and fura
Some hundred odd souls were gath
cred there. where the stern-wheel
steamers that ply the turgid Skeena
reach the head Of navigation. A land
recording Office and a mining recorder
Hazelton boosted as proof Of its
civic importance. The mining recorder,
who combined In himself many capaci-
ties besides his governmental function,
undertook to put through Bills land
deal. He knew Bill Wagstaff.
wise man." he nodded, over the de-
scriptlon. "If some more uh these boys
that have blazed trails through this
country would do the same thing,
they'd be better of. A chunk Of land
anywhere in this country is a good
bet now. Wen have rails here from
the coast in a year. Better freeze
onto q couple nh lots here in Hazel
ton, while they're low. Be plumb to
the skies In ten years. Natural place
for a city, Bill. It's astonlshin' how
the settlers is comm"
There was ocular evidence Of this
last, for they had followed in a road
well rutted from loaded wagons. But
Bill invested In no real estate, not
wfthstandlng the positive assurance
that Hazelton was on the ragged edge
Of q boom.
"Maybe, maybe" he admitted. But
I've got other fish to fry. That one
piece up by Pine river will do me for
a while"
Here where folk talked only Of gold
and pelts and railroads and settlement
and the coming boom that would make
them all rich, Bill Wagstaf added two
more ponies to his pack train. These
he loaded down with food, staples only,
flour, sugar, beans, salt, tea and COT.
fee. and a sack of dried fruit. Also
he bestowed upon Niger a further
burden Of six dozen steel traps.
And in the cool Of a midsummer
morning, before Hazelton had rubbed
the sleep out Of Its collective eyes and
taken up the days work Of discussing
its future greatness, Roaring Bill and
his wife draped the mosquito nets over
their heads and turned their faces
north.
They bore out upon a wagon road.
For a brief distance only did this en-
dure, then dwindled to Q path. A turn
in this hid sight Of the clustered log
houses and tents. and the two steam
ers that lay up against the bank. The
river itself was soon lost In the far
stretches Of forest. Once more they
rode alone In the wilderness. For the
first time Hazel felt a quick shrinking
from the North. an awe Of its huge.
silent spaces. which could so easily
engulf thousands such as they and stiIl
remain a land untamed.