The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1919-07-25
CHAPTER XVIII
The Opening Gun

The month OF November slid day
by day into the limbo OF the past.
The rains washed the land unceas.
ingly. Gray veilings of mist and
cloud draped the mountain slopes. As
drab a shade colored Stella Fyfe's
daily outlook. She was alone great
deal. Even when they were together.
she and her husband. words did not
come easily between them. lie was
away great deal. seeking. she
knew. the old panacea OF work. hard.
unremittIng work. 10 abate the ills
OF his spirit. She envied him that
outlet. Work for her there was
none. The two Cinnamon and
Martha. the nurse. left her no tasks.
She could not read, for all their
great store of books and magazines,
the printed page would lie idle in
her lap. and her gaze would wander
Off into vacancy, into that thought.
world where her spirit wandered In
distress. The Abbeys were long
gone; her brother hard at his logging
There were no neighbors and no
news. The SAVIOR was gone out OF
everything. The only bright spot in
her days was Jack Junior. now
toddling precociously on his sturdy
| legs. a dozen steps at time, Growing
VIGOROUSLY when he negotiated the
| passage from chair To chair.
| From the broad east windows oi
their house she saw all the traffic
that came and went on the upper
reaches OF Roaring Lake, Siwashes
in dugouts and fishing boats. hunt
ers, prospectors. But more than any
other craft she saw the craft OF her
husband and Monohan, the powerful
black-hulled Panther. the smaller
daintler Waterbug.
There was big gasoline workboat
gray with "A yellow funnel. that sh,
knew was Monohan's. And this Graf
bore past there often. inching its
downward way with swifters of logs
driving fast up.lake without a tow
Monohan had abandoned work on tn,
old Abbey -Monohan logging grounds
The camps and the bungalow lay de
serted, given over TO a solitary watch
man. The lake folk had chartered
at this proceeding. and the chatte,
had come to Stella's ears. He ha,
put In two camps at the lake head
so she heard indirectly: one on III,
lake shore, one on the Tyee River, ;
men in each camp, and he was get
ting the name of driver. Thre,
miles above his Tyee camp. she knew
lay the camp her husband had pu
In during the early summer to cut
heavy limit of cedar. Fyfe had onl,
small crew there.
She wondered a little why he spen
SO much time there, when he ha
seventy odd men working near home
But. of course, he had an able lier
, tenant in Lefty Howe. And sh
could guess why Jack F'yfe ker
away. She was sorry for him--an
for herself. But being sorry--a mer
sentimental state of mind-did nc
, help matters, she told herself gloon
, lily.
Lefty Howe's wife was at I'll
camp now, on one of her occasions
+, visits. Howe was going across tn
I lake one afternoon to see a Siwas
whom he had engaged to catch an
D smoke a winters supply of salmo
for the camps. Mrs. Howe tol
Stella. and on impulse Stella bundle
1 Jack Junior into warm clothing an
: went with them for the ride.
Halfway across the six-mile spa
: she happened to look back. and
new mark upon the western shoi
caught her eye. She found a glas
1 and leveled it on the spot. Two {
9 three buildings. typical logging-cam
: shacks of split cedar, rose back froi
: the beach. Behind these again II
beginnings Of a cut had eaten a no
: In the forest-a slashing differei
+ from the ordinary logging slash, +,
1t ran narrowly, straight back thr
the timber; whereas the first thir
Y logger does is to cut all II