Mountain advocate., 1920-03-05
CHATTERTON'S
SLIDE
By WILL 7. AMES
Id. igsO. By AIeCluIe Newspa per syndieate)

the train boss, to McNider, the engi-
neer of the log train.
"Who said 500" demanded McNider,
haltlng in his task of tlnkeripg the
lenky cyclinder OF the queer little loco
motive.
His Nibs," replied peltier with n
shrug of his shoulders that confirmed
the Indication of French descent pro-
vded by his name.
II thought his sister was going out
with u.s." Evidently McNider couldn't
reconcile the presence of woman on
the log train with the gratuitOus
perils of a nine-length load. over the
tortuOus curves and breathless gradi-
entS Of the Burke companys road.
80 she is" corroborated the train
boss.
''Wrll. I'll be DID,"
"Wkat are you going to do with a
fellow lire Greener?" exclaimed Pei
tier. ~ asked him If he had for
gotten that Miss Janice was going on
the train, and he bawlcd me out: ask
ed me who thought was; said they
often hauled eleven and twelve on the
Nickamaug's road"
Sure! I'd rather haul twenty
there than six here" commented the
engineer.
''Well, there you are! We haul the
nine. and Miss Greener gOes-and like
enough she'll get smashed flat between
couple of twelve-inch butts" And
the train boss took himself somberly
off TO see that the five Lengths" of
great spruce logs We're slowed as safe
on their trucks as human care could
. make them. h
~ Dave Peltler, mlddle.sized, strong,
: 1.-THE, had been born to the woods like
:. N dther before him But he had
s.vfef'ietf to the pet desire of the father
land Lad sgpnesste school and college.
For Peltier, senior. was making little
money as a woods jobber and was pos
scssed to spend 1t Oh an education for
the boy: which is often the way with
men who have had no schooling them
selves. The war came when Dave
was in his sophomore year mt Tech
and he had gone over with the first
contingent of fOresters.
When he got back it was to find his
father dying. the little business melted
away and the task of getting a living
before him. He had been train boss
for the Burke outfit when the new
manager, Greener, came; and he had
at once attracted the attention of Miss
Janice Greener when that young wOm-
an arrived, o month ago, to visit her
brother and. principally, TO get new
material for the paintings of winter
woods and lumber camps which had
already brought her some measure Of
success.
The girl, pluming herself on an art
lists contempt for the conventiOnali-
ties. had permitted herself and per-
mitted Peltier a degree of intimacy in
their friendship that led. as the down
hill flow of water, to frank confess
sion Of regard by the young woods
man; for Dave Peltier had never
thought of himself as the inferior of
any being on earth.
The consequences had been calami-
tous. Janice Greener suddenly discov-
cred that her artist colony democracy
was only skin deep-and she had
stung Peltier as a woman can sting
n man only when she realizes that II
is the difference In their social posi-.
tons which alone makes his prOffered
love impossible of acceptance. This
was two days before Janice's depar'
ture from the camp.
ffsau lnl
In the cab Instead she had insisted
In riding, somehow, on the logs. Sc
Peltier obeying an order of the man
ager. had built an Ingenious little plat
form Of planks over the rear truck OF
the fifth length, above the logs. Here
nestled among half dozen old fui
coats, the headstrong girl was snugly
perched as the lurchlng train bumped
along on its twenty-mlle journey to tn,
s<mills. At the Red Barn came to hel
Peltier, urged on by visible worry.
miss Greener," he said. won't yOI
please ride the rest Of the way In thu
cab. It's really dangerous among thu
logs. We're going TO take on foul
more lengths here; they'll be behint
YOU. II anything happens you'll b.
right in the middle Of It,"
"Mr. Peltier." returned Miss Green
or, 81 do not wish you to concern your
self with my safety at all. l don't I'm
derstand why my brother keeps in
posItion where a little nerve is neces
sary person $3.50 extremely ap
prehensive."
What could a man do after that blu
turn ON his heel and stalk away2 Ant
what could a girl do after saying
but look as pert and dnconeerned a
possible-and wish she had bitten he
tongue of before she did. say lit
II was half way down the ION