The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1920-02-28
CHAPTER II.
Iafe ConneII Explains.

After breakfast the next morning
Hilary hired Monsieur Tremblay's
buggy and started out with LATE, with
the intention of covering portion OF
the limits and seeing the operations OF
the jobbers; he also meant to keep
his eyes open as to the nature OF
the timber.
The buggy surmounted hill, and
another hill appeared in the distance
Here and there, scattered along the
roadside. were solitary cabins, with
little patches of cultivated ground
about them.
"And on the right of the read is the
Ste. Marie territory?" asked Hilary.
"Yep, Mr.. Askew. The two runs
neck and neck back into them noun
tains. We turn off presently. We haven't
touched this district YETI
Hilary noted the first-growth spruce
along the banks. "Why don't we cut
this. anyway, if the rest is mainly
fri" he asked. 'There's enough lum-
Der here to fill our dam instead of
the Ste. Marie company's logs"
LATE answered volubly, but did not
meet Hilary's eyes.
"You see, Mr.. Askew," he began to
explain, otis this way. There's a
good deal of fir on our property, and
what pine and spruce there is is small
fish. There was a big fire over this
district fifteen years or so ago. Now
Mr.. Morris calculates that if. we go
slow for while and give the trees a
chance to grow, they'll be worth twice
as much in a few years. We're de-
veloping the property slowly, Mr..
Askew-"
Hilary's hand fell on Lafe's Shout
der, "Connell," he said, Il brought
you up here with me to learn the truth
from you. You're going to sign on
again on October first, and it's me
you're going to sign with, not Mr..
Morris. Now tell me the facts about
all this"
LATE stammered and hung his head
like a schoolboy caught in wrong
doing. But Hilary's hand was grip
ping his shoulder, and at last LATE
raised his head and looked straight
at Hilary.
eff I thought you'd stick here" he
said. 81 guess I'd back you to the lin
1t. But you'll never stand for st.
Boniface, Mr.. Askew. They're so in
formally slow here, they amt got hu-
man ways, sir. And they're crooked.
I thought, when heard you was COM
ing, you'd be like Mr.. Morris-I mean,
wise to the game-but you amt. /
guess most business is crooked every
where, but here Jt's crooked all
through. You'll be selling out to Mr..
Brousseau In a months time, and
that'll be my finish"
"You're dead wrong, Connell," an
swered Hilary. II like the looks of
this country, and I'm here to stay.
Now suppose you forget about Mr..
Brousseau for a while and consider
yourself to be what you are, my paid
employee. And you can count on my
standing by you"
He held his hand out. For mo-
ment LATE Connells keen gray eyes
met his searching inquiry; then he
took Hilary's hand and wrung it.
II believe you mean what you say,
Mr.. Askew," he returned. "And you
can reckon on me so far as my duty
goes"
81 suppose that tale about the Ros-
ny seigniory being nothing but fir is
q lie, Connell?" asked Hilary pres
emily. as the pony ambled through a
valley overgrown with red pine.
MOSTLY" said LATE. "There is
deal Of fir. but there's enough spruce
and pine to make the concession pay,
II Mr.. Morris wanted it to-"
$50 Norris has been playing doub1e?'.
Lafe nodded. "You see, Mr.. Askew,
IT'S this way" he said. "When Morris
came up here / believe he meant to
run straight. But he'd been a lumber
man in small way up in Ontario, and
he wasn't wise to the game as It's
played here. Here it's graft, and it's
never been nothing else. So when
Morris found your uncle didn't know
nothing about the business, and left
It In his hands, he naturally fell for
the game Brousseau was playing.
"Brousseau is the big man up here,
and he'd had his eye on the Rosny
seigniory for long time. He wanted
to buy, but Rosny was sore on him,
and he closed the deal with your uncle
instead. But afterward Brousseau got
the mortgage on the Chateau and the
little bit Of land round it, to keep hold
on Rosny.
@well, the Rosny seigniory is the
only piece Of freehold up this way. Be
yond it's government land, and all
round it's government land. Brous-
seau started in to squeeze your uncle
out. And Morris went with him. He
played double as you were saying,
Mr.. Askew. The point of the whole