The Pulaskian., 1920-01-16
CHAPTER II.
Lafe connelI Explains.

tue lIlteutiou Ol CVFtllilS u DOitiOu VI the limits and seeing the operations ot the iobbers; he also meant to keeT his eyes open as to the nature ot the timber.
 The buggy surmounted a 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. NIT. Askew. The two runs neck and neck back into them noun talns. We turn off presently. We haven't touched this district yet"
 Hilary noted the f1rst-growth spruce along the banks. "Why don't we cut this, anyway, if the rest is mainly fir?9 he asked. "There's enough lum- her here to fill our dam instead of Che Ste. Marie eompany's logs"
 Lafe answered volubly, but did not meet Hilary's eyes.
 You sec. Mir. Askew," he began to explain, fits this way. There's q good deal of fir on our property, and what pine and spruce there is is small ish. There was big fire over this district fifteen years or so ago. Now MT. 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 q few years. We're de- veloping the property slowly, MT. .Askew-"
 Hilary's hand fell on Lafe's shoul- der. "Connell," he said. q 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 Mir. Morris. Now tell me the facts about all this."
 Lafe stammered and hung his head like a sehoolboy caught in wrong doing. But Hilary's hand was grip ping his shoulder, and at last Lafe raised his head and looked straight at Hilary.
 If I thought you'd stick here," he said, q guess I'd back you to the linn it. But you'll never stand for St Boniface, Mir. Askew. They're so in- formally slow here, they ain't got hu- man ways, sir. And they're crooked. I thought when I heard you was com ing, you'd be like Mir. Morris-I mean, wise to the game-but you ain't. guess most business is crooked every where, but here it's crooked all through. You'll be selling out to Mir. Brousseau in months time, and that'll be my finish"
 "You're dead wrong, ConneH," an- swered Hilary. 'I like the looks of this country and I'm here to stay. Now suppose you forget about Mir. 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 a mo- ment Lafe Councils keen gray eyes met his searching inquiry; then he took Hilary's hand and wrung it.
 T believe you mean what you say, Mir. Askew," he returned. And you can reckon on me so far as my duty goes"
 T suppose that tale about the Ros- ny seigniory being nothing but fir is q lie, Cohnell?n asked Hilary pres ently, as the pony ambled through a valley oyergrown with red pine.
 Mostly" said Lafe. "There is a deal of fir, but there's enough spruce and pine to make the concession pay, if MT. Morris wanted it to-"
 ''So Morris has been playing double?''
 Iafe nodded. You see, Mir. Askew, it's this way" he said. "When Morris came up here I 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 wher Morris found your uncle didn't know nothing about the business. and left 1t in his hands. he naturally fell fol the game Brousseau was playing.
 "Brousseau is tie big man up here and he'd had his eye on the Rosn, sei9niory for long time He wanted 10 buy, but Rosny was sore on him and he closed the deal with your uncl instead. But afterward Brousseau go the mortgage on the Chateau and tn little bit of land round it, to keep hol, on Resny.
 Well, the Rosny seigniory is tn only piece Of freehold up this way. Be yond it's government land. and al round it's government land. Erous seau started n to squeeze your uncl out. And Norris went with him. II played double as you were sayin, VI Askcw. Tho point of the waol