Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1920-02-20
By VICTOR ROUSSEAU
illustrations by Irwin Myers

1 Ut hAo CADOW WhCA AC WCAL lOllOWeU
him inside the room, and took chair
beside him.
| Hilary looked at him with a whim-
steal smile. "We're finished, LATE.
This affair, coming on top of the can
ceiling Of those jobbers' leases, has
ended me-"
LATE scratched his chin, but said
| nothing to this.
"You see," said Hilary, according to
my reckoning we shall have about for
| ty thousand dollars on hand about
September first. That will last us till
Christmas. On the first of the year
we shall be up against it. We need
another sixty thousand to carry us
through the winter, till navigation
opens and we call sell our cutting. No
banks going to lend us anything with
our record"
'We can ship six thousand cords by
December first" said LATE.
''Thirty-five thousand dollars-per-
haps less"
"We could. get more out of those
river bottoms" suggested LATE.
"And shut down in the middle Of
March,"
"As far as can see," LATE blurted
out, you'll be about ten thousand shy,
Mr.. Askew. assuming things go fairly
well. That's why came here. You
see, it's like this. I've got nearly eight
thousand in the First National bank
at Shoeburyport, Mass. Clarice-Mrs.
Connell, that is--wouldn't let me buy
her house on the installment plan
as / wanted to. She said as I'd never
know when we'd need the money, and
If couldn't pay up on time they'd get
1t away from us somehow, no matter
what the contract said. 1t seemed
mighty unreasonable to me, Mr.. As
kew, but I'm glad now-I sure am
glad"
'Lafe," said Hilary, fare you crazy
enough to suppose I'm going to take
the money that you and Mrs. Cornell
have been saving up for a home, and
put it into this bankrupt concern?"
"Oh, shucks!" said Lafe. "Why
that amt nothing. 1 guess 1 know a
good thing when 1 see one. I'm loan
ing it to you, Mr.. Askew, at-any rate
you want to pay me-"
"Lafe, you're a fool" said Hilary,
trying to keep his voice steady: "Pm
tempted. But I'm not going to take
| it,"
"Then guess I'll take the next boat
home |" shouted LATE. IT amt going
to work for a busted concern what's
going to leave me stranded up here in
midwinter, not drawing cent. and
Clarice-my wife-and the kids in
Shoeburyport. No, siri You take
that or I'll leave. 1t amt so crazy
as you think. It'll give me an interest
in getting the last ounce out of the
men-and / guess Clarice will ap-
prove. And when the concerns on its
own legs, you-why you can raise my
| wages"
cornell, you're trump" said Hill
airy. "I'll take it. Yes, I'll take it, be-
cause know now that am going to
succeed. We can't fail, LATE, when
we're as much in earnest as we are.
Good Lord, what respondent fool
I've been r.
Same here" said LATE. "I was just
hopeless, till you made me see
straight" !@ &
"Why, 1t was you made me see
straight" said Hilary. 'Now, Con-
nell, we'll push things hard from this
very minute. Wen start In cutting
along the river, and we'll float the
logs right down stream to the mill, and
Wen keep Dupont and his schooner
coming and going till navigation closes,
even If we make Riviere ROcheuse
look as bare as our bank account was
looking just now. Baptiste will be
worth a score when he understands"
He broke off suddenly, and the two
men, struck by the same thought
looked at each other.
II wonder why Baptiste went OFF as
soon as he'd dynamited the JAM" said
Hilary.
He felt ashamed of his suspicious.
Yet, remembering that day when
. Baptiste was comforting with Pierre.
he could not wholly rid himself OF
them.
"Lafe," he said, ''what was it you
heard those men saying after the &C
cident? You started"
''Why, guess that wasn't nothing,
Mr.. Askew. You know how excited
these people get over trifies. They're
just like a flock Of geese gabbling
around"
what was II, Lafe7"
"Just nonsense, sir. Not worth re-
peating, but-well, you see, it's this
way. Some darned fool said that some
body had sawed part way through the
logs of the BOOM"
Then for the first time the words OF
Madeleine Rosny came back to Hilary:
Look to your booml Look to your
boomi"
He hung his head and flushed with
shame. 1t seemed impossible to asso-
ciate that act of treachery with her.
Yet, struggle as he did, her last
/ words haunted him.