The Dolores star., 1920-12-10

ut was a good buy" Cardigan nau
replied enigmatically; $50 thought
I'd better take 1t at the price. sup
pose Bryce will log 1t some day."
'Then wish Bryce wasn't such a
boy, John. See here. now. neighbor.
I'll 'fess up. took that money Pen
nington gave me for my Squaw creek
timber and put it back into redwood
In Township nine, slam-bang up
against your holdings there. John,
I'd build mill on tidewater II you'd
sell me site. and I'd log my timber
If"
I'll sell you mill-site, Bill, and !
won't stab you to the heart, either.
Consider that settled"
That's bully, John; but still, you
only dispose of part Of my troubles.
There's twelve miles Of logging-road
to build to get my logs to the mill. and
haven't enough ready money to make
the grade. Better throw In with me,
John. and we'll build the road and
operate 1t for our joint interest"
"1'll not throw in with you, Bill. at
my time of life. don't want to have
the worry of building, maintaining.
and operating twelve miles Of private
railroad. But I'll loan you-the
money you need to build and equip
the road. In return you are to
shoulder all the grief and worry Of
the road and give me a ten-year con-
tract at dollar and half per thous-
and feet. to haul my logs down to
tidewater with your own. My mini
mum haul Will be twenty-five million
feet annually, and my maximum fifty
million"
"Sold!" cried Henderson. And it
was even so.
Bryce came out of his reverie And
now?" he Queried of his father.
II mortgaged the San Hedrin tim
the north. my son then after l COM
menced logging in my new holdings,
came several long, lean years Of famine,
the market dragged In the doldrums.
and Bill Henderson died, and his boys
got discouraged, and -"
A sudden flash Of inspiration illumi-
mated Bryce Cardigan's brain. "And
they sold out to Colonel Pennington"
he cried.
Exactly. The Colonel took over
my contract with Henderson's COM
pany, along with the other assets, and
1t was incumbent upon him, as as
signee, to fulfill the contract. For the
past two years the market for redwood
has been most gratifying, and If l
could only have gotten maximum
supply of logs over PennIngton's road.
I'd have worked out Of the hole
but"
"He manages to hold you to mini.
mum annual haul of twenty-five million
feet. eh?"
John Cardigan nodded. "He claims
he's short of rolling -stock-that wrecks
and fires have embarrassed the road
He can always find excuses for failing
to spot in logging trucks for Cardigan's
logs"
"What does Colonel Pennington
want, pard?"
HE wants." said John Cardigan
slowly, "my Valley Of the Giants and
right of way through my land from
the valley to a log-dump on deer
water"
"And you refused him"
Naturally. You know my ideas or
that big timber" His old head sank
low on his breast. Folks call then
Cardigan's redwoods now" he mur
INJURED. "CardIgan's redwoods-ant
Pennington would cut them! Oh
Bryce, the man hasn't a soul!'
But I fail to see what the loss oi
Cardigan's redwoods has to do witt
the impending ruin of the Cardigan
Redwood Lumber company" his sor
reminded him. 1--WE have all the tim
ber we want"
"My ten-year contract has but one
more year to run, and recently l tried
to get Pennington to renew 1t. He
was very nice and sociable. but-ht
named me a freight-rate for renewa
of the contract for five years, of three
| dollars per thousand feet. That rate
Is prohibitive and puts us out of bust
| ness"
"Then," said Bryce calmly, "weI
shut the mill down when the log
hauling contract expires, hold our tim
| Der rs an investment, and live tn,
simple life until we can sell it or
transcontinental road builds into Hum
boldt county and enables us to star
| up the mill again."
| Gan enemy has dime fhis