The Dolores star., 1920-06-11
CHAPTER H.
Iafe conneII ExpIsins.

Hilary hired Monsieur Tremblay 5
buggy and started out with Lafe, with
the intention Of covering portion of
the limits and seeing the operations Of
the jobhers he also meant 10 keep
his eyes open as TO the nature of
the timber
The buggy surmounted nil, 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 road is the
Ste. Marie territory7" asked Hilary.
yep. Mr. Askew- The rwo runs
neck and neck back into them noun
tains. We turn off presently. We haven't
touched this district yet"
Hilary noted the trst-growth spruce
along the banks. "yvhy don't we cut
this, anyway. II the rest is mainly
fr7" he asked. There's enough lum-
ber here TO fill our dam instead of
the Ste. Marie company's logs"
Lafe answered volubly, but did not
meet Hilary's eyes.
'You see. Mr. Askew," he began TO
explain ats this way. There's Il
good deal of fir on our property, and
what pine and spruce there is is small
ish- There was, a big IRE over this
district fifteen years or SO ago. Now
Mr. Morris calculates that II we go
slow for a while and give the trees
chance TO grow, they'll be worth twice
as much in q few years. We're de-
veloping the property slowly Mr..
Askew-"
Hnary's hand fell on Lafe's shoul-
der. "ConneI." he said, 81 brought
you up here with me TO learn the truth
from you. You're going to sign on
again on October first and its me
you're going to sign with. not Mr.
Morris. Now tell me the facts about
all this
Lafe stammered and hung his head
like n schoolboy caught in wrong
doing But Hilary's hand was grip
ping his shoulder, and at last Lafe
raised his head and looked straight
1T Hilary.
"If ! thought you'd stick here" he
said, 81 guess I'd back you TO the lin
Boniface, MIR. Askew. They're SO in
fernaliy slow here, they amt got hu-
man ways, sir. And they're crooked.
thought when heard Won was com
ing, you'd be like Mr.. Morris mean,
wise TO the game-but you amt. I
guess most business is crooked every
where, but here IT'S crooked all
through. You'll be selling ont to Mr..
Brousseau in a months time, and
that'Il be my finish"
You're dead wrong. COnnel," an
swered Hilary. 81 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
employees. And you can count on my
standing by you"
He held his hand out. For a mo-
ment Lafe ConnelPs keen gray eyes
met his searching inquiry; then he
took Hilary's hand and wrung it.
'I 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
a lie, ConnelI?" asked Hilary pres
entity, as the pony ambled through
valley overgrown with red pine
'Mostfy," said Lafe "There is a
deal Of FIR, but there's enough spruce
and pine to make the concession pay,
IF Mr.. Morris wanted It to-"
$50 Morris has been playing dOuble7"
Lafe nodded. You see, MIR. Askew,
IT'S this way" he said. "When Morris
came up here I believe he meant TO
run straight But ned been n lumber
man in a small way up In Ontario, and
ne 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. Re-
yond it's government land. and nil
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 saving,
Ar AsksU. Tss point of the whole