The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1921-03-16
Poor MI am S
Rock
IContlnucsi from our al i~surl
BERTRAND W. SINCLAIR
c.r,r,ss,. 1879. =, rl,u.. nrr-s a CO.

l Ihrrc were 90 boats At frHt IN tht
Cove and more coming In. Tho rip
/ pie Of laughter that ran over ths
/ fleet was plainly audible. They could
appreciate that MaeRae Kat down
ON the after cabin and ~ a ciEaret
Looks like they mean 60 set the
fish" Fcrrara hazaricd. can you
/ tilt that and make anything
Let them do the tilting." Maenar
answered. 'if the FISH run heavy
can make a little. even II priccs 80
higher. n he boosts them 20 seventy
five. Ia have 20 quit
MacRae kept abreast Of Folly Ray
for 10 days and emerged from that
period with a slight loss. BECAUSE at
the clos. he was paying morc than
/ tho salmon were worth al the Ter
minai warehouse But when he ran
his first load into Crow harbot
Stuhhy looked over the pile OF sal.
mon hts men were forkinx across
the floor and drew Jack into his
office
rive made q contract for delivery
OF my entire sookey- and biuehaek
pack" he said Il know precisely
where stand. I can pay up to
ninety cents foron July fish, ! want
all the sauittv hlucbacks you can
get Go after them. Jack
And MaeRae went after them lie
| forced the issue. lie raised the price
TO sixty 1--WE. TO seventy. 20 seventy
five, TO eighty. fiy the third week In
July Macllae was taking three
four,hs Of the bluehack. caught be-
tween the Bailcnas and Folly bay.
Then suddenly Folly bay Jumped
the price to ninety cents. 10 ninety
five. 20 a dollar.
lilo must BE- crazy" Stuhby
sumed. No canncry can make any.
thing worth reckoning at a dollar
or 50 a case profit"
is ninety cents and five cents
commission your nmitT" MaeIsae
demanded
Just about stuhey Grun'ed.
well. Reluctantly can stand
dollar. That's the utmost limit.
tho. rant 20 any further
MacRac went back 20 Squltty with
definite idea in his mind Cover
had determined TO have IN. salmon.
Very well. then. he should have
them But n. would have to take
/ them at a loss. and 30 far as Macitae
could inflict loss upon him. With
deliberate calculation he decided 20
lose the greater part Of what he had
made. II for every dollar be lost him.
self he could infiict equal or greater
loss on Cover.
MacI2as met every raise FoIfy BAY
made. He saw blu-hacks 20 20 a
he ran cargo altar cargo 10 Grow
harbor and dropped from three, 10
seven hundred dollars on each load.
untl even Stubby lost patience with
him.
WHAT'S the sense In backing hirn
tn you 70 broks' I'm In too deep 10
stand any loss myself. Tie sp your
boats. Jack. Let him have the sal
mon. Let thosc biockheads OF fish.
ermen see wha; he'll do 10 'cm once
you stop
Bu, MacRae held on TIN ire nrx-
hot days Of August w-re nj hand
and hls money was dwindlinr 20 the
vanishing point Then - ran the
Biaekblrd and the Biuebird into
sauitty cove and tied them 10 per.
manent rnoorinxs lie sought the
cliffs 20 be alone.
Cover had hsasen hirn. n would
seem. And MacRae did not take
kindly 10 being beaten. He walked
along the cliffs until he saw the
white cottage. and saw that some
one sat on the steps In the sun.
wh~reupon he turned back. He
didn't want 20 so Betty. He con.
ceivcd that TO be an ended chapter
in his experiences. He had hurt her.
and she had put on her arrnor
against another such hurt Their
vas a studied Indifference about her
now. when he met her. which hurt
him terribly. lie supposed that In
addition 10 his own Incompetence.
bic attitude which she resented. she
took sides with her father In this
obvious commercial warfare which
was bleeding them both financially.
Very likely she stw In this only the
open workings Of his malice toward
Cover. In which MacHae admitted
she would be quite correct He had
not been able 10 discover In that
raring.up Of passion for Betty any
reason for a burial Of his feud with
Cover. He spent a good many hours
during tho next three or four days
lying in the shade Of a gnariy arbu-
tus which grew on the cliffs. He
took a book up there with him. but
most % the time he lay staring up at
the blue sky thru the leaves. or at
the sea.
Then upon an evening when the
sun rested on the serrnted back
bone OF Vancouver island. Jack
MacRas, pcrchci on n NOISY boul
der midway between the Cove and
Point Old. saw first one boat and
then another come slipping and
Iurching around Poor Mans Rock.
One. 10, a dozen, an endless pro
ceaaion. sometimes three abreast
again a string in single file. Mac
Ras sat watching them pass. won.
dering why the great trek.
There was something in the wind
MacRae felt II like a premonition.
He left his boulder and hurried
back toward the Cove
The trolling boats wers packed
about the Blackbird 70 close that
MacRas left his dinghy on the outer
frnrs and walked across their
decks 70 the deck OF his own vessel
whats coming Off" he asked
quietly. You fellows holding n
convention of some sortT'
One OF the men sitting on the big
carriers mil spoke.
Folly Bays auit--shut down. )"
he said shcepishly. I'VE come to
see II you'd start buying again"
CONTINUED Tomorrow