Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-06
CHAPTER XIII
The Chase

The Chase
Peter had discovered the means Of
providing for Beth's musical education.
tpon inquiry he had found that Me-
Iuire hardly knew Beth except as n
dependent relative of Mrs. Bergen who
zane ,,.;an IN sometimes to help her aunt
Gith thc cleaning-usually before Nc
Tu Tulre came down from New York.
ing list. '' n'S ''sit-
lie delayed telling Mcclure. There
naS plenty OF time and there was no
doubt of his employers doing tho r;,bt
thlns by the daughter of the murdered
man. Meanwhile, having completed his
nlans for the estate, he Ind SUGGESTED
that Mcclure go off for a trim some.
Where to rest and recover his poIse.
peter had promised his allegiance to
McGuire when Hawk Kennedy return
ca, out he knew that he would have TO
nght hre with fire. For Hawk had
proved himself both skillful and dan.
eerous and would struggle desperately
to get what he thought was his own. II
was his last chance to make n biz
stake-to be independent for the rest
OF his life. He was tasting luxury now
and wouldn't give up without a fsht to
the death. Something must b. thought
of-some plan to outwit him, to cir
cumvent the schemes which would come
out OF his visit of investigation to the
copper country.
Peter had said nothing to Beth or
10 MIS-. cameron of what bs hod dis
covered. He was under no o,th If So.
crecy to the old man, but he reaI1el
that while Hawk Kennedy held th;
confession" Mcclure was in prc.
dicament which would only be made
more difficult If the facts got abroad.
And so Peter had gone about his work
silently, aware that the burden OF Nc
cures troubles had been suddenly
shifted to his own shoulders. He spent
most of his days at the lumber camp,
and now had every detail of the business
at his fingers ends. Timbers had been
hauled to the appointed sites, and
under his direction the fire towers were
now half way to completion.
He had found Shad Wells down at
the mills, morOsc. sullcn and disposed
to question his authority, but Mcclure
had visited the bunkhouse one night be-
fore he went away, and it was soon
discovered that Peter and no other was
the boss of the job. Peter for reasons
Of his own retained Shad, much to that
numbering gang. but Peter wasn't at all
satisfied with conditions as he had found
them ut the lumber camp and mills, and, ,
as he discovered later, the continuance
of Shad In the foremans job was a
mistake. If Peter had hopcd by this act
Of conciliation to heal Shad's wounds
and bring about spirit Of useful co.
operation with the man, he soon found
that the very reverse of this had been
accomplished. The lumbermen were an
unregenerate lot, some of them
''pineys," few Italians, but most Of
them the refuse of the factories and
shipyards, spoiled by the fatal Cost
plus" contracts of war time. All Of
these facts Peter learned slowly. aware
Of an undercurrent moving against him
and yet entirely dependent upon this
labor---which was the best, indeed the
improvements in the bunkhouse for their
comfort. increased the supply of food
and posted notices that all complaints
of whatever nature would be promptly
investigated. But day after day new
stories came to him Of shirking, of
dissatisfaction and continued trouble
making.
This labor trouble was no new thing
at Black Rock, and had existed practi-
cally since the beginning Of the work
en- the lumber contract six months be-
fore Peter had been employed. But it
was not long before Peter discovered
through Jesse Brown. whose confidence
he had gained, that there were agitators
in the camp, undoubtedly receiving their
inspiration and pay from sources mimi
cal to all capital in the abstract and to
all order and decency at Black Rock
in the concrete, who were fomenting the
unrest and dissatisfaction among the
men. In order to investigate the diff
ficulties personally Peter went down
to the camp and lived there for time,
tunking with the men and listening to
their stories, winning some of them to
his side and tracing as far as he could
the troubles to their sourceS--two men
named Flynn and Jacobi. He discharged
these two men and sent them out of the
camp over Wells protest. But even
then he had a sense of fAilure. The
trouble was deeper than was manifest
upon the surface. No mere raise in
wages would clear it away. 1t was
born Of the worlds sickness. with which
the men from the cities had been inocu-
lated
One night while he sat in the bunk
house smoking pipe and talking with
Jesse Brown, Shad Wells suddenly APP
reared in the doorway, framed against
the darkness. Shad's gaze and Peters
met-thcn Peters glance turned to
Shad's companion. As this man saw
Peter he turned his head and went down
the length of the bunkhouse, Peter
got up at once, followed him and faced
him. The man now wore dark beard,
lut there was no mistake. 1t was the
fellow of the black mustachc-th }
stranger whom Peter had seen In m"
Pennsylvania Station in New York. the
game man he had caught prowling some
weeks ago around his cabin In the
darkness. .....-