The Pulaskian., 1921-09-08

It was q nine-rail fence, By" inn patiently cut in John Moreland. You've done told that so much at it's dang nigh wore out. Sposen ye go back thar to the orchard ahind O the house and see what Gale and Luke's a-doin' hey, By?"
 Heck nodded and went toward the orchard. He knew they didn't want him to overhear what they were going to say, but it didn't offend him. 1t wasn't easy to offend the good-natured Heck.
 Moreland turned to Dale. "Well?"
 Dale turned to Hayes.
 We're going to begin the building of the little railroad at the earliest possible moment. And because l don't know anything about the work, I'm going to ask you to take the lead. Now there may be some fighting. 1 don't want you to go into this thing blind ly, you see. If you're going to with draw at all, do it now"
 I'm not stranger to fighting" |" Hayes replied smilingly. I've been through half a dozen coal strikes. think you may count on me. Mir. Dale"
 Then lay out plan for immedi- ate action
 I'd suggest" acquiesced Hayes, that We send to the little town in the lowland for supply of picks and shovels, axes and saws, hammers, drills, and explosives. In the mean time, you and I can stake out the way for the track
 It sounded businesslike, Dale thought.
 Within the hour John Moreland and his son Caleb started for Cartersville on foot. and in the older mans pocket was money sufficient to buy the things that were needed.
 Dale and Hayes set out for the north end of David Morelands mountain, and each of them carried hand-ax for making stakes.
 It was not often that the quiet Hayes permitted himself to go into raptures over anything; however, he went in to raptures over the Moreland coal. It was, he declared, one of the best propositions he had ever seen. It was no wonder that Henderson Golf was determined to get possession of it. lie said.
 Then they went to work.
 By sundown two days later they had chosen the route for the narrow-gauge railroad and set stakes accordingly. Hayes told his general manager that with a good force of men the last rail could be put down within two months.
 During those two days they had several times seen Henderson Golf in company with Black Adam Ball and some of his relatives. Once they had come upon Golf talking earnestly with Saul Littleford, the big, bearded, gaunt brother of the Littleford chief. Hayes reminded Dale of this, and said to him further:
 Golf will have the Littlefords on his side the first thing you know Maybe some of the LittiefOrdS, as well as some of the Balls, knew about this coal before David Moreland got his mountain by states grant at few cents per acre. If you'll take my advice, Mir. Dale, you'll make friends of these two sets just as quick as you can"
 Dale thrust his hand-ax inside his belt and turned to the mining expert.
 "D'you know, I was thinking of that same thing when you spoke" he re- piled. And 1 believe l can manage it, now that Miss Littleford's accidental wounding has given the old feud such big blow. I'm fairly sure can man. age it so far as Ben Littleford is con- eerned it's John that's going to be hard to bring to taw. He should be home this evening, if he's had good luck, and I'll tackle him as soon as he comes."
 Together they started across David Moreland's mountain, walking rapidly, with Dale leading.
 Darkness came down on them when 1 they had covered half the distance The great hemlocks and poplars loomed spectral and gaunt in the early starlight. The almost impenetrable thickets of laurel and ivy whispered uncanny things, and their seas of pink and snowy bloom looked somehow ghostly. Now and then there was the 1 pattering of some little animals feet on the dry, hard leaves of hygone years. A solitary brown owl poured out it's heart in weird and melancholy cries to the night it loved. There was the faint, far-off paying of hound and the soft swish of q nighthawk's $ wings.
 Men from the core of civilization must feel these things of the wilder ness.
 Suddenly Dale drew back and stood still. In the trail ahead, standing as motionleSs as the trees about him, was the tall figure of a man. It was almoss as though he were there to bar ths way.