BIG BEN FALLS DOWN AGAIN.
It was pitch dark in the bunk house when Bob awoke. Unless disturbed it
was an unusual thing for him to wake up before time to get up, so,
expecting every minute to hear the rising horn, he lay for a few minutes
in a half doze. Finally, as the call did not come, he glanced at his
wrist watch, and with a start of surprise saw that it was only two
o'clock. With a sigh of relief, for he was still sleepy, he turned over
and closed his eyes, expecting to be asleep in another minute. But to
his surprise, he continued to keep awake. He wondered how the sick
horses were and if his father would be able to find others to take their
places until they were able to work again. Then he fell to wondering
what Big Ben would try next in his efforts to delay their work.
A half hour passed and still he could not sleep. Finally, when the
luminous dial told him that he had been awake a full hour, he resolved
to get up and join Sam in the horse shed.
"There's no use lying here awake," he thought, as he slid from his bunk
to the floor, and very quietly, so as not to disturb anyone, began
pulling on his clothes. This done, he groped his way to the door, and
opening it carefully stepped out into the night. It was very cold,
"thirty below at least," he thought, as he pulled the door shut. The
night was clear, and stars, which thickly studded the heavens, gave a
faint cold light which enabled him to see dimly for some distance. For a
moment he stood drinking in the beauty of the night and filling his
lungs with the spruce scented air. Then he turned toward the shed, but
at that moment he happened to glance at the office. With a sudden start
of amazement, he noticed that the door was part way open.
"That's mighty strange," he thought. "But perhaps Tom couldn't sleep
either and has gone out to see how the horses are. At any rate I'll know
in a minute."
He found Sam half asleep in a chair in front of the little stove at one
end of the long shed. He sprang up as the boy pushed open the door.
"Oh, it be you, oui," he said, relieved as the light of a lantern which
hung on the wall back of him disclosed his visitor.
"Yes, it's I all right," Bob replied. "I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd
come out and see how the patients are getting along."
"Them get long ver' weel. No so much seek now," Sam assured him.
"Have you seen Tom?" Bob asked anxiously.
"Nicht, not after he come back bout ten," Sam replied. "What mak' you
tink I see heem?"
"Why, the door of the office was open and I thought probably he was out
here with you," and a worried look sprang to Bob's face which Sam was
quick to notice.
"Dat ver' queer, she be open dis cold night. We go see bout eet," and
Sam quickly slipped into his heavy mackinaw and grabbed his cap from a
nail in the wall.
They were about half way across the clearing when two men stepped out of
the office door. In the dim light they could only see their forms.
"Something's wrong," Bob gasped, as he caught Sam by the arm.
Sam did not stop to reply, but snatching his arm away, started for the
office on the run. At that moment the men saw them, and darting around
the corner they made for the river at the top of their speed.
On reaching the office, Sam stopped and waited for Bob, who was a few
feet behind him.
"We go geet 'em, oui?" he asked.
"No. Let them go," Bob replied, shaking his head. "I doubt if we could
catch them and it wouldn't be safe. They're probably armed."
Sam gave a grunt of disappointment, but evidently realizing that what
Bob had said was true, he made no further comment but followed him into
the office.
"Hello Tom," Bob shouted, as soon as they were inside.
At first there was no reply, but as they listened a low muffled grunt
came from the little bed room. By this time Sam had the light lit and
they hurried into the other room. A low cry of anger burst from Bob's
lips as he saw the foreman lying tied hand and foot, on the bed, and
gagged with a big red handkerchief. Quickly getting out his knife, he
soon freed him and Tom sat up with a sheepish look on his face.
"Are you hurt, Tom?" Bob asked anxiously.
"Nary a hurt but to me falings," Tom grinned, as he slowly got to his
feet. "But did yer see 'em?"
"Yes, we saw them all right, but they had the start of us and I didn't
think it safe to try to catch them."
"Sure and it's a good thing yer didn't. They are as strong as an ox,"
Tom declared, rubbing his ankles to restore the circulation.
"Hurry up and tell us what happened," Bob urged.
"Sure and I'll do that same. I was slaping as swately as a babe, when
all of a sudden I felt the kivers yanked off me and before I could get
me bearings the villains had me hands tied fast and me fate too."
"Well, I'm mighty glad they didn't hurt you, but you'd better get back
into bed or you'll get your death. It's colder than Greenland in here
and then some," Bob declared.
"Sure and I'll be after gitting me clothes on. No more slape fer me this
night," and he began quickly to pull on his trowsers.
While he was dressing, Bob and Sam stepped out into the office. As he
expected, Bob saw at once that the door of the little safe was wide
open. The safe had a combination lock, but as it seldom held anything of
value it was usually left unlocked. That it had been thoroughly searched
was evident, as a number of papers were scattered over the floor in
front of it.
"Was there any money in the safe?" Bob called to Tom.
"Nary a dollar," the foreman replied, as he joined them.
"Then I guess they didn't get anything of value. Of course they were
after that deed. Isn't it lucky that we sent it down to Greenville by
Jacques?"
"I tink dat ver' bon idea," Sam declared, and Tom heartily agreed with
him.
"Do you know who they were?" Bob asked.
"Nary a bit. Sure and they had handkerchiefs over their faces and not a
woid did they spake thot I could hear," Tom explained as he started to
build a fire in the stove.
"It's too bad we couldn't have recognized them," Bob sighed, as he held
out his hands to the stove which was already radiating heat through the
room. "We've got nothing but suspicion to go on again."
Sam, saying that he had better get back and see to the horses, soon left
the office and Bob, after picking up the papers and putting them back in
the safe, got out the checker board and soon they were deeply interested
in the game. So intent were they that it seemed but a few minutes before
the rising horn told them that in ten minutes breakfast would be on the
table.
"Sure and we'll have ter finish this game, breakfast or no breakfast,"
Tom declared as he jumped one of Bob's kings. "It's meself as thinks
thot I got yer in a hole this time," and a few minutes later Bob had to
acknowledge that he was right and with a grin the foreman made a mark on
his side of a bit of paper on which he kept a record of all the games.
"Yee're only two ahead now," he declared, as he put the paper carefully
away in the drawer of the table.
After breakfast was over Bob told Jack what had happened, but cautioned
him to keep the information to himself, for the present at least.
"The plot thickens," Jack whispered dramatically, as Bob finished.
"Well, if it gets much thicker I'm afraid we'll be all clogged up," Bob
smiled, but, as Jack declared, it was a serious sort of a smile.
As they had decided to take no steps until they had talked with their
father, they joined the men at the cutting and were soon busy sawing
down a big spruce. The logs, owing to the horses being sick, had
accumulated during the past two days, and all about them were piles
which were steadily growing larger. The one team which was available was
doing its best to keep the big logs moving, but their efforts seemed
puny when compared with what was needed.
The boys had been working but a few minutes when Tom joined them.
"Sure and we'll soon be all clogged up here," he declared as he surveyed
the ever growing piles. "I've a half a mind to begin cuttin' on the big
tract. Yer know it runs down close ter the lake and we could cut thar
fer two or three days wid no hauling necessary at all. It would give Jim
time ter catch up wid his job here a bit. What do yez think about it?"
"I'm afraid it would mean a fight with Big Ben," Bob said slowly, as he
took off his cap to wipe his forehead.
"What of it?" Jack asked impulsively. "I'll bet we could lick 'em."
"What do you think about it yourself, Tom?" Bob asked, ignoring his
brother's remark, much to Jack's disgust.
"Well, I dunno," and the big Irishman scratched his head reflectively.
"Mebby he'd foight and then again mebby he wouldn't. Sure and it's about
a toss up I'm a thinkin'."
"We might make a start at it, and if we see that he means to fight we
could take back water I suppose," Bob said.
"That's the talk, all but that back water stuff," Jack broke in
joyously.
"I believe it's worth tryin'," Tom said, "but we won't change till after
dinner."
During the noon meal Tom explained the plan to the men and warned them
that, in case Big Ben and his crew should interfere, there was to be no
fighting unless he should give the word.
As has been stated, the edge of the disputed track came nearly to the
clearing, and they hoped that by cutting only on the upper end that they
might get in two or three day's work before Ben learned of it.
"He'll never know a thing about it unless someone happens to go by and
tells him," Jack declared as he and Bob followed the crew to the new
cutting.
Here the big spruces grew close to the edge of the lake, and as Tom had
said no hauling would be necessary for several days.
"It's no wonder Ben tried to get possession of this lot," Bob declared
as he looked up at the towering trees, their trunks reaching far up as
straight as an arrow. "There'll be hardly a bit of waste to these
trees," he added.
The men fell to with a will and by the time the first hint of the
approaching night stole over the forest, Tom vowed that they had cut not
less than twenty thousand feet.
That evening Bob and Tom had just completed a draw game when a heavy
knock sounded on the door of the office.
"Come in," Tom shouted.
The door immediately swung open and Big Ben Donahue entered.
"A fine avenin' to yez," Tom said, getting up and waving his visitor to
a chair near the stove.
That Big Ben was mad and meant trouble was plain to be seen. He paid no
attention to the greeting nor did he accept the chair.
"I want to know what you mean by cutting on my property," he demanded.
"Sure and I'd like ter know who's been a cuttin' on yer property. I
hain't," Tom replied in a pleasant tone.
"Aw, what's the use of lying about it. You----"
But he got no farther for Tom stepped toward him and there was that in
the Irishman's eyes which caused the big man to stop.
"Hold on thar right what ye are. I'm Irish clean ter the bone and the
man don't live thot can call me thot and get away wid it."
"All right," Big Ben said hastily. "No offense intended, but you know
that you've been cuttin' on the tract just below here?"
"Sure and now yer're talkin' so's I kin understand yer. I did start ter
cuttin' on the tract jest forninst here. What about it?" and Tom resumed
his seat, leaving the other standing.
"This about it," the big man snapped. "I own that piece of timber and I
warn ye to keep off it."
"As I told you yesterday, Mr. Donahue," Bob broke in, "we've got a paper
which says that the tract belongs to Father."
"And as I told ye then, I tell ye now, that I don't believe a word of
it. Of course," he hastened to add, as he noticed the red blood mounting
to Tom's face, "I don't doubt but that you've got a paper which you
think proves it, but just the same the property is mine."
"Thot's better," Bob heard the Irishman mutter as he twisted uneasily in
his chair.
"If you can prove that in court, of course all the timber which we cut
on the tract will belong to you, so you will not lose anything no matter
how much we get down," Bob explained.
"That's not the point," Ben broke in angrily. "I tell ye the land's mine
and I forbid ye to cut another tree on it."
"And if we do?" Bob asked in even tones.
"I'll drive ye off," and the big man evidently meant what he said.
"Thanks," Bob said dryly. "I just wanted to be sure where we stand."
"Well, I guess ye know now," the other snapped.
For a moment no one spoke; then, as if he had come to a definite
conclusion, Bob said:
"Mr. Donahue, we do not wish to have trouble with you if it can be
avoided, but you have already gone too far. Now," as the man was about
to interrupt, "let me finish and then we'll listen to what you have to
say. Last summer Father beat you in a fair bid for the contract with the
Great Northern Star Company, and you have been doing your best to try to
delay our work. First you tried to scare our men with a ghost, then you
got some of them drunk, and finally you, or someone in your employ, put
arsenic in our oats and killed two of our horses." Bob was sorry the
minute he mentioned the arsenic, but it was too late now and he went on.
"And only last night two men burglarized the safe here, but they didn't
get what they were after."
"It's all a----" the big man began, his face red with anger, but he
stopped short as Tom rose from his chair. "I had nothing to do with all
that," he substituted.
"All right, we'll let that pass for the present, as we are not in a
position to prove it, that is just now," Bob added, with strong emphasis
on the last two words.
Big Ben Donahue was getting all the worst of the argument, and he had
sense enough to know it, but it was not in his nature to give up so long
as he had a foot on which to stand.
"It's no use to multiply words about it," he declared, buttoning up his
mackinaw. "But I warn ye once more not to cut another stick on that
property, and if ye do I'll make ye wish that ye hadn't," and with a
savage scowl he was gone.
"Pleasant company, isn't he," Bob remarked with a smile, as he began to
arrange the men on the checker board.
"He was bluffing and he knew it," Jack declared, picking up the book
which he had been reading when Big Ben came in.
"Mebby," Bob agreed. "But the big question is, does his bluff go?"
"Not any," Jack replied quickly, but Tom shook his head slowly.
"Sure and it's meself as knows the kind of a gang he's got. If he brings
'em up here somebody'll git a broken head or two, and it's meself as
doubts if the game's worth it."
"I'll tell you how we can fix it," Jack declared suddenly, throwing his
book on the table.
"All right. Spring it," Bob said.
"Well, why not do this? In the morning the men can go to work right
where they left off. You and I'll go down about a mile toward Ben's camp
and watch. If we see them coming we can give a signal and long before
they can get here the men can all be at work on the other side of the
clearing."
"Sure and it's a foin head ye got," and the foreman cast an admiring
glance at the boy.
"I believe he's struck it," Bob agreed, giving his brother a hearty slap
on the back. "And if you agree, Tom, we'll try it."
"Sure and it's jest the ticket," Tom said as he took the checker board
from the table. "It's your foist move."
The game was hardly started, however, when the door was pushed open
without warning and Jacques Lamont stepped in to the room.
"Hello, Jacques," shouted both the boys, springing to their feet, Bob
forgetting that he had one side of the checker board on his knees.
"Hey, thar, will yez look ter what yer after doing," Tom called, as the
checker men slid to the floor.
"Sorry, Tom," Bob apologized. "I guess we'll have to begin that game all
over again."
"And jest when I had one illegant start on yer," Tom grumbled as he too
got to his feet and gave the Frenchman a hearty welcome.
After the exchange of greetings, Jacques told them that he was going
back to Canada to finish out the season trapping, and hoped to get
together another good load before spring. But, on being urged by the
boys and Tom, he agreed to spend a couple of days with them.
"I tink I mak beeg lot money thees winter," he said, as he pulled off
his heavy mackinaw.
Tom and Bob had to start their game over again, and much to the former's
disgust Bob skunked him.
"Sure and I'll niver git another start like thot one I had when you
knocked all the men on the floor," he declared as he started to place
the men for a new game.
As soon as the work was well under way the next morning, the boys
fastened on their snow-shoes and started off toward the other camp.
Fortunately the weather had turned warm, and in the bright sun the snow
began to melt. As soon as they had covered about a mile, they stopped
and looked around for a good hiding place.
"We must get somewhere where we can see out on the lake as well as in
the woods," Bob declared. "They're about as apt to come one way as the
other."
Finally Jack spied a big pine with particularly thick branches, and
removing his snow-shoes he was soon two-thirds of the way to the top.
"Can you see out on the lake?" Bob called from beneath the tree.
"Sure can," Jack called back.
"All right then, come on down and I'll hand the shoes to you and then
I'll be with you. I can't see a thing of you, so I guess it'll be a good
thing all right."
"I'm mighty glad it isn't cold," Jack declared, as they settled
themselves as comfortably as possible in the branches of the tree. "We
may have to wait here a good while, and if it was thirty or forty below
it wouldn't be very pleasant, let me tell you."
An hour passed. The boys spent the time in talking over the situation
and forming tentative plans for the immediate future.
"S-S--h, someone's coming," Jack suddenly whispered, as his quick ears
caught the sound of a low whistle.
"I see him," Bob said a moment later, peering through the branches. "I
think it's that fellow that had the jug the other day."
The man, swinging swiftly along on his snowshoes, passed directly
beneath the tree in which they were concealed.
"He's going up to see if we're cutting on the tract," Jack declared as
soon as he was out of sight.
"Probably," Bob agreed. "If he is he'll be back in a few minutes."
Jack's prediction was correct, for in less than a half hour they sighted
the man returning and it was evident, from the speed he was making, that
he was in a great hurry to get back to the camp.
"Had we better go back and tell Tom?" Jack whispered.
"I think we'd better wait till we're sure they are coming," Bob replied
after a moment's thought. "We don't want to give a false alarm and it
may be that Ben has an entirely different plan."
So they waited another hour and had about concluded that the enemy did
not intend to make the attack, when the distant sound of voices reached
their ears.
"I believe they're coming," Bob said, straining his ears to the utmost
to learn if they were approaching.
"Yes, they're coming all right," he declared a moment later, as the
voices came decidedly nearer. "And, by the sound, there's a lot of
them," and drawing a whistle from his pocket, he put it to his lips and
blew with all his strength.
Almost immediately a faint whistle was heard from the direction of their
camp.
"He heard us all right," Bob declared, as he returned the whistle to his
pocket. "Now we want to get back just as soon as our legs will take us
there."
As rapidly as possible they scrambled down to the ground, and fastening
on their snow-shoes started off at a swinging trot, a pace which, on
snow-shoes, covers ground with almost unbelievable speed.
"I don't know as we really need to hurry so after all," Bob panted,
after they had covered about half the distance back. "It isn't likely
that many of them have snow-shoes, and they won't be able to make much
speed without them. Can you hear anything?"
For a moment they stood still and listened. Very faintly the murmur of
voices reached their ears.
"There's plenty of time," Bob decided, as he started off again at a more
moderate pace.
In a few minutes they reached the clearing and as Bob glanced at the
place where the men had been at work when they had left a few hours
before, he gave vent to a low chuckle.
"I'll bet it'll be a surprise to Ben when he doesn't find a soul here,"
he said as he started across the clearing toward the former cutting.
Tom met them just as they came in sight of the crew, busily at work, "as
though they had never cut anywhere else and never intended to," Jack
laughed.
"So they're a comin'," Tom greeted them.
"They sure are, the whole kerboodle of them I guess," Jack replied as he
kicked the snow-shoes from his feet.
"We didn't wait to see how many there were," Bob explained. "But we
could hear them and I guess Jack's about right. Listen. They can't be
very far away now."
But although they strained their ears, not a sound reached them from the
direction of the rival camp.
"Sure and they probably cut out the talkin'," Tom said. "I gess they
mane ter take us by surprise as it was, but it's meself as thinks the
surprise will be on the ither foot."
It was a full half hour later when they caught the first glimpse of the
"invading army," as Jack termed them. They appeared suddenly in the
woods on the other side of the clearing, full fifty strong. Only a few
were equipped with snow-shoes, and that was undoubtedly why they had
been so long in getting there. Every man had a club of some kind in his
hand, but the boys were unable to see any guns. Big Ben was too well
acquainted with the type of man he employed to trust them with anything
more deadly than an ax handle or a broken peavey.
They stopped on the edge of the clearing as if undecided as to the next
move. The fact that there was no one working on the disputed tract when
they arrived had evidently disarranged their plans.
From their position, just within the fringe of trees which separated the
camp from the place where the crew was at work, Tom and the boys
watched, trying to catch sight of Big Ben. The men were talking
excitedly but in low tones, so that they were unable to catch what was
being said, but from their wild gesticulations they judged that many of
them were urging an immediate attack on the camp.
"I see him," Jack whispered, as they all saw the big man shouldering his
way through the mob.
As he stepped out into the clearing, he stopped and faced his men, and
it was evident to the watchers that he was giving them orders, but he
spoke too low for them to hear what he said. He talked only a moment and
then started across the open space.
"Come on. We'll go mate him," Tom said, as he stepped out from behind a
big spruce and closely followed by the boys advanced to meet him. With a
face as black as a thunder cloud, the big man came to within six feet of
them before he spoke.
"So you thought you'd better quit, hey?" he sneered, as he came to a
halt.
"Ye kin put it thot way if ye wish," Tom replied in a sharp tone.
"And it's a mighty lucky thing for you that ye did quit. If ye hadn't
ye'd have been made to."
"Mebby and mebby not," Tom grinned.
"I'd advise ye to keep a civil tongue in your head or the fact that ye
got cold feet may not do any good. It isn't too late for a fight yet,
and my boys are spoiling for one," and the big man nodded his head in
the direction of his crew.
"Just a moment, Mr. Donahue," Bob broke in as the man was about to
continue. "We do not wish to have any trouble and that is the reason
that we stopped cutting on that tract. But you will agree that this
piece of land belongs to Father, and if any of your men step foot on it
we shall hold you responsible."
"Responsible be hanged," Big Ben snorted. "I'll have you to understand
that I go where I like, and take my men with me too. Now ye say ye don't
want to fight. Well, there's jest one way ye can get around it."
"And that is?"
"By giving me your word that you'll cut no more timber on that tract."
"Thin, begorra, it's meself thot gesses there'll have ter be a fight
after all," Tom declared with a grin.
"Is that your answer?" Big Ben asked, looking at Bob.
"That depends," Bob replied slowly. "For how long a time do you expect
us to keep off?"
"Till I tell ye that ye can go ahead," he snapped.
"I'm afraid that's too indefinite," Bob asserted firmly.
"Then ye refuse?"
"I'm afraid I'll have to," Bob replied sadly. "But I warn you once more
that you will be held responsible if there is any trouble."
Big Ben made no reply but turned and waved his hand, evidently a
prearranged signal. The sign was greeted with a loud chorus of yells,
and the mob, brandishing their clubs, charged forward.
At that moment Bob put his hand to his mouth and a shrill whistle
sounded through the forest. Instantly six men, led by Jacques Lamont and
Jean Lareau, stepped into sight, and each man carried in his hands a
Winchester.
At the sound of the whistle the crowd paused and at the sight of the six
determined looking men they came to a full halt. Big Ben's face was a
puzzle as he saw the turn things had taken.
"What--what--do you mean?" he stammered.
"We mean to prevent murder," Bob answered sternly. "Our men, except
these six, have only their axes with which to fight, and you know what
that would mean in case your men got to them. As I said before, we do
not want trouble, but if any of your men come any nearer I'm afraid
those rifles will have something to say about it. Remember you are on
our land."