Along toward the middle of the following afternoon Orcutt appeared at
the post, accompanied by two guides and two operatives of a detective
agency, who were ostensibly merely members of a party of three, but who
in reality were the guardians of a certain thick packet of large bills
that reposed in the very bottom of a waterproof rucksack.
Into the trading room he stamped, cursing the black flies and
mosquitoes whose combined and persistent attack had left his face and
neck red and swollen. Hedin was behind the counter, and without a hint
of recognition Orcutt inquired the whereabouts of Wentworth. Upon
being informed that he was probably in his cabin, he turned on his heel
and stamped from the room.
"This is a hell of a country!" he said in greeting, as Wentworth opened
his door to admit him. "The damned flies and mosquitoes just naturally
eat a man alive!"
"It isn't so bad when you get used to it," laughed Wentworth, and
turned toward the man who had risen from his chair. "Mr. Orcutt, this
is Mr. Cameron, representative of the Canadian Wild Lands Company."
"Wild lands is right," grinned Orcutt as he acknowledged the other's
greeting. "I never saw so much timber or so many insects in my life.
And now," he continued, meeting Cameron's eyes, "I'm a busy man, and
the sooner I get out of this God-forsaken country, the better I'll like
it. Why can't we go ahead and get the business over with?"
"You forget, Mr. Orcutt, that the McNabb options do not expire until
noon to-morrow," Cameron answered.
Orcutt nodded impatiently. "Yes, yes, I suppose we've got to wait.
But as far as that goes, I don't think we've got to worry any. I
always make it my business to keep an eye on the other fellow, and I
know to certainty that John McNabb will not be here. As a matter of
fact, he has mistaken the day his options expire. He believes he has
until the first of August."
Cameron whistled. "Are you sure?" he asked incredulously. "I don't
know him personally, but his reputation for shrewdness----"
"And ninety-nine times out of a hundred he's as shrewd as his
reputation calls for," interrupted Orcutt, "but this is the hundredth
time! He is so dead sure he is right that I don't suppose he has
examined his papers in years. John McNabb makes damned few
mistakes--I've been more than twenty years waiting for him to make this
one. And now, by God, I've got him! What do you hold the timber at?"
"Seven dollars an acre."
"Make it six, and I'll take it. It ought to be worth something not to
have to hunt up a buyer."
"It is," answered Cameron. "But seven dollars is the price. In a
month--two months it will be eight."
"About two percent down?"
"Ten."
"Ten percent!" raved Orcutt. "Three hundred and fifty thousand
dollars! Do you think a man takes a jaunt into the woods with any such
amount of money as that in his possession?"
"I think you did. If not, then as you people say in the States, you
are out of luck."
"I'll buy an option on it."
Cameron shook his head. "No, the time has come for a sale. We can't
afford to hold timber ourselves, and as to finding purchasers, I know a
dozen men who would snap it up at seven dollars."
"All right," growled Orcutt. "Make out your papers and I'll sign 'em.
At least, we can get the routine business all finished to-day so all
there will be left to do to-morrow noon will be to sign up and pay over
the money."
"No harm in that," agreed Cameron. "I shall proceed at once to draw up
a contract of sale. Just a question or two will give me all the
information I need. In the first place, is the prospective purchaser
an individual or a corporation?"
"Corporation. The Eureka Paper Company."
"And their home office?"
"Orcutt, Canada."
"Orcutt? Where is Orcutt?"
Orcutt smiled. "There isn't any--now. But there will be one as soon
as we start construction of the mill. The enterprise will be of
sufficient magnitude to necessitate a town at the mill site, and the
name of that town will be Orcutt."
"Very good. I think that is all I need to know."
"About the subsequent payments----" began Orcutt, but Cameron
interrupted him:
"Let us not discuss that now. The better way will be for you to allow
me to draw up the contract, and then to-morrow morning we can go over
it, clause by clause."
"Good idea," agreed Orcutt. "Come on, Wentworth," and leading the way
from the cabin, he spent half an hour strolling about among the tepees
viewing their owners, their _lares_, _penates_ and offspring as he
would have inspected an exhibit at a fair. Tiring of this, he led the
way to a fallen log at the edge of the clearing, and produced his cigar
case.
"How is everything in Terrace City?" asked Wentworth, as he lighted his
cigar.
"Oh, about as usual, I guess. Been so damned busy getting this paper
deal in shape for the last two months that I haven't had much time to
keep track of things. By the way, you remember Hedin--that clerk in
old John McNabb's fur department?"
"Yes, I believe I do."
"Well, old John trusted him to the limit--made a kind of a pet of
him--and what does the fellow do but slip up to the store one night and
steal a Russian sable coat, worth somewhere around thirty thousand.
Then the damned fool, instead of getting out of the country, stayed
right on the job. Of course old John missed the coat next day, and the
night watchman told of Hedin's visit to the store."
"Did he confess?" asked Wentworth a shade too eagerly.
"Confess nothing! He swears he's innocent. But there's nothing to it.
They've got the goods on him--everything but the coat. They can't find
that, and they never will. I got the story from Hicks, the police
chief. Old John had him arrested and he knocked Hicks down and got
away. They caught him again, and Judge Emerson fixed his bail at ten
thousand. Someone furnished the bail that same night, and Hedin has
skipped out, slick and clean. They sure put one over on McNabb--ten
thousand for bail, twenty thousand to divide between them, and McNabb
is holding the bag."
"And we'll leave him holding the bag again," grinned Wentworth.
"That's what we will. He's been a hard man to down. I don't mind
saying it to you, I've laid for him ever since I've been in Terrace
City, and I've never been able to get him. Several times I've thought
I had him, but he always managed to wriggle out someway. But now he
seems to have let down all of a sudden. Either his luck has deserted
him, or he has begun to break."
"You are pretty sure he will not be here to-morrow?"
Orcutt nodded. "Dead sure. You were right about his believing that he
has till the first of August on those options. I overheard him telling
Bronson on the golf links that he had to be in Canada on August first,
and that he would leave about the middle of July."