Edward Stratemeyer

“ Wilbur and I have agreed to let you in on the ground floor. So bring out your old violin to-night, Owen, and give us a tune and be happy."
"Happy! how could a fellow be otherwise, in such a glorious spot as this," said Owen. He lifted his cap and took in a deep breath from the pine forest. "Beats a city all to nothing, doesn't it, Dale? Tell you what, I'd rather be a lumberman than be a king!" ”

“ Owen drew down the corners of his mouth into a peculiar pucker.
"You wouldn't ask that if you knew my Uncle Jack," he said.
"Anything wrong?"
"Uncle Jack is a worker—morning, noon, and night, and between times. He never knows when to stop, and he expects everybody around him to work just as hard or harder. Fact is, he's a regular slave driver. And in addition to that he's as close-fisted as Hen McNair."
"In that case, I don't wonder you don't want to engage with him," said Dale, with a laugh.
"Uncle Jack means well, but he never knows when to let up. ”

“ A youth not used to roughing it might have found the flooring of the shack rather a hard bed. But Dale and Owen thought nothing of this. The last day on the river had been a busy one, and soon each was in the land of dreams, neither of them being disturbed in the slightest by the loud snoring around them—for lumbermen in camp do snore, and that most outrageously—why, nobody can tell, excepting it may be as a warning to wild beasts to keep away! ”

“ That it was coming directly for him there could be no question, and for the moment his heart seemed to stop beating and a great cold chill crept up and down his backbone, while he had a mental vision of being crushed into a shapeless mass by that ponderous weight.
"Jump!" screamed Dale. "Jump, for the love of Heaven, Owen!"
"Jump! Don't wait! Jump!" yelled Owen.
And then Owen jumped, far from the knob to the portion of the slide below him. It was a flying leap of over a rod, and when he landed he struck partly on his feet and partly on his left hand. ”

“ Swimming from the vicinity of the bluff was out of the question, and now the sparks and flying embers began to come down around them, hissing and steaming as they fell.
"We've got to do something," came desperately from Owen. "Let us try our best to reach the island."
"Yes, put me on the island," said Bertie eagerly.
"Then keep real quiet and I will, Bertie."
The little fellow released his hold just a little, and Owen struck out with one hand. Dale tried to follow, but Gertrude could not be quieted, and he gave up in despair.
"I know what I am going to do," cried Owen. ”

“ As the bateau grounded, Dale leaped ashore, stretched himself and took a long, deep breath, filling his lungs to their utmost capacity.
"This is what I like!" he cried. "It's better than a tonic or any other medicine."
"And what an appetite it will give a fellow," added Owen. "I can always eat like a horse when I'm in the woods working."
As it was a clear night, the bateau was hauled up on the shore and the provisions carefully covered with a thick tarpaulin. Then the party struck out up the hillside for the camp, Joel Winthrop leading the way. ”

“ Anxious to do all he possibly could for them, Jefferson Wilbur had provided Dale and Owen with seats in the observation car of the train, so the young lumbermen had an excellent opportunity to gaze at the scenery along the route as the overland express roared and shrieked its way around rocky bends, over long bridges, and past immense stretches of farming lands. The view was an ever-changing one, and they were surprised when a porter came in and announced that lunch was ready in the dining car.
"It's just as elegant as anything in the East," was Dale's comment, while they were eating. ”

“ CHAPTER XVIII BOUND FOR THE GREAT LAKES
"There is a chance for you, Owen," remarked Dale, as the reading of the letter was finished.
"So it would seem," was the slow reply.
"It isn't every fellow who has the chance of becoming a foreman."
"That is true. If Mr. Paxton made the offer, I would jump at it."
"What's the matter? Don't you want to work for your uncle?"
"You know what I told you before, Dale. Uncle Jack Hoover is the hardest man to work for that I know of." ”

“ The next morning the sun came up as brightly as ever. Long before that time the camp was astir, and from the cook's shanty floated the aroma of broiled mackerel, fried potatoes, and coffee.
"That smells like home!" exclaimed Owen and started for a spring near by, where there was a small tub, in which the men washed, one after another. ”

“ Not but what we've got good men at our camp," he added hastily.
"I wouldn't mind a job as a lumber surveyor," said Dale. "They get good wages, don't they?"
"A deputy surveyor gets ten cents a thousand on all the lumber he checks off," answered Gilroy. "I've known a man to make six to ten dollars a day at it. The fellows who overhaul the lumber for him get seven and a half cents a thousand each. The surveyor-general of the county gets a cent a thousand on all lumber passed on in the county."
"Some day I reckon I'll be a surveyor-general," observed Owen dryly. ”

“ Here and there the tree branches overhung in such a fashion that a person riding on the trucks had often to duck to avoid getting struck by them.
"Don't let a limb hit you and knock you off," was Owen's final word of caution, and then the whistle of the locomotive tooted, and with a creak and a groan the log train started on its journey over the hills and down to the yard below.
When the heavy train started, a thrill ran over Dale, and he grasped the brake to steady himself. He was between the ends of two big logs which were so high that he could scarcely look over them. ”

“ The new donkey engine at the yard where Owen was employed was in charge of Bruce Howard, so the young lumberman now saw considerable of the young engineer, and quite a friendship sprang up between the pair.
"I'm not going to stay here very much longer," said Bruce.
"Don't like the work, I suppose," returned Owen.
"Oh, it's good enough, but I want to get into some big rolling mill or steel plant. What I would like best of all would be to study chemistry, with a view of becoming a high-grade steel maker. Such men are greatly in demand and they earn big salaries." ”

“ Our United States is a large country and consequently the industries are many, yet none is perhaps of greater importance than that of the lumber trade. Lumber gives us material for our buildings and our ships, our railroads and our telegraph lines, and furnishes the pulp from which millions of pounds of paper are made annually. We export lumber to Europe, to the West Indies, and even to the Orient, drawing on a forest treasure that covers thousands of square miles of territory. ”

“ The train stopped for twenty minutes at Denver, and the young lumbermen got off and stretched their legs by a walk along the station platform.
"I'm sorry we can't stop and look this city over," remarked Owen. "Jack Giles, the lumberman, was out here once, and he liked it very much. Said the air was the finest he had ever breathed."
"The air certainly is pure," said Dale, taking in a deep breath.
Soon they were on the train again and rushing forward. The prairie levels became less frequent and the train had often to climb the steep grade of a mountain. ”

“ On every side of them were tall pines, spruces, and other trees, with here and there a patch of brushwood. The fire caught each tree as if by magic, and the flames would run up from roots to top with the rapidity of lightning, and then the tree would resemble some giant torch. Sometimes a tree in the rear would burst open with the report of a pistol, sending forth a new shower of sparks, which the wind caught and wafted still further to the front of the conflagration. ”

“ What we are coming to if the pulp mills and paper makers keep on crowding us for logs, I don't know."
It was night when they reached the landing place nearest to the Paxton camp, which was located up the hillside, half a mile away. At this point the stream opened up into something of a pond, with a cove in which several small boats were moored.
The shores of the pond were rocky and covered in spots with a stunted undergrowth, while further back was the forest of spruce, pine, fir, and a few other trees, sending forth a delicious fragrance that was as invigorating as it was delightful. ”

“ Each of the young lumbermen proved that he could swing an ax with the best of the workers, and Gilroy pronounced himself satisfied with all they did.
"It only shows what a young fellow can do when he's put to it," said the foreman one day to Owen. "Now, half these chaps are merely working for their wages and their grub. They do as little as they can for their money, and the minute the season is over they'll go down to Oldtown or Bangor, or some other city, and blow in every dollar they have earned." ”

“ He started as a poor man, and when he went to Michigan he had less than a thousand dollars. Now he must be worth thirty or forty thousand, and maybe more."
"I don't believe you'll be worth that, Owen; not if you have to save it yourself."
"I don't want to be rich if I've got to slave like Uncle Jack. Money isn't everything in this world." ”

“ The worst of the smoke was clearing away, allowing them to breathe more freely. One by one the men arose and began to look after the frightened horses and mules. One horse had gotten away, and sped into the burning territory, and he was never seen again.
"Well, I guess this is the last of the fire," said Owen, as he arose. "This rain looks as if it would hold out for the rest of the day."
"What do you think Gilroy will do next?" questioned Dale.
A consultation was held, and the foreman decided to lead the way back to the cabin, as soon as the trail was safe. ”

“ The Indians had their own way in the backwoods, and they used to do lots of trading with the white folks when they felt like it."
"Yes, and fought the white folks when they didn't feel like it," laughed Dale. "But then the red men weren't treated just right either," he added soberly.
"I can remember the time when these woods were simply alive with game of all sorts," went on the older lumberman. "If you wanted a deer all you had to do was to lay low for him down by his drinking place. But now to get anything is by no means easy. That moose you and Webb got is a haul not to be duplicated." ”

“ I know one lumberman who won't cut a tree on his section that isn't at least twenty inches in diameter."
"They'd better save some trees," said Owen. "If they don't, they'll suffer one of these days, just as Maine is beginning to suffer."
"The government has already taken hold of the matter, and, in the three States I have named, Uncle Sam has set aside over thirty-two thousand square miles of forest lands which nobody can touch. These parks, as they are called, are filled with pines, fir, hemlock, redwood, and other trees."
"Are there many small lumbermen out there?" asked Dale. ”

“ He pointed with his finger, and, looking in the direction, the young lumbermen saw a steam launch gliding over the lake not a great distance off. Both gave a yell and waved their arms, and soon the launch was puffing in their direction.
When it came closer, they saw that the craft contained Mrs. Wilbur, Jasper Nown, a nurse in a white apron and cap, and a man who looked after the boats belonging to the lodge.
"My children!" came in a loud cry from the lady. "Oh, are my children safe?"
"Yes, ma'am, they are all right," answered Owen. ”

“ Wilbur's lodge, and they soon learned that Mrs. Wilbur had arrived there, accompanied by her two children, a little curly-haired girl of five, named Gertrude, and a manly chap of six, named Bertie. Later on a number of relatives and visitors were expected, and with them Mr. Wilbur, who was now in the West looking up his lumber interests in that locality.
"They ought to have a good time," remarked Owen. "They haven't got a thing to do but to enjoy themselves."
"I don't know that I want to be idle all the time," replied Dale. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself." ”

“ The undergrowth was rank, and stumps of immense trees stuck up everywhere. Nothing had been cleared, according to the notions of these young Down-Easters, and everything was in sad need of "sprucing-up," as Dale expressed it. In some spots trees of fair size had been cut down and left to decay, instead of being sawed up into boards or shingles.
"This shows how wasteful man gets when he has all he wants," said Owen. "You wouldn't find so much timber going to waste anywhere in New England—stuff is too hard to get." ”

“ A heavy woolen shirt, heavy trousers, strong boots, and a thick cap was the simple outfit of more than one, and even Dale and Owen rarely wore their coats.
"Swinging an ax warms me, no matter how low the glass is," said Owen. "And I haven't got to pile any liquor in me either."
Often, while deep in the woods, the two young lumbermen would catch sight of a wolf or a fox, attracted to the neighborhood by the smell of the camp cooking. But though the beasts were hungry they knew enough to keep their distance. ”

“ From the hilltop an expanse of country, many miles in extent, could be surveyed—a prospect that never grew tiresome to Dale, for he was a true lover of nature, even though occupied in destroying a part of her primeval beauty.
"Just think of the days when this country was full of Indians," he said to Andrews. "It's not so very many years ago."
"Right you are; times change very quickly. Why, the first sawmill wasn't built on the Penobscot until 1818, and in those days Bangor was only a small town and many of the other places weren't even dreamed of. ”

“ Paxton," answered Dale. "But what was he saying to you just before I came up? You mentioned a ride on a sled."
"He wanted to know if I'd drive over to the Gannett camp for him. He wants some things from there."
"Of course you said you'd go. It will be a fine drive over the hills."
"Yes, I said I'd go, and he said I could take you if I wished."
"Hurrah, just the thing!" shouted Dale. "I've been wanting a holiday. Working in the woods every day in this splendid weather is rather tiresome." ”

“ Wilbur smiling after them, and Bertie and Gertrude waving their hands.
"She's all right," came from Owen. "She knows how to treat a fellow civilly."
"Certainly she didn't treat us as Jasper Nown did," returned Dale. "It's easy to see that she is a perfect lady." And then he thought of his own sweet mother, now gone so many years, and heaved a deep sigh.
On the following day the weather turned out unusually hot, and both Dale and Owen were glad when Gilroy told them that he wished both to go for him on an errand to the next camp, a distance of eight miles through the forest. ”

“ The feller shook hands cordially. "I'm from Maine myself—came from Portland, eight years ago."
"I am glad to meet you," said Dale, and introduced himself and Owen. The feller's name was Andy Westmore, and he proved to be a whole-souled individual. He asked about the news from Down East, and ended by saying he hoped Dale and Owen would get work at the camp and close to himself.
"About two-thirds of the men here are Scandinavians, and one-half of the rest are French-Canadians," he said. "So we haven't got any more true-blue Americans than we ought to have." ”

“ Folks must have paper even if they don't get boards," and Philip Sommers gave a short laugh.
"I don't think I'd care to work in a pulp mill," answered Dale. "I like a sawmill or else being out in a lumber camp. But I'd rather work in a pulp mill than be idle." ”