Raymond S. Spears

“ Red proceeded to clean the rifle, which had been discharged that afternoon. It was a beautiful octagon barrel, with engraved breech and carved stock. Red brought out a long piece of hay wire, and wrapped a piece of red flannel around the end. Then he swabbed the flannel in stove ashes and proceeded to draw it through the barrel.
D. Cuecy could hear the wire scratching through the barrel, and he began to worry—he tried to explain that he had a real cleaner, real gun oil, and real linen rags.
“Them fancy things ain’t no good!” Red declared. ”

“ We’ll all be around here, settin’, an’ waitin’ fer them deers to stir aroun’ our way!”
Then Red hurried away at top speed, watching over his shoulder, for he was afraid that D. Cuecy might begin to shoot before he was out of sight. A few minutes later Red joined the rest of the loggers a quarter of a mile away, in the direction of the log camp.
“Leave him any cartridges?” some one asked.
“You bet!” Red grinned. “’Bout a hundred. Come along toward night, and he’ll need some. That gun of his’n makes a good roar, an’ we can hear him when he gets excited.” ”

“ Red declared. “This is what we call drivin’ ’em! You see, when you get ’em all stirred up an’ runnin’ all around, good, all you got to do is set down, an’ purty soon the deers an’ bears ’ll be runnin’ right up to you, ker-slam! Got to keep yer eyes peeled, then, er they’ll jump on you, like’s not!”
“You bet!” Ross Compty exclaimed. “I’d ruther be gouged by a hemlock bark spud than git hit by one of them deer’s dew claws!”
D. Cuecy was staggering when Red stopped all hands with a yell. ”

“ They hurried down to the lobby, and by the time they were washed the cook called them to breakfast. D. Cuecy, hopeful of escaping to another seat than the one next to Red, failed. He discovered that once a man claims a seat at the table, it is his for the duration of his stay. ”

“ He departed with the wagon, but he left his luggage behind, except one suit case. He announced that he was going to return immediately. He was going to bring his friends, he said, and they’d all enjoy it so much, among such good fellows!
“Bring ’em on!” Foreman Bigger cried grinning. “We kin stand it, if you can!”
Out in the chopping the boys wondered how many of them would be mistaken for deer, when the chappies were all there. No one could tell. Foreman Bigger announced that every man would have to wear a red shirt for safety’s sake.
Instead of D. Cuecy and his friends coming, however, Mr. ”

“ I’m going to take these right home to-morrow and then I’m coming back to hunt around here a month. I got some friends ’ll be just wild to come! I just must tell Mr. Vroon how awful good you’ve been to me! ”