Raymond S. Spears

“ He looked down into the gorges with such emotions as ruin gives a man. He was tempted to spring down into the ice, and, stopping at one point, he did walk out on a ledge of granite which the wind had swept bare of snow to look at the stream far below. Looking, he witnessed the opening of the rifts by the passing down of the ice. ”

“ The Bandsaw Company, masters of credit in the valley, refused him the thing that would save him his contract, save him his life’s saving.
In refusing him the credit, they were exercising their privilege, and in exercising their privilege they could save all the payments due to Kame for the previous summer’s cut, winter haul, and the final profit on a good drive. They would get all the work done for the cost of what they called a “sheriff’s drive,” or a “bondsman’s drive” down the river. The scheme would add a matter of twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars to the profits of the company. ”

“ Kame declared.
“I told you that if the logs came down you would be paid,” Betes reminded him. “We live by the contract. I’ll tell—I’ll tell you the truth. The ice to-day broke the south crib and we could not let the logs come down till it’s repaired and a new one built. If you set the dam down—Lord! You know what’ll happen.”
"Sure I do! But go on; your voice is music in my ear as I get ready to die——”
“You don’t believe me! You wouldn’t—— Say! Say! Wait! I’ll tell you! I’ll bring in witnesses!”
"Call them in, and I’ll hear you talk to them,” Kame jeered. “’Tis sweet music, you scoundrel. ”

“ Betes had the log chains on Kame!
Kame went on up through the clearings to the big woods, and along the road to the log camps twenty miles from the mill town. He drove to the stable and put up his horse. It was a big, cold stable, but there was a warm little den for the light roadster, which began immediately to munch the oats and corn Kame threw into the feed box for it. Then he crossed to the camp just at dawn.
He walked out to the little shed under the trees a hundred yards from the camp, with big signs painted in red and black on all sides:
“DANGER!” ”

“ Returning to the camp, he piled four of the boxes of thawed sticks on the wood sled and hauled them to the dam. He returned and brought down the other boxes, and then looked the cribbing and filling over for the best place to put the staff to lift the structure out of the way of the hundred million cubic feet of water held back by the dam.
“Yes, sir,” he said to himself. “When that water starts I expect it’ll take those logs right down to the boom—them that ain’t washed out over the hills. Some’ll get down!”
“I’ll just go tell Betes what’s coming,” he said to himself. ”

“ It’s a one-man drive this time, so here goes. I thought you’d like to know it.”
“Oh, what you giving me!” Betes jeered. “One man drive those logs down? Not in a hundred years!”
“Well, the ice was going out last night, and I thought——”
“It’s all down against the boom this morning. Didn’t know for certain if it’d stop.” Betes laughed. “Broke chains on the inside strands. We got ’em fixed this morning, though. We’re all ready for them; I’ll telephone when the first log comes down.”
Kame hesitated. Betes was mocking him.
“I mean it,” Kame declared. “The drive begins to-day.” ”