| Show BE it E JP aw low OW do I 1 RO JUL fl Ha amt 91 at ls L 1141 4 A romance fornance or nance of the north woods 1033 IS 31 hr A R t I 1 L D TITUS service SYNOPSIS tom belknap big timber 0 operator ordered by his physicians to take a complete rest plans a three months trip abroad promises of advancement he has hag made to his son john are broken and the young man Is indignant paul gorbel belknapp Gel Bel knaps partner whom john cordially dislikes Is a bone of contention rat father herand and bonpart son part without IL a co complete m understanding at shoestring his train delayed by a wreck john joh n Is ordered to leave at once he i refuses alter after a fist highl hla his attack attackers drs realize it to Is a case of mistaken identity john learns his father Is delleves bel bell leveS eved to be out to wreck the richards lumber company bewildered wil dered and unbelieving he seeks employment with that company at the office he finds gorbel bullying a young girl and throws min him out CHAPTER it IT continued gorbel struggled but theloa the lock on his wrist was secure he bent forward for or relief 1 a as ic john opened opened the door ithe bold old night surge surged dinon in on them and then the one was running down the tops steps to regain the balance that the others shove had imperiled at the bottom he whirled and lifted his big face normally handsome now wrenched with rage you swine 1 he cried pay for this I 1 collect theal but you stay away froni from here herd until youre sent fort get that he closed the door and turned back to the office removing his cap as he went I 1 brighter lights burned now for foi a cluster in iii the ceiling lied had been switched on the girl sat at a littered desk in the middle of the room pale shoulders hunched head bowed he stopped poised in stir surprise prise she was the girl tie he had seen in the station waiting fig room and with her coat and hat removed in the jersey dress which exposed a graceful column of throat sha was as out opt of place in this office with I 1 Us its battered desks desk s and dingy walls ad as a flower in a wood yard I 1 john spoke he called me an eavesdropper I 1 guess in a way he was wha right fIght I fortunately you heard she murmured and then looked up ohl oh I 1 oh 1 know it was youl she brushed brushe d at her soft short hair nervously and managed a sort of smile 1 I I 1 wanted to tel you how how sorry I 1 am that the boys did what they did wont you come in she rose and he could see that she aas was rA rallying lIyIng her composure compo composure suie ra rapidly 1 I feel like an intruder he said advancing van cing 1 I came over here on the chance that I 1 might find the manager and ran into the late unpleasantness I 1 1 I ain am the mh manager nager she said simply and now surprise had him hIni wholly so eo completely that he blinked and laughed outright what a t I 1 you why a girl in shyh this s mess she hushed flushed deeply 1 I guess what it Is a mess even strangers know I 1 I 1 am ellen nichalas charAs nic ni hards this was my fathers company iye ive been trying to carry on for oyer a year now since he since he be lied died oh herald he said dully oh ohl I 1 a bit this Ilme and in a sort of relief rather than or stupefaction bellef Il ellef because it was wag a girl on whom his father made warl ip ij simplified matters bior for a chap in sin an embarrassing position A mon man even edep in a pinch might want to fight through io to the finish on his own resources con aces 41 arl like this the sort of girl you took lo 10 to tea and the theater and to supper clubs a 6 nice girl who looked as though she r read ead books and played golf and would complete the picture of a smart roadster would be needing help lots of helal immediately 1 I itaas lt her r tough luck that she hod incurred the attention of an old tyrant such as his father was turning out to be his good luck that she was in trouble hied with animus as he was fo V ra old ld tom and aching as he was to show what he could do well he said hs as he took tle chair the ehe indicated and andin in the lation waw was a deal of satisfaction as of one suddenly rounding round ln a dubious corner antoan into an unexpected act led bonanzas bon bonanza anzai 1 it was terrible the way the boys net met you she said theres an excuse lor for lt it of af course it itcan can be explained by the fact that so worked up over what whai has been going on and so loyal to my fathers memory that they do these things regardless of my I 1 wishes im ilin im so sor sorry ry I 1 I 1 feel eel ie responsible for it and borther for their ther hurting you he touched his cut up dont mind me As I 1 understand the situation jt you u seem to have troubles enough without wory lug about abdat a scratch oma on a stran stranger gerl I 1 her eyes byes dropped and it was awfully generous of you to to do what you did just now voice trembling ever so no little first we hear bear that tom belknapp Belk Bel napa knaps bully Is coming here to harm barm more of nay my men and we beat you up idour in our erelt excitement ement next you walk in here to find tom belknapp Belk Bel knaps napa partner demanding surrender and save me embarrassment there are some matters a girl cant handle ilone alone john stirred uneasily to tell a girl contempt and animosity that he ha was that mans son eon was a bit more of an ordeal than he cared to undertake considering his objective ile he had found her in a mans job in a mans fight confronted with a mans problems but she was no man a girl with feminine reactions and prejudices and to reveal his identity would terminate this talk abruptly his heart went down and then I 1 rebounded sandys letter rested in itis his billfold bill fold good old sandy so rattled aled at writing a let letter ter of character that he left out the once important but now damning third of his name I 1 he picked up her last words yes a lot of matters a girl cant handle alone but his steady gaze on her face was not one of sampat or understanding ile he was sizing herup stud studying jing her in the light of a possible vehicle for that urge for vengeance throwing your caller out was simple limpid maybe it wont be so easy to 0 help you la in other things but what I 1 came here for to ask for a chanca to camo I 1 try meaning just what she asked with an odd bluntness for a girl that I 1 understand youre looking for a woods superintendent and id like to take on the chore and that what brought you to shoestring surely it was a surge of relief the sudden dawning damning of an unlooked for hope which unsteadied led her tone then I 1 well now a young man cant lie ca can n he not to a girl who for a an instant and even through the concentration of a savage purpose seems peculiarly lovely to behold no this young man could not but for the sake of attaining his goal he may evade a little may he not ive just finished one job I 1 dont know how good I 1 am id like to find oar yes a lot of matters a girl cant handle alone 11 out when I 1 heard of the jam youre in here lifting one hand and giving it a little twist as though the explanation were self evident 1 I thought it might be a good place to see what fm good for what im wound on A moment of silence followed he could see the pulses leaping in her throat and his own heart speeded a trifle A girl in a corner should welcome such a chance and he waited anticipating that welcome but it did not come instead of figuratively falling on his neck and hailing him as the savior of the day she folded her small hands and looked at him with a gaze as searching as it was level perhaps youre asking for more than you understand in the way of trouble I 1 mean I 1 need help and right away but I 1 want any man to come to work for me without knai knowing xing just how desperate the situation it that you see be fair to to the sort of man I 1 need people who have known this company tor for years figure that we are through even the men on the job have the notion that were marked paid perhaps they are right im trying to prove them wrong 1 I it t might be simpler if I 1 knew just how much you have heard ile he told her tersely the gossip he had listened to in the past hour and she nodded slowly those things are all true theres a fundamental problem of finance however which Is behind it all the bank of kampfert Kam now owned by belknap gorbel corbel holds enough of our paper to make our statement look very bad we can hope for nothing but embarrassing demands there the only way we can meet those obligations and keep from being sold out t to 0 satisfy them Is to keep the mill sawing I 1 can borrow on lumber la in the yard from milwaukee banks largely because we have some very fayo favorable rable contracts however the contracts will be voided unless we are prepared to meet their terms of regular and prompt deliveries the way out now cow goes back to keeping the mill logged and running things been any too smooth at the woods end you know what we wa are up against in the matter of transportation evidently we cant spend a keep afloat with what we have or go down she paused and john had it a queer feeling annoyance at her apparent competence I 1 snow came early and were going to have trouble with it we have fourteen miles of railroad through chop pings where drifting will be certain I 1 was worried tonight and went looking for tiny and waybill way bill my engineer and conductor to have them take the plow out if it let up how I 1 happened lopp ened to see your reception the snow has stopped were safe for tonight how long well be safe no one can tell without fighting snow weve been unable to build up a reserve of logs inthe in the A three day dai shut down would ruin us she paused again and her eyes shifted a moment from his intent scrutiny she talked like a man a business man but that change in her face indicated to john that she was playing up to a part downing her weaknesses and limitations with an effort which gave her a superficial veneer of coldness hardness no things been going so well in the woods I 1 kept royce my fathers old superintendent on because I 1 could trust him absolutely and I 1 I 1 need men I 1 can trust the shell she had built about herself giving way ever so little for the moment we were just getting along when mr air belknup himself came up to kamp test fest 11 johns mouth tightened and his brows gathered closer he seems to have arranged things very well for a year mr gorbel his partner has been asking me to put a price on the property I 1 have refused after mr belknap left the process of forcing us out began they overtaxed our railroad with their logs then mr air Bel belknapp Belkna knaps pg hired thug put my superintendent out of the picture the camp foreman mark saunders up to the lob job two others who are good loggers wont come now that the story has got around that tom belknap Is after the richards hide that Is the situation she ended ab abruptly what a superintendent will have to confront who are you to do it he smiled despite the tha unpleasant conviction that this ellen richards was going to be amazingly hard to deal with and reached into a pocket for his billfold bill fold A fellow like to polish his own medals he laughed a bit nervously as he considered the thin ice on which he was treading ive only held one job that amounted to any thing fingering through the papers in the wallet ive had four years in forestry restry fc school but the value of that remains to be proven I 1 suppose he handed over sandys letter 1 I dont know what you expect in the way of personal qualifications I 1 swear when it always necessary I 1 smoke cigarettes ive been known to drink some I 1 dont know all that there Is to know about hardwood logging by a long shot she was not reading the letter watching him instead as though his words or manner intrigued her id be interested in this job principally because it would would show what I 1 could do and im curious to know how good or how bad I 1 am ive done my best to size up my own shortcomings as for the rest ill leave it to sandy mclver mciver gesturing towards the letter she held the girls eyes dropped to the scrawl and her mouth twitched it was coming now he feltl felt I 1 she was going to jump at the chance of getting help helal I 1 he leaned forward a bit a fine letter mr steele she said witch hill I 1 dont know tho the company she looked at him as it if slightly puzzled and paused a moment then decisively id like to have you go to camp with me tomorrow morning after a few hours on the job ill give you an answer she rose with a manner of dismissal and john belknap masquerading now as john steele got to his feet annoyed and confounded fair enough he said it was all there was to say what time seven sharp in the mill yard good night and once more I 1 thank you for for what you did here that was nil all right he said td rd be glad to take on a row with a hand like gorbel I 1 he did not heed the slight huskiness that had bad been in her voice indication that thinking back to her encounter brought a recurrence of fright he did not care what went on in the mind or the heart of ellen richards except for what she might think or feel of him as an applicant for a chance to show his father indeed what he was wound on I 1 CHAPTER III he was in the mill yard early watching ellen clad in mackinaw Mackl naw and breeches and bacs as she watched the loading load ing of camp supplies she was waa crisp intent businesslike business like and greeted him almost curtly tiny temple reached down from the locomotive cab to shake his hand waybill way bill took a moment to apologize john could see that both were watching him closely probably wondering about his errand lie ile strolled about watched the mill saw looked olef over equipment in the yard with the train under way he sat alone in the doghouse dog house of the way car while ellen remained below talking earnestly with the conductor her words reached him occasionally and always they were of the country savoring in phrase and In Ini flexion lexion of the timber she was a daughter of the camps amps for certain sprung from the same stock which had bad given him birth birtia out to the northward they tolled up mile after mile of stiff grade and after seven miles they crossed the mainline main maln line brench branch with its water tank and tenders house from the crossing they rocked and clanked down long grades towards the distant timber stopped at the belknap gorbel camps spotted cais cars and then went on another three miles to richards camp sixteen woods headquarters he just followed her around he met men sounders saunders the foreman jack talt tait the barn boss the cook the sealer scaler the clerk jerry tubbs fat and asthmatic ile he heard her talk to these men as he himself would have talked to men in his employ directly tersely in their own language but now and again he heard items which indicated the sorry deficiencies in her experience for such a task as that confronting her he kept his eyes as well as ears open he asked questions of ellen occasionally and of a man here and there but all the time he was restive up on the bit growing hourly more provoked with a girl who needed him but who would keep him waiting I 1 but in late afternoon when she led the way into the office deserted for the moment she changed ceased to be the assured young business busine sg woman filling a mans shoes more or less competently the crude office was silent and john closed the door she dr dropped to a chair as though suddenly weakened and her mouth worked then she looked up with it a wry little smile and asked well what to do you think of it allay haywire hay wire 1 he exploded its slow costly a joke no wonder youre soure in trouble with a woods job run like this one I 1 well what would you d do or she asked trying to put some tone of 0 challenge into the words and falling failing he stood there and told her what he would do and 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