The Blazed Trail

d the details of the cat

'ree tam in de day, but nevaire dat she get drown! W'en dose dam-fool can't t'ink wit'

ay, doubtfully shaking his head, after Laveque had left

ht, with so much snow atop,"

uite overlooked Fabian's just contention-that the mere thinness of the ice was in reality no excuse for the losing of the

ckson. "I no work wid dat dam-f

ss would cause. And besides, the animals themselves are difficult to replace. They are big strong beasts, selected for their power, staying qualities, and intelligence, worth anywhere from three to six hundred dollars a pair. They must be shipped in from

he decided to advance Bob Stratton to the post, that "decker" having had more or less experience the year before. Erickson, the Swede, while not a

e had so intelligently acquired while road-making, for now a false stroke marred a saw-log; and besides, what was more to his taste, he foun

knew that each of the things he saw, no matter how trivial, was either premeditated or the product of chance. If premeditated, he tried to f

hs of log; how the timber was skilfully decked on the skids in such a manner that the pile should not bulge and fall, and so that the scaler could easily determine the opposite ends of the

th an air of steady responsibility about him. He came from the southern part of the State, where, during the summer, he worked on a little homestead farm of his own. After a fe

l spring," said Paul wistfully. "She's the best little woman a

h, clear passion. As he contemplated the abounding health, the upright carriage, the sparkling, bubbling spirits of t

ping, Paul, during their early morning walk from camp to

ells me," he hesitated with a blush, and then a happy laugh, "th

!" querie

f it's a girl she gets name

n the pitchy aromatic top of an old bull-sap, clipping away at t

nd then the swish-sh-sh,-

the saw was to divide the logs. Then Tom shouted something unintelligible. The other men seemed to understand, however, for they dropped their work and ran

nducting coolly a hasty examination. At the

ly?" asked Thor

ered one of the o

litter on which the body was placed. The pathetic lit

leaving suspended in the branches of the latter a long heavy limb. A

to see men crushed and mangled in a hundred ingenious ways by the saw log, knocked into space and a violent death by the butts of trees, ground to powder in the mill of a jam, but never would he be more deeply impressed than by this ruthless silent taking of a life. The f

le hang. After supper Thorpe was approached by Purdy, the repti

in a quiet voice. "It's a f

said

e proceeds of a week's hard work, and that without expecting the slightest personal credit. The money was sent "from the boys." Thorpe later read a heart-broken letter of thanks to the unknown benefactors. It touched him deeply, and he suspected the other men of the same emotions, but by tha

the knack. Towards Christmas he had become a fairly efficient cant-hook man, and was helping roll the great sticks of timber up the slanti

en raised in the woods. He seemed to know by instinct the haunts and habits of all the wild animals, just as he seemed

ays during the middle of the day. On soft moccasined feet they stole about in the evening with a bull's-eye lantern fastened on the head

progress in the difficult art of still hunting, where the man matches his senses against those of the creatures of the forest,-and sometimes wins. He soon knew better than to cut the anima

ung man could interpret the thousands of signs, so insignificant in appearance and so import

nemy; and in return that great inscrutable power poured into his heart a portion of her grandeur. His ambition grew; and, as always with him, his determination became the greater and the mo

f the winter he would have but a little over a hundred dollars to show for his season's work, and this could mean at most only fifty dollars for Helen. But the future was his. He saw now more plain