Two Young Lumbermen by Edward Stratemeyer

Owen was as amazed as Dale to think that the man who had leaped on the disappearing freight train was the French-Canadian who had caused the latter so much trouble.

"Well, he's gone," said he, after a moment's pause. "It's a pity you didn't spot him before the train started."

"He didn't show himself, Owen. " Dale drew a long breath. "Do you know what I think? I think he was hanging around this town, when he saw us and made up his mind that he had better get out."

They made a number of inquiries and soon learned that Ducrot had been in Lakeport two days. He had applied to Joel Winthrop and several other lumbermen for a position, but had smelt so strongly of liquor that nobody had cared to engage him. From general indications all the lumbermen doubted if the fellow had much money in his possession.

"I'll wager he sold the horse and drank up the best part of the proceeds," said Dale. "It's a rank shame, too! I'll have to save a long time to square up with Mr. Larson. I'd give a week's wages if I could have Ducrot arrested."

"You might telegraph to the next station, Dale."

"So I might! " Dale's face brightened a little, then fell again. "But I guess I won't. It will cost extra money, and I'll have to go and identify him, and stay around when he is tried, and all that. No, I'll watch my chance to catch him some time when it is more convenient."

Promptly at the time appointed by old Joel Winthrop the journey up the lake was begun. Counting Dale and Owen there were five lumbermen on the _Lily_, which was a craft ten feet wide by about twenty feet long. The _Lily_ was to be towed along by a small tug which did all sorts of odd jobs around the lake. The bateau was piled high with the provisions and with the boxes and valises belonging to the lumbermen, not forgetting the case that contained Owen's precious violin and the green bag with the banjo.

"I see you're a player," said Joel Winthrop. "I used to scratch a fiddle myself years ago. You'll have to give us some music goin' up. " And Owen did, much to the satisfaction of all on board.

The distance to the Paxton lumber camp was over a hundred and fifteen miles, and it took five days to cover the journey. At the end of the lake the goods had to be portaged up to the river, and then had to be portaged around the falls beyond. On the West Branch and the side stream on which the camp was located the bateau had to be poled along, and owing to the low water often caught on the mud or the rocks. But nobody minded the work, and as the weather was cool and dry the journey passed off pleasantly enough.

The two strange lumbermen were from Bangor and were named Gilroy and Andrews. They were experienced hands, and Gilroy was an under boss at the camp, having charge of the North-Section Gang, as it was called. All the older men loved to talk about lumbering in general and old times in Maine in particular, and Dale and Owen listened to the conversation with interest.

"Got to go putty far back for lumber now," said Joel Winthrop. "All the good stuff nigh to the river has been cut away."

"I've heard my grandfather tell of the times when they cut good logs less than ten miles from Bangor," put in Gilroy. "I reckon they didn't think what an industry lumbering would become in these days."

"I suppose they cut nothing but pine in those days," said Dale.

"Nothing but pine, lad; spruce wasn't looked at."

"Yes, and pine was the great thing even up to the Civil War," said Joel Winthrop. "But that was the last of it, and a couple of years after the war ended spruce came to the front, and now, as you perhaps know, we cut five times as much spruce as we do anything else."

"I've often wondered how many men worked in Maine at lumbering," said Owen. "There must be a small army of us, all told."

"I heard that last year more than fourteen thousand men were in the woods," came from Andrews. "The total number of feet of all kinds of lumber cut was over half a billion."

"What a stack of logs! " cried Dale.

"No wonder we have a pine tree on the coat of arms of the State," added Owen. "But it ought to be a spruce tree now instead of a pine," he continued.