Page:Hugh Pendexter--The young timber-cruisers.djvu/118

 course, he’s glad to pay off any scores he thinks he owes the company, but he’d never monkey ’round Charlie’s camp less there was a jug of rum and a few dollars in it for pay. I don’t give a rap about finding him; I’m only anxious to find them he’s going to report to.”

Stanley felt but little confidence as the two men made ready to leave, but Bub displayed no loss of spirits. “See that bunch of red spruce?” shortly inquired Abner, pointing, as Stanley thought, in a very indefinite manner.

Bub did not suspend his shrill whistling, but nodded cheerfully.

“When ye strike it ye’ll find a back-blaze to the north. The way is so plain you can’t get lost. Two miles will fetch ye to the shack. It must have been put up in the old days when they was cutting the old-growth. Ah, them was the days,” and Abner sighed as he contrasted the giants of his boyhood, when one spruce might scale more than fifteen hundred feet, with the logs of today.

“All right,” said Bub. “Grab your duffle, Stan, and we’ll be moving. So long, folks.”

Stanley had expected a different parting, a shaking of hands, a show of regret, and for the moment he felt hurt at the curtness of their leave taking. Charlie gave them no heed