Page:Hugh Pendexter--The young timber-cruisers.djvu/155

 the company expects to be engaged in lumbering. And each year sees the timber run into more money. Why, we have one section, a square mile, you know, that was bought in thirty or forty years ago for thirty-five thousand dollars. Abner says the company has refused a million for it since. Some increase, eh?”

“So, some of the operators cut clean, eh?” mused Stanley.

“Do they cut clean?” cried Bub. “Well, I guess they do. I remember being in Windy Peters’ place up near Jackman just after he’d finished cutting on Jim Rawlins’ cant. Rawlins is a land-owner and sells his stumpage to operators. It seems Peters made a clean sweep. Well, Rawlins come in, as smooth as could be, smiling and hand shaking and Peters watching him out the corner of his eye. The first thing Rawlins said was, ‘You’ve always used me well, Peters, and I want to be square with you. Now I ain’t any objections to your taking a crew and some bush hooks and going over on that cant and getting the rest of the timber.’ Meaning, of course, Windy Peters had taken everything but the bushes.”

Stanley’s lesson was here interrupted by