Page:Hugh Pendexter--The young timber-cruisers.djvu/433

 man with your demands on my pocketbook. You can be—”

“Show him the bark,” directed Thaxter. “He annoys me with his coarse ways.”

Abner stepped to the desk and brought out the beech panel and held it up before Nace’s dull eyes. “It was taken from the boundary tree, on our line,” grinned the cruiser. “The tree is there now.”

Nace gave a bellow and was about to clutch the precious bark, but Abner drew it from his reach, while something clicked in Hatton’s concealed hand. “Easy, Nace,” warned the manager.

Then Thaxter concisely outlined the case against the cornered operator, informing him of the death of two of his henchmen and the arrest of the other two. “I would prosecute you for their attempt at murder, but I might not be able to secure a conviction,” he concluded. “So I strike at your pocketbook and drive you from politics. Needless to say your life would not be worth much if ever you go into the woods again. When may I expect you to send out certified checks for the sums mentioned?”

“Within two days,” surrendered Nace, now utterly humbled.