f timber land for feeding
their pulp-mills, and the more city sports there are hanging round on
the tracts and building fires, the more danger of a big blaze catching
somewhere. And railroads bring sports. You don't hear of any lumbermen
grumbling about the Poquette carry."

"I should say, then, this section should have a little enterprise shaken
into it," said Whittaker, tartly. This promised opposition promptly
fired his modern spirit of progress.

After he and his manager had returned to their duties in the city, the
surprising word began to go about the district that next year there
would be a railroad across Poquette carry. When the rumor was traced to
Rowe, he found himself in for a good deal of rough badinage for allowing
two city sportsmen to "guy" him.

The postmaster at Sunkhaze was a subscriber to a daily paper, every
word of which he read. One day, among the inconspicuous notices of "New
Corporations," he found this paragraph:

"Poquette Carry Railway Company, organized for the purpose of
constructing and operating a line of railroad between Spinnaker Lake and
West Branch River. President, G. Howard Whittaker; vice-president and
general manager, George P. Jerrard; secretary and treasurer, A. L.
Bevan. Capital stock $100,000; $5,000 paid in."

After the postmaster had read that twice, he strode out of his little
pen. Men in larrigans and leggings were huddled round the stove, for
the autumn crispness comes early in the mountains. The postmaster's eye
singled out Seth Bowers, the guide.

"Say, Seth," he inquired, "wa'n't your sports last summer named
Whittaker and Jerrard--the men ye had in on the Kennemagon waters?"

"Yes."

"Well, you boys listen to this," and the postmaster read the item with
unction.

"Looks 's if they were going ahead, and as if there wasn't so much wind
to it, after all," observed one of the party.

"That Poquette Carry road hasn't been touched by shovel or pick for more
than three years, and I don't believe that Col. Gid Ward and his crowd
ever intend to hire another day's work on it. Colonel Gid says every
operator and sport from Clew to Erie goes across there, and if there's
any ro'd-repairin' all hands ought to turn to an' help on the expense."

"This new railroad idea ought to hit him all right, then," remarked
Seth, the guide.

"Well," remarked the postmaster, "I'd just like to be round--far enough
off so's the chips and splinters wouldn't hit me--when some one steps