ay-so. He knew very well that the structure had been erected by and
belonged to Morrison & Daly, but the young man had had the foresight to
purchase the land lying on the deep water side of the bay. He therefore
anticipated no trouble in unloading; for while Morrison & Daly owned the
pier itself, the land on which it abutted belonged to him.

From the arms of the bay he could make out a dozen figures standing near
the end of the wharf. When, with propeller reversed, the Pole Star bore
slowly down towards her moorings, Thorpe recognized Dyer at the head of
eight or ten woodsmen. The sight of Radway's old scaler somehow filled
him with a quiet but dangerous anger, especially since that official,
on whom rested a portion at least of the responsibility of the jobber's
failure, was now found in the employ of the very company which had
attempted that failure. It looked suspicious.

"Catch this line!" sung out the mate, hurling the coil of a handline on
the wharf.

No one moved, and the little rope, after a moment, slid overboard with a
splash.

The captain, with a curse, signalled full speed astern.

"Captain Morse!" cried Dyer, stepping forward. "My orders are that you
are to land here nothing but M. & D. merchandise."

"I have a right to land," answered Thorpe. "The shore belongs to me."

"This dock doesn't," retorted the other sharply, "and you can't set foot
on her."

"You have no legal status. You had no business building in the first
place--" began Thorpe, and then stopped with a choke of anger at the
futility of arguing legality in such a case.

The men had gathered interestedly in the waist of the ship, cool,
impartial, severely critical. The vessel, gathering speed astern, but
not yet obeying her reversed helm, swung her bow in towards the dock.
Thorpe ran swiftly forward, and during the instant of rubbing contact,
leaped.

He alighted squarely upon his feet. Without an instant's hesitation,
hot with angry energy at finding his enemy within reach of his hand, he
rushed on Dyer, and with one full, clean in-blow stretched him stunned
on the dock. For a moment there was a pause of astonishment. Then the
woodsmen closed upon him.

During that instant Thorpe had become possessed of a weapon It came
hurling through the air from above to fall at his feet. Shearer, with
the cool calculation of the pioneer whom no excitement can distract
from the main issue, had seen that it would be impossible to follow his
chi