cooks, and
housekeepers.

It was hospitality rude and lavish. That low, dark room with its tiers
of bunks along the four sides, its heaped tables, its air of
uncalculated plenty, housed the recrudescence of feudalism in Yankee
surroundings. And the lord of the manor set his jug at one end of the
table and ordered the big boss to pipe all hands to grog.

"A pretty good lot, Ben," he commented as they crowded around. "And this
here is something in the way of appreciation."

"Mr. Harlan coming out here to meet me, or am I going in and hunt him
up?" inquired Kyle. "I suppose he has located most of the operations for
next season."

"You'll take them in. Harlan won't be out for a while." He turned and
walked away, the chairman with him.

"Your grandson seems to be as much in love with the woods as ever,"
commented Presson. "But I shouldn't think you'd want him to associate
with this kind of cattle all his life, herding Canuck goats on a logging
operation. You've got money enough, the two of you. He ought to get out
into the world, find an up-to-date girl for a wife, and get married."

Thornton had led the way out into the sunshine, and was strolling about
the yard, hands behind his back.

"Luke," he confided after a few moments, "you've just tapped me where
I'm tender. Look here, if it was just me and me only that this hoorah
here to-day was hitting, I'd tell 'em to take their damnation nomination
and make it a cock-horse for any reformer that wants to ride. I'd do
it, party or no party! But the minute it leaked out that I was putting
Harlan up for the caucus they turned on me. And now I propose to show
'em."

The chairman stopped and stared at his friend. That piece of news had
not reached him till then.

"You don't mean to tell me," he demanded, "that you're going to take
this time of all others to swap horses? Why, Harlan Thornton can't play
politics! He doesn't know--"

"He don't need to. I'll play it for him. Between you and me, Luke, he
doesn't even know yet that he's going to run for the legislature. I'm
keeping him up in the woods so that he won't know. He's one of those
stiff-necked young colts that wants to do only what he wants to do in a
good many things." He added the last with a growl of disgust. "And he
won't allow that any old man can tell him a few things that he doesn't
know."

"Now, Thelismer," protested the chairman, "I don't know anything about
what's going on in your family, here, and I d