have a man here, he see logs, he
mark logs, I cut them."

The Supervisor swung himself from his horse and handed the reins to
Wilbur. McGinnis did the same.

"You don't need to get down, Loyle," he said; "it will not take long to
find where the logs are."

The big lumberman stepped forward with an angry gleam in his eye.

"This my mill," he said. "You have not the right to walk it over."

"This is a National Forest," was the sharp reply, "and I'm in charge of
it. I'll go just wherever I see fit. Who'll stop me?"

"Me, Josef La Blanc--I stop you."

Just then Wilbur, glancing over the circle of men, saw standing among
them Ben, the half-witted boy who lived in the old hunter's cabin.
Seeing that he was observed, the lad sidled over to Wilbur and said, in
a low voice, questioningly:

"Plenty, plenty logs? No marked?"

"Yes," said Wilbur, wondering that he should have followed the
discussion so closely.

"I know where!"

"You do?" queried Wilbur.

Ben nodded his head a great many times, until Wilbur thought it would
fall off. In the meantime Merritt and Peavey Jo, standing a few feet
apart, had been eying each other. Presently the Supervisor stepped
forward:

"Show me those logs," he ordered.

"You better keep back, I t'ink," growled the millman.

Merritt stepped forward unconcernedly, but was met with an open-hand
push that sent him reeling backward.

"I not want to fight you," he cried; "I get a plenty fight when I want
him. You no good; can't fight."

"I'm not going to fight," said the Supervisor, "but I'm going to see
where those logs are, or were. Stand aside!"

But the big Frenchman planted himself squarely in the way.

"If you hunt for the trouble," he said, "you get him sure," he said
menacingly.

"I'm not hunting for trouble, Jo, and you know it But I'm hunting logs,
and I'll find them."

He was just about to step forward, trusting to quickness to dodge the
blow that he could see would be launched at him, when Ben, who had been
whispering to Wilbur, lurched over to the Supervisor and pulled his arm.

"Plenty, plenty logs, no mark," he said loudly; "I know where. I show
you. They are up--"

But he never finished the sentence, for the lumberman, taking one step
forward, drove his left fist square at the side of the boy's jaw,
dropping him insensible before he could give the information which
Merritt was seeking.

But unexpected as the blow had been, it was met scarcely a second later