ces. But
they would make the trip so quickly that she began to have grave
doubts. They might worm their way out of many difficulties, and still
make the camps while her teams were on the first lap of the journey.
So far, she had seen nothing of her competitor, Al Drummond.

There reached the Mulligan Supply Company a telegram from Demarest
instituting a standing order for baled alfalfa, and instructing that
all freight be hauled by Jo so long as she could keep ahead of the
congestion and haul as cheaply as others. Promptly, then, Jo loaded to
capacity with hay, and they were off again.

Four light trucks had preceded her with case goods, for Ragtown's
store, she supposed. But the remainder of the fleet remained idle at
Julia, and seemed to have no business. Jo was reasonably sure that,
for old friendship's sake, Philip Demarest would see to it that she got
all of his hauling, providing she could make deliveries to his
satisfaction. She thought that until new camps settled on the
grade--camps of bigger contractors who would buy their supplies direct
and not depend on Demarest, Spruce & Tillou--Mr. Drummond would have
many idle days. Then, of course, he might cut to the bone on the
freight rate, and Jo feared that, with the trucks eating nothing while
they rested, Drummond might be better able to withstand a rate war.

They were held up by the genial but exacting Tehachapi Hank at the foot
of the grade, as on their last trip. Jo paid cash this time, and
demanded a receipt, as ordered to do by Tweet.

As the wagon train neared the highest point in the pass she noticed
that her whites and Hiram's blacks seemed to be lagging behind. Still,
both teams seemed to be moving briskly enough and steadily. But the
other teams were far in the lead.

Then Hiram's wagon entered upon a system of hairpin curves, and for
nearly fifteen minutes none of her skinners was in sight.

She continued to wonder at the unwonted speed of the skinners ahead of
Hiram.

Just as she reached the outmost point of a bow in the second hairpin
curve, she heard a dull rumble behind her. Looking back, she saw
nothing unusual, for in this place the road wound about U's and S's in
the mountainside, and one could not see far along it, either ahead or
behind. Deciding that a tree had fallen, she dismissed the matter from
her thoughts, and gave her attention to manipulating the jerkline over
an exacting piece of road.

She worked out of the cu