ms to have made
Norton and my storekeepers his friends. If he hadn't, there might have
been trouble about certain irregularities. However, you can have the
gravel gang if I'm forced to lay the boys off, and as soon as we can run
the train over the repaired track you'll get your cheque."

Festing went away, feeling satisfied, but not without some anxiety. He
could not urge Norton to go farther than his employer would approve, and
the payment agreed upon was small. Besides, if the frost returned before
he had made the track secure, he would have spent enough money in
extra wages to prevent his going on, and should this happen it might be
difficult to obtain payment for other work already completed. He would
be at the mercy of Norton's employer, who might contend that by throwing
up his contract he had forfeited his claim. It was obvious that he must
make the utmost use of every hour of open weather, and for the rest of
the day he worked with a stubborn energy that conquered fatigue.

For a time, the logs went screaming and grinding down the skids, but
darkness made launching them dangerous, and they could not light the
lumber road on the hill. They worked in the dark, rolling out the sawn
trunks from among the brush and melting snow until there was room to
hook on the team. Then the driver, walking by his horses' heads,
felt with his feet for the hollowed track, and losing it now and
then embedded his load in snow. Then he called for help, and men with
cantpoles laboriously hove the ponderous mass back to the road.

The work was worse on the inclines, where the logs ran smoothly and
there was a risk of their overtaking the horses. Rain had begun to fall
and one could not see the obstacles, but there were pitches where one
must go fast in order to keep in front of the dangerous loads. But risks
must be run in lumbering, and Festing felt that rashness was justified.
Speed was the thing that counted most.

When supper time drew near, men and horses were worn out, and Festing
knew that if he urged the former to continue he could not do much
without the teams. There were, however, a few logs he meant to haul
to the skidway before he stopped, and he had some misgivings when he
started with the last. It was an unusually large trunk, and the tired
horses floundered as they tightened the chain. Thawing snow when beaten
hard is as slippery as ice, but the animals kept their feet and the mass
began to move. Festing got a firm gri