doors to wait
for Jerry. That individual appeared to be long in coming, and loud
voices in the kitchen attested to further argument. At last, however, he
lounged out and began to fill a pipe.

"Jerry, I want to talk to you," said Kurt. "Let's get away from the
house."

The hired man was a big, lumbering fellow, gnarled like an old oak-tree.
He had a good-natured face and honest eyes.

"I reckon you want to hear about them I.W.W. fellers?" he asked, as they
walked away.

"Yes," replied Kurt.

"There's been a regular procession of them fellers, the last week or so,
walkin' through the country," replied Jerry. "To-day's the first time
any of them got to me. But I've heerd talk. Sunday when I was in Palmer
the air was full of rumors."

"Rumors of what?" queried Kurt.

"All kinds," answered Jerry, nonchalantly scratching his stubby beard.
"There's an army of I.W.W.'s comin' in from eastward. Idaho an' Montana
are gittin' a dose now. Short hours; double wages; join the union;
sabotage, whatever thet is; capital an' labor fight; threats if you
don't fall in line; an' Lord knows what all."

"What did those two fellows want of you?"

"Wanted us to join the I.W.W.," replied the laborer.

"Did they want a job?"

"Not as I heerd. Why, one of them had a wad of bills thet would choke a
cow. He did most of the talkin'. The little feller with the beady eyes
an' the pock-marks, he didn't say much. He's Austrian an' not long in
this country. The big stiff--Glidden, he called himself--must be some
shucks in thet I.W.W. He looked an' talked oily at first--very
persuadin'; but when I says I wasn't goin' to join no union he got sassy
an' bossy. They made me sore, so I told him to go to hell. Then he said
the I.W.W. would run the whole Northwest this summer--wheat-fields,
lumberin', fruit-harvestin', railroadin'--the whole kaboodle, an' thet
any workman who wouldn't join would git his, all right."

"Well, Jerry, what do you think about this organization?" queried Kurt,
anxiously.

"Not much. It ain't a square deal. I ain't got no belief in them. What I
heerd of their threatenin' methods is like the way this Glidden talks.
If I owned a farm I'd drive such fellers off with a whip. There's goin'
to be bad doin's if they come driftin' strong into the Bend."

"Jerry, are you satisfied with your job?"

"Sure. I won't join the I.W.W. An' I'll talk ag'in' it. I reckon a few
of us will hev to do all the harvestin'. An', considerin'