Part 5 (2/2)
But on the way, we'll have a little palaver with Smoky.”
A half hour later, Al drove his pickup into the Delbert yard, to find another truck there ahead of him. It belonged to Loring Blade, the warden, who was talking with Smoky. He turned to nod at Al and Ted.
”Hi!”
Al said, ”I won't be but a minute, Lorin'.” He held the steel trap out to Smoky Delbert. ”This yours?”
Smoky looked at him through insolent, half-closed eyes. ”Nope.”
”You lie in your teeth! I've told you before not to set traps before furs are prime. I'm tellin' you again and this is the last time.”
”What goes on?” Blade demanded.
”Nothin' you can help, Lorin'. Smoky, if I find you poachin' in the Mahela once more, I'm goin' to beat you within an inch of your life!”
”You got any ideas along that line,” Smoky remained insolent, ”come shootin'.”
Al said, ”I can do that, too!”
3
THE CAMP
Sprawled on his favorite bearskin in the Harkness living room, Tammie dreamed a dog's good dreams and his paws twitched with excitement as he lived again some old adventure. Al, sitting in front of the fireplace, studied the bed of glowing coals within it as though they were as fascinating as the first coals he had ever seen. Sitting at the table with a pen in his hand, a pile of fresh paper on one side and a pile of crumpled sheets on the other, Ted was busy writing.
He laid the pen down, picked up what he had just written and frowned over it. Making a motion to crumple this paper too, he thought better of it and called, ”How's this, Dad? 'For Rent, furnished camp in the Mahela. Bunks for eight. Forty-five dollars a week in small game season, sixty in deer season. Available for season. Ted Harkness, R.D. 2, Lorton.'”
Al shrugged. ”Says 'bout everythin' you got to say.”
”I don't know.” Ted's frown deepened. ”'Bunks for eight,' it says. If a bunch of deer hunters take the place, they may bring twelve or sixteen.
Do you think I should say, 'Bring extra cots for more than eight?'”
”Mighty important point,” Al said gravely, ”but do you figure you got to throw out that much sign?
”If I was readin' that and wanted to rent a camp and saw 'bunks for eight,' I'd calc'late that there wasn't bunks for ten or sixteen. I'd figger that, if I brought more than eight, I'd best bring somethin' for 'em to sleep on.”
”If I say 'accommodations for eight,' and a bigger party wanted to take the camp, they might pa.s.s it up.”
”'Bunks' is the word,” Al p.r.o.nounced. ”Why it's pra'tically liter-choor.
City people are always gettin' accommodations. Might help rent your camp if they knew they was goin' to sleep on bunks.”
”That's a point,” Ted agreed. He continued to frown thoughtfully. ”Now this 'available for season,' do you think I should say at ten per cent discount?”
”Nope.”
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