Part 14 (1/2)

She walked to the window pa.s.sing close beside Peter, paying as little attention to his presence as if he had been, an article of furniture.

”Can't you get this man to go down,” she said indicating Peter, ”and tell them it's all right?”

”Of course,” said Peter politely. ”I'll go at once. And I'd like to arrange to look over part of the estate with Wells, Mr. McGuire,” he added.

”All right, Nichols,” said the old man with a frown. And then significantly--”But remember what I've told you. Make careful arrangements before you go.”

”Yes, sir.”

Peter went down the stairs, amused at his dismissal. On the veranda he found a young man sitting on some suitcases smoking a cigarette. This was Freddy, of course. He afterwards learned that his last name was Mordaunt, that he was a part of Peggy's ambitions, and that he had been invalided home from a camp and discharged from the military service. As Freddy turned, Peter bowed politely and pa.s.sed on. Having catalogued him by his clothing, Freddy like Peggy had turned away, smoking his cigarette.

Peter thought that some Americans were born with bad manners, some achieved bad manners, and others had bad manners thrust upon them.

Impoliteness was nothing new to him, since he had been in America. It was indigenous. Personally, he didn't mind what sort of people he met, but he seemed to be aware that a new element had come to Black Rock which was to make disquietude for Jonathan K. McGuire and difficulty for himself. And yet too there was a modic.u.m of safety, perhaps, in the presence of these new arrivals, for it had been clear from his employer's demeanor that the terrors of the night had pa.s.sed with the coming of the day.

He commented on this to Shad Wells, who informed him that night was always the old man's bad time.

”Seems sort o' like he's skeered o' the dark. 'Tain't nateral. 'Fraid o'

ghosts, they say,” he laughed.

”Well,” said Peter, ”we've got our orders. And the thing he fears isn't a ghost. It's human.”

”Sure?”

”Yes. And since he's more afraid after dark he has probably had his warning. But we're not to take any chances.”

Having given his new orders to Jesse, who was to be in charge during their absence, they struck into the woods upon the other side of the Creek for the appraisal of a part of the strip known as the ”Upper Reserve.” From an att.i.tude of suspicion and sneering contempt Peter's companion had changed to one of indifference. The unfailing good humor of the new superintendent had done something to prepare the ground for an endurable relation between them. Like Beth Cameron Shad had sneered at the word ”forester.” He was the average lumberman, only interested in the cutting down of trees for the market--the commercial aspect of the business--heedless of the future, indifferent to the dangers of deforestation. Peter tried to explain to him that forestry actually means using the forest as the farmer uses his land, cutting out the mature and overripe trees and giving the seedlings beneath more light that they may furnish the succeeding crop of timber. He knew that the man was intelligent enough, and explained as well as he could from such statistics as he could recall how soon the natural resources of the country would be exhausted under the existing indifference.

”Quite a bit of wood here, Mister--enough for my job,” said Shad.

But after a while Peter began to make him understand and showed him what trees should be marked for cutting and why. They came to a burned patch of at least a hundred acres.

”Is there any organized system for fighting these fires?” Peter asked.

”System! Well, when there's a fire we go and try to put it out----”

laughed Wells.

”How do the fires start?”

”Campers--hunters mos'ly--in the deer season. Railroads sometimes--at the upper end.”

”And you keep no watch for smoke?”

”Where would we watch from?”

”Towers. They ought to be built--with telephone connection to headquarters.”

”D'ye think the old man will stand for that?”

”He ought to. It's insurance.”