Part 4 (1/2)

CHAPTER IV

ON THE TRAIL

Heavy rain swept the valley, the evening was cold, and Ji his wet clothes He had eaten a very bad supper and iined the wooden hotel on the North trail was perhaps the worst at which he had stopped The floor was torn by lumberars lay about The board walls were cracked and stained by resin and drops of tarry liquid fell fro A door opened on a passage where a s above a row of tin basins filled with dirty water There was no effort for comfort and Jake, as tired and did not like the hard chairs, sat, s, on a box

Outside, shabby frareen river where drifting ice-floes shocked Dark woods rolled up the other bank and trails ofthe pines Patches of snow checkered the rocks above; in the distance a white range gliely desolate in the driving rain, but the s

The wagon road ended there and a very rough pack trail led into the wilds There was another hotel, to which the one

”Where's Carrie?” he asked by and by

”I guess she's tired,” Jake replied ”It has been pretty fierce for Carrie since we left the cars”

Jim frowned They had been some days on the road and the rain had not stopped It was cold rain; belts of road ashed away and the rest was full of holes, in which the loaded wagons soot wet and their clothes could not be dried, and Carrie was not sheltered much by a rubber sheet, while when they struck a wash-out all were forced to carry their tools and stores across slippery gravel

Carrie had not gruh work and Jihtn't to have come,” he said ”Why weren't you firine I could have kept her back, you don't know Carrie yet Anyhow, the bad weather won't last and we must make the head of the wire soon Surounds for speed that disturbed them both

Supplies and transport had cost h, and theirout It was obviously needful to push on the work until enough of the line was finished to justify their asking for soer was big, and looked rather truculent, although he wore neat store-clothes and new long boots His glance was quick and got ironical when he fixed his eyes on Jake

”Been so it from the railroad, haven't you?” he asked

”I expect the trip has been made in better time,” Jake admitted ”We struck a nu the road”

”You were short of transport”

”We had all we could pay for Transport co co to find out Guess your trouble is you haven't enough capital”

”The trouble's pretty co the trail to the woods”

”A sure thing,” said the other ”Well, you're not going to get rich cutting the new telegraph line Your outfit's not strong enough; you haven't stores and tools Tell you what I'll do; I'll give you seven hundred and fifty dollars to let up”

”I don't know if you're generous or if you're rash,” Jake re in cost us more than that”

”I'll take it at a valuation and you can find the men to fix the price”

Jake looked at Jim, who pondered and hesitated He was dispirited and tired, and felt that the chance of their carrying out the contract was not good It would be soet their money back

”I don't knoho you are and why you want to buy us off,” he said

”Then I'll put you wise I'm Probyn, Cartner and Dawson's et out, it, will go to them Anyhow, you can't put it over The bush is thick in the valley and there's loose gravel on the range that will roll dohen you cut your track”

”Loose gravel's bad,” Jake remarked ”If there's much of it, I don't see why Cartner and Daant the contract”

”For one thing, they reckon it's theirs Then they have et to work properly You have taken up too big a job, and now's your chance to quit If you're prudent, you won't let it go”