Part 21 (1/2)

”It's the truth, Pete Carlin, and you know it”

dickie moved closer to Carlin and her eyes met his ”You can't look ed As the , she flashed: ”Get off my dock while you're still able to walk If I was a rinned but did not oin' to have no fool girl tell me where to head in at I reckon I----”

A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and his sentence re close to Carlin's

”Beat it,” he said, ”while the trail's open”

Carlin flashed a glance over his shoulder at the fisher on in stoical silence Then he decided to go Mu to himself, he turned sullenly from the men about hi faced the silent fisherot to say But I won't have any dealings with a crook”

The men about her shuffled their feet and drew closer Then a man in a faded plaid juan to speak

”We ain't got nothin' against you, Miss Lang,” he began uncertainly

”But we've all got to look out for ourselves We got faht So is clothes and everything

We----”

”What's your proposition, Blagg?”

The fisherman hesitated at the directness of the question Then he recited: ”Straight tiht-hour day for six dollars Double money for overtime and Sundays”

dickie started at the demand Carlin had done his ell to set such a limit as that She wondered how far the seeds of discontent had spread aroups, Blagg went on:

”You see, ot families and the women-folks----”

”Don't blaot half of what the saloons leave they'd have no kick co to a half-baked fool who couldn't rew on trees All Pete Carlin can do is talk

You boys know he isn't a fisherman”

She stepped closer and her voice dropped to a conversational tone ”It just isn't in the business, boys If I proes I couldn't do it I'd be broke with the first run of bad luck and you know it as well as I do, if you'd stop to think The et out”

Blagg s, ot the offer for a job at theht here in town We won't have tothe effect of his words upon the girl, he went on, carried away by the importance of his announcement ”That's e're puttin' it up to you You've always shot pretty square with us But ot to look out for Nuo to work for a furrinor, but we all knows his ood as yours and that's what counts”