“I have a little pine up in the northern peninsula within walking distance of Marquette,” said Thorpe, “and I want to get a crew of about twenty men. It occurred to me that you might be willing to help me.”
The riverman frowned steadily at his interlocutor from under his bushy brows.
“How much pine you got?” he asked finally.
“About three hundred millions,” replied Thorpe quietly.
The old man's blue eyes fixed themselves with unwavering steadiness on Thorpe's face.
“You're jobbing some of it, eh?” he submitted finally as the only probable conclusion. “Do you think you know enough about it? Who does it belong to?”
“It belongs to a man named Carpenter and myself.”
The riverman pondered this slowly for an appreciable interval, and then shot out another question.
Thorpe told him simply, omitting nothing except the name of the firm up-river. When he had finished, Shearer evinced no astonishment nor approval.
“You done well,” he commented finally. Then after another interval:
“Have you found out who was the men stealin' the pine?”
“Yes,” replied Thorpe quietly, “it was Morrison & Daly.”
The old man flickered not an eyelid. He slowly filled his pipe and lit it.
“I'll get you a crew of men,” said he, “if you'll take me as foreman.”
“But it's a little job at first,” protested Thorpe. “I only want a camp of twenty. It wouldn't be worth your while.”
“That's my look-out. I'll take th' job,” replied the logger grimly. “You got three hundred million there, ain't you? And you're goin' to cut it? It ain't such a small job.”
Thorpe could hardly believe his good-fortune in having gained so important a recruit. With a practical man as foreman, his mind would be relieved of a great deal of worry over unfamiliar detail. He saw at once that he would himself be able to perform all the duties of scaler, keep in touch with the needs of the camp, and supervise the campaign. Nevertheless he answered the older man's glance with one as keen, and said:
“Look here, Shearer, if you take this job, we may as well understand each other at the start. This is going to be my camp, and I'm going to be boss. I don't know much about logging, and I shall want you to take charge of all that, but I shall want to know just why you do each thing, and if my judgment advises otherwise, my judgment goes. If I want to discharge a man, he WALKS without any question. I know about what I shall expect of each man; and I intend to get it out of him. And in questions of policy mine is the say-so every trip. Now I know you're a good man, one of the best there is, and I presume I shall find your judgment the best, but I don't want any mistakes to start with. If you want to be my foreman on those terms, just say so, and I'll be tickled to death to have you.”