The Promise Read online

  CHAPTER XXXIV

  THE NEW BOSS

  The twilight of late autumn darkened the landscape as Bill Carmodyfound himself once again at the edge of the tiny clearing surroundingthe cabin of Daddy Dunnigan.

  Through the window, in the yellow lamplight of the interior, he couldsee the form of the old man as he hobbled back and forth between thestove and the table.

  Remembering Creed, Bill feared the effect upon the old man should hepresent himself suddenly at the door. Advancing into the clearing, hewhistled. Daddy Dunnigan paused, frying-pan in hand, and peeredfutilely out of the window. Again Bill whistled and watched as theother returned the pan to the stove and opened the door.

  "Come on in out av that, ye shpalpeen!" called Dunnigan. "Ut's toime yebe comin' back to let th' owld man know how ye're farin'!"

  Bill grasped the extended hand and peered into the twinkling eyes ofthe old Irishman.

  "Well, Daddy, you don't seem much surprised."

  "Oi know'd ye'd be along wan av these days, but ye tuk yer own toimeabout ut."

  "How did you know I wasn't drowned in the river?"

  "Sur-re, Oi know'd ye _wuz_--didn't Oi see ye go undher th' logs wid meown eyes? An' didn't th' jam go rippin' an' tearin' into th' rapids?An' c'd on-ny man live t'rough th' loike av that? Oi _know'd_ ye wuzdead--till Oi seed Creed. Thin Oi know'd ye wuzn't. But Moncrossendon't know ut--nor on-ny wan ilse, ondly me. Oi'd 'a' gone to hunt ye,ondly Oi know'd phwin th' toime suited ye ye'd come here; so Oi waited.

  "Set by now er th' grub'll be cowld. They'll be toime fer palaverin'afther."

  When the dishes had been washed and returned to their shelves the twoseated themselves and lighted their pipes.

  "You say Creed returned to Hilarity and told of having seen me?" askedBill.

  "Well, he did--an' he didn't," replied the old man slowly. "Ut's loikethis: Along in July, ut wuz, Moncrossen an' his gang av bur-rd's-eyepirates come roarin' out av th' woods huntin' fer Creed. They'd wint inbe th' river, but come out be th' tote-road, an' mad clean t'rough toth' gizzard. No wan hadn't seed um, an' they clum aboord th' thrain,cursin' an' swearin' vingince on Creed phwin they caught um.

  "Thin, maybe it's two wakes afther, we wuz settin' in Burrage's phwinth' dure bust open, an' in come Rad Cranston loike th' divil wuz aftherum.

  "'They's a woild man,' he yells, 'come out av th' woods, an' he'stearin' things up in Creed's cabin!'

  "Hod picks up a cleaver an' makes fer th' dure, wid us follyin' um,afther providin' oursilves wid what utinsils wuz layin' handy--a scythehere an' an axe there, an' some wan ilse wid a pitchfork. Rad brung uplasht wid a sixteen-pound posht-maul, bein' in no hurry at all feranother luk.

  "Trut' is, none av us wuz in no great hurry--Creed's woman havin'cashed his pay-check an' skipped out--but at lasht we come to phwere wec'd see th' place, an' sure enough th' dure shtood open an' insoidecome a racket av shmashin' furniture an' yellin' 'tw'd done proud tocamp-meetin' salvation.

  "Thin come a foine loud rattle av glass, an' out t'rough a windie cometh' half av a chair, follyed be a len'th av shtovepoipe an' a graneglass wather-pitcher.

  "Fer me own part, Oi'd seed such loike brick-a-brack befoor, an'besides Oi remimbered a dhrink Oi hadn't tuk earlier in th' evenin', soOi shtarted workin' me way to th' back av th' crowd, th' bether somewan ilse c'd see.

  "Oi'd no more thin tur-rned around phwin wid a whoop, 'tw'd wake th'dead, out t'rough th' windie come th' domnedest-lukin' cryther thisside av Borneo, a wavin' over his head wan av th' owld lady Creed's ridcotton table-cloths--an' niver another stitch to his name but a leatherbelt wid about six inches av pants a hangin' onto ut, an' a pair avcorked boots.

  "Phwin Oi shtar-rted from Burrage's Oi laid holt av a man's-sizecrowbar, but at that minit th' thing Oi helt in me hand luked about th'heft av a tinpinny nail. Be that toime all th' others wuz av loikemoind to me. They wuz considerable crowdin', an', bein' crippled, Oidhropped me crowbar an' laid a good holt on th' tail av Hod's coat.

  "Th' shtore wuz clost by, an' we had a good shtart; but th' thing thatwuz afther us wuz thravelin' loight an' in foorty-fut leps.

  "'Twuz a good race, an' wan Oi wanted to win; but, owin' to th'unyversal willin'ness av th' crowd to get into th' shtore, we pluggedup th' dureway, an' befoor we c'd get unstuck th' thing wuz onto us,gibberin' an' jabberin' an' screamin' an' laughin' all to wunst.

  "Ut tuk eight av us to howld um whilst Burrage toied um hand an' fut,an' phwin we'd dhrug um into th' shtore we seed 'twuz Creed hissilf.Twuz two days befoor th' sheriff come fer um, an' in th' mane toimehe'd gabble an' yell about th' greener comin' afther um, an' how hecome out av th' wather, an' so on.

  "Th' rist think ut's th' shtayin' alone made um loony, but Oi put twoan' two togither--here's Moncrossen losht his bur-rd's-eye an' Creedscairt witless be th' soight av th' greener--phwat's th' answer?

  "Phy, th' b'y ain't dead at all. Some ways he got out av th' river,scairt th' dayloights out av Creed, an' made off wid th' bur-rd's-eye.Am Oi roight?"

  "Exactly!" exclaimed Bill.

  "Oi know'd ut! Ye've th' luck av Captain Fronte's own silf! That comeout av ivery shcrape wid his loife, save th' lasht wan, an' he w'd thinav a domned nayger shell hadn't bust ag'in' his ribs--but that's toimesgone."

  "I wonder where Moncrossen is now?"

  "Right here in Hilarity; him an' his crew unloaded yisterday fer toshtar-rt fer th' camp in th' marnin'."

  "I think I'll just let the boss believe I'm still in the river untilafter I have had a talk with Appleton. By the way, Daddy, how are youfixed for money?"

  "Sure, Oi got more money thin a man ought to have--money in th' bankan' money in me pocket--take ut an' welcome"--he tossed a thick walletonto the table--"ondly ye won't have to go to Minneapolis.

  "Owld man Appleton's over to Creighton, eighty moiles wesht av here,sooperintindin' a new camp on Blood River, wan hundred an' tin moilesabove Moncrossen's. Fallon's wid um, an' Shtromberg, an' a lot more avth' good min that's toired av worrkin' undher Moncrossen."

  "He is not bossing the camp himself!" exclaimed Bill.

  "No, but he's got to kape an eye on't. Fallon'll be a kind av shtrawboss an' luk afther th' wor-rk, but th' owld man'll have to figger th'toime an' th' scale--Fallon ain't got no aggicatin'.

  "'Tis roight glad Oi'm thinkin' th' owld man'll be to lay eyes on ye.They say he wuz all bruk up phwin he heerd ye wuz dhr-rounded."

  Bill's visit to Hilarity was known to no one except Daddy Dunnigan, andthe following evening after Moncrossen's departure for the woods, thetwo proceeded to the railway by a circuitous route.

  Unobserved, he swung aboard the caboose of the local freight-trainwhich stood at the tiny platform, discharging goods.

  "He'll be afther makin' ye boss av th' new camp," opined the old manfrom his position beside a pile of ties. "An' av ye nade a cook justdhrop me a loine an' Oi'll come."

  "I haven't got the job yet," laughed Bill.

  "But ye will. Owld Appleton'll be glad enough not havin' to comethrapsin' into th' woods ivery month or so durin' th' winther." The oldman leaned forward upon his crutch, and with pathetic eagerness scannedthe face of the younger man.

  "Me b'y," he said, "av yer plans is changed--wor-rd from th' gir-rl, orwhat not, that'll be takin' ye back to Noo Yor-rk--ye'll take me widye?

  "Oi may be a bit owld, but Oi'm as good as iver Oi wuz. Oi c'd lear-rnto run yer otymobile er take care av th' harses, er moind th' babies,ut makes no difference; for whilst a McKim lives owld Dunnigan belongsto luk afther um."

  "Never fear, Daddy!" cried Bill, as the train jerked into motion. "Nowthat we've found each other, we'll stick together until the end." Andhe stood silent upon the steps of the caboose until the figure of theold Irishman blended into the background.

  In the front room of the one-story building with its undeceptivetwo-story front, where Appleton had established his headquarters in thelittle town of Creighton, the lumber magnate sat talking with IrishFallon.

  The to
te-road leading to the new camp had been pushed to completion,and Appleton was giving Fallon some final instructions.

  "I must leave for Minneapolis in the morning," he said. "Do the bestyou can, and I will run up as often as possible."

  "Oi'll do ut, sorr," replied Irish. "Oi c'n lay down th' logs allroight; th' throuble'll be wid th' figgers. If ondly me frind, Bill,wuz here--sure, there wuz th' foine lad!"

  Appleton pulled at his gray mustache and regarded the otherthoughtfully.

  "You knew him well--this Bill?" he asked.

  "Oi wuz th' fur-rst whoite man he seen in th' woods th' day he studknee-dape in th' shnow av th' tote-road, lukin' down at th' carcass avD'ablish. An' from that toime on till he wint down undher th' logs wewuz loike two brothers--ondly more so."

  "Pretty good man, was he?"

  "A-a-h, there wuz a man!" Fallon's big fist banged noisily upon thetable, and his blue eyes lighted as he faced his employer. "MistherAppleton, ye losht a _man_ phwin th' greener wint undher. Fearin'nayther God, man, nor th' divil, he come into th' woods, an' in wansayson lear-rnt more about logs thin th' most av us'll iver know."

  "Moncrossen liked him--spoke very highly of him, and that is unusualwith Moncrossen." Fallon's breath whistled through his teeth at thewords.

  "Loiked um, did he? Sure he loiked um--loike a rabbit loikes a wolf!"

  He leaned forward in his chair, punctuating his remarks with stabs of ahuge forefinger upon the other's knee.

  "Misther Appleton, Moncrossen _hated um_! An' ivery man along th' riverthat day knows that av ut wuzn't fer Moncrossen, th' greener'd belivin' this minit--ondly we can't pr-roove ut. Th' boss hated umbecause he wuz a bether man--because he know'd he wuz a clane man, wida foightin' hear-rt an' two fists an' th' guts to carry um t'rough. Hechilled th' har-rt av th' boss th' fur-rst noight he seen um, an' fromthin on th' fear wuz upon um fer th' bird's-eye."

  "The bird's-eye?" inquired Appleton. "What do you mean?"

  Fallon hesitated; his enthusiasm had carried him further than he hadintended. He gazed out of the window, wondering how to proceed, whenhis eyes fastened upon a large, heavily bearded man who approachedrapidly down the wooden sidewalk, a folded mackinaw swung carelesslyacross the fringed arm of his buckskin shirt.

  The iron latch rattled; the man entered, closed the door behind him,and, turning, faced the two with a smile. For a long moment the mengazed at the newcomer in silence; then Fallon's chair crashed backwardupon the floor as the Irishman leaped to his feet.

  "Thim _eyes_!" he cried, throwing a huge arm across the man's shouldersand shaking him violently in his excitement. "Bill! Bill! Fer th' loveav God, tell me 'tis yersilf! Ye damn' shcoundril, ain't ye dhroundedat all, at all? An' phwere ye ben kapin' yersilf?"

  Bill laughed aloud and wrung Appleton's hand.

  The lumberman had risen to his feet, staring incredulously into theother's face while he repeated over and over again: "My boy! My boy!"

  Fallon danced about, waving his arms and shouting: "Th' new camp'll got'rough hell a whoopin'! Bill'll be boss, an' th' min'll tear out th'bone to bate Moncrossen!"

  Order was finally restored, and the three seated themselves while Billrecounted his adventures. Appleton's brow clouded as he learned thedetails of the bird's-eye plot.

  "So that's the way he worked it?" he exclaimed. "I knew that there wassome bird's-eye in the timber, and that I was not getting it. But Ilaid it to outside thieves--never supposed one of my own foremen wasdouble-crossing me.

  "That is Moncrossen's finish!" he added grimly. "I need him thiswinter. Too many contracts to afford to do without him. In the spring,though, there will be an accounting; and mark my words, he will getwhat is coming to him!"

  "What next--for me?" asked Bill.

  Appleton smiled.

  "I think Fallon has disposed of your case," he replied. "My boy, I wantyou to take this new camp and _get out logs_. I won't set any specificamount, I will tell you this: I _must_ have twenty-five million feetout of the Blood River country this winter. You are the firstinexperienced man I have ever placed in charge of a camp. I don't knowwhat you can do. I'll take the chance. It's up to you.

  "My camps are run without interference from the office. Results countwith me--not methods. Feed your crew all they can eat--of the best youcan get. Knock a man down first and argue with him afterward. Let themknow who is boss, and you will have no trouble. Don't be afraid tospend money, but _get out the logs_!"

  The following morning the new foreman stood upon the platform of thestation as the heavy, vestibuled Imperial Limited ground to a stop,under special orders to take on the great lumberman.

  "So-long, Bill!" Appleton called. "See you next month. Bringing a partyinto the woods for a deer-hunt. May put up at your camp for a couple ofweeks."

  The train pulled out for the East, leaving Bill Carmody gazing, just ashade wistfully, perhaps, at the contented-looking men and women whoflashed past upon the rich plush cushions.

  But as the last coach passed he squared his shoulders with a jerk andturned quickly away.