In two minutes the crews were more tangled than the logs. More of Kent’s men piled downstream and joined the melee. Finally Clancys’ rear crew, badly whipped, left the field to their opponents.
When Archer heard of the fight he came back at once. “I won’t stand this,” said he. “You’ve got no right to run into my drive.”
“Keep it out of my way, then,” said Joe. “I gave you your chance; I’m going to drive clean through you.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Archer, and took his departure.
Thereafter his crew worked hard but avoided trouble. Nevertheless the drives were hopelessly entangled, and they drew near Moore’s Rapids.
The booms at Moore’s had been put in and were maintained by the various lumber firms for their own convenience, so that one had as much right to them as another. This was lucky for Kent, for had the booms been owned by a river improvement company, as were those on the lower river, he could not have carried out the high-handed act he contemplated. As it was, the question resolved itself into whether he could seize the booms and hold control of them while he sorted the logs. By so doing he laid himself open to an action for damages, but he could better afford that than further delay.
Twenty-four hours before any logs could reach Moore’s, McKenna chose a picked crew and took possession of the booms, forestalling Archer, who intended to do that very thing himself. Therefore when he arrived with a picked crew of his own some hours later he became righteously indignant.
“I have the right-of-way, McKenna,” said he, “and my logs are going down that channel first. You can sort out yours and wait your turn.”
“I hear what you say,” said McKenna from the boom. “You’re making a little mistake, Archer. Ours are going through first.”
“What?” cried Archer, suddenly realizing the situation. “Do you know what the law is? The leading drive has precedence in booms, chutes, and slides. You’d better be careful!”