“But what harm does that do? I suppose it might kill the tree, but what difference does that make, since it is going to be cut down directly?” quizzed Phil who was an interested listener.
“It doesn’t harm an old tree, but this is what it does, or rather figure it out for yourselves. What happens when the saw strikes three or four heavy spikes, set in the tree just in the path of the blade?” asked Howells.
The truth flashed over the three boys in an instant, and immediately they felt that they accomplished one purpose of their mission to the woods. They had discovered one of the reasons for the delay in the cutting. If several saws were to be spoiled that meant a delay in getting new ones.
“Now here are two other things that a spike in a tree will do. If spikes are driven in young trees, several of them, that is trees that won’t be cut for a few years, it means that it will cause the core or heart of the tree to rot or break the grain. Then when the tree is finally cut, a part of the lower trunk, or best part of the tree for lumber purposes, shatters just like so much glass when it falls. That’s one thing a spike will do. Now here’s another thing. Suppose that the mischief maker does not drive his spikes in the tree where the cut will be made, but climbs up twenty or thirty feet or so, and drives a dozen or two in different parts of the trunk of the tree. The tree trunk is cut safely and then it is drawn to the sawmill where it is sawed into planks. What happens when one of the big, expensive circular saws rips through a dozen spikes? It’s just goodbye to the saw and goodbye to a lot of money, and means a delay of several minutes until the saw can be replaced with another. And when you are cutting timber on a time contract with a penalty for every day’s delay overtime that you take, a half an hour or so lost through trouble with your sawmill means a big thing. Then there are two other dangers. One is that the saw will fly off and hurt the millmen when it hits the spikes, and the other is that it sometimes will cause serious defects in the entire machinery, so that instead of just a few minutes’ delay to change saws, you waste a day or maybe two in repairing the machinery. So that’s that.” Howells concluded his long description of all the trouble one little handful of spikes could do, and then he looked rather searchingly at the boys. Finally he seemed to have decided in his own mind to say what he was thinking and he looked at Garry.
“I wonder if your father has any idea that someone is trying to hurt his business? I don’t believe for an instant that those two scoundrels were driving those spikes just to make mischief. There is something deeper than that behind the whole business. There are scores of petty accidents occurring every week that all mean delay. Sometimes when the delays are totalled up they equal nearly half a day, and in one summer that means a long delay, a matter perhaps of two weeks. That two weeks is sufficient to spoil the contract and take all the profit away, but more than that, it means a loss of capital invested, for I happen to know that your father is cutting under a contract that provides a heavy penalty for failure to deliver goods as they are called for.”
Garry debated with himself for a few moments, wondering whether or not to take Howells into his confidence and enlist his help. He realized that Howells, if he were honest as he seemed, would be an invaluable aid in discovering what the trouble at the camp was. His knowledge of timbering was extensive, Garry could see that with half an eye, and Garry understood that he and his chums could see lots of things happening right under their noses and never guess the malicious significance of the happenings.
As he thought, Mrs. Howells settled the question for him. Reaching down to one of the shelves in the library table about which they were sitting, she produced an album.
“We are just old fashioned enough to have a family album,” she laughed. “I thought perhaps you would like to see a picture taken of your father a great many years ago,” and turning to one of the pages she showed Garry a picture that he recognized immediately. It showed his father with a sweet faced woman. “That is your father and Mr. Howells’ mother. She was his favorite cousin and she died a long time ago. This has always been in Arthur’s possession.”
Garry remembered having seen a counterpart of the picture at home a long time ago, and he decided that the timber sealer was not claiming any false relationship.
“I wonder how it is that we have never seen you before,” he asked, turning to Howells.