At this the manager brightened up considerably. It seemed to be that this was the kind of a remark that he was looking for, and he made haste to answer:
“Oh, there is nothing radically wrong here, I only meant that occasionally there seemed to be a sort of dissatisfied air on the part of the men, but it may only be worry on my part.”
Garry was certain that the entire conversation was brought about in a manner to delve into the feelings of the boys, and see how they regarded everything. Garry did not believe that their mission was penetrated, but thought that the guilty conscience of the manager would make him see an enemy in every person he did not know.
The dinner was plain but good. It consisted of pea soup, potatoes, some roasted beef, and coffee. The fare at a lumber camp is anything but varied. The aforementioned articles, roast pork, stew and beans, with either white bread baked at the camp, or great slabs of johnny cake with molasses in lieu of syrup was the general thing. Coffee was served at every meal.
“For breakfast we have bacon and toast and coffee in our dining room, because the men have all eaten and started for work by the time we are ready for breakfast,” said Barrows. “Now we will go into the other room, and I will give you boys a general introduction to the men. That will save you any annoyance when you go about the camp.”
He led the way into the larger room, and stepping on a bench announced:
“Men, these three boys are going to camp here for awhile. This one,” pointing to Garry, “is the son of the owner. The other two are his friends. I wanted you to meet them so that you may do all you can to make their visit here a good one.”
Garry thought to himself, “Yes, you are also showing us to those in your crew so they will watch their step while we are around.” A good many of the men just sized the boys up, a few hollered good-natured remarks at them, while several pressed forward and shook the hands of the boys, remarking they had worked many years for Mr. Boone and were glad to meet his son and his friends.
The three chums took especial care to fix these men in their minds, for the same thought came to them all,—that if trouble arose, it was likely that these men would prove loyal friends in need. Barrows detailed some of the men to bring back the necessary lumber for the shanty, and then the men went back to their work for the afternoon.
Soon they heard a chugging sound and presently a tractor hove into sight, dragging a broad-wheeled cart on which was the lumber. The manager came up, leading a couple of men with some heavy rolls of tarred paper, and all was ready to build the shanty.