CHAPTER IX
THE BOYS LOSE AN ALLY
The words of Howells stunned the boys for a moment. Then Garry delivered himself of a few vehement words regarding the thieves.
“We have been here only a couple of days or so, and yet we find that this logging camp is a hive of rascals and thieves. And still we have done nothing. We must get to work and nip this thing in the bud, else the whole summer’s work at the camp here will have gone for naught, to say nothing of the irreparable financial loss that will be caused to Dad, not only from the penalties for failure to live up to his contracts, but the money loss from the stolen timber will mount up well into the hundreds I am afraid. Now we must put a stop to this thing. I believe that I will go out tomorrow and go to town and ’phone Father that he had better make a cleanup here at the camp. Perhaps we don’t know just who the guilty parties are, but if we get rid of the whole shooting match we can stop it. How much timber would you estimate has been stolen?” he concluded, turning to Howells.
“I can’t say as to that. This last report is the only one that I have received direct. Generally I have been given what was supposed to be a duplicate copy of the one sent to Barrows. This time I happened to get the mail myself at the postoffice. Generally one of Barrow’s men gets the mail, and it is distributed. This letter was addressed to me personally, and I have no doubt that the others were also, but were opened and doctored up to appear all right. That’s a prime bit of evidence if we can secure the proof. Tampering with Uncle Sam’s mail is a serious crime, and draws a long prison term. Now as for your going out of the woods tomorrow and ’phoning your father, Garry, I would advise against it. Nothing very serious can happen in the next few days. Little work can be done until a new saw comes, and there will be little shipping of timber except that which has been waiting to be transported. In the meantime, if, as your father is led to believe, this whole matter is a move on the part of the big interests to crush him in the lumber business, the firing of the present manager and crew will have little effect. Your dad evidently trusted Barrows, else he would not have sent him here. If he is guilty, you may be sure that the enemy, for such we must call them, made it mighty well worth his while to turn traitor. What is to prevent the next manager from being affected in the same way? And even if a trustworthy manager were secured, the big interests can always bribe enough of the laborers to do all the necessary damage that would be required to spoil the season. My advice is to lay low for a few days and get evidence that will get the ‘man higher up,’ the one who is the instigator of this whole thing. Once you can spike his guns, there will be no further danger of trouble here, and also it will enable your father to take court action that will restore him damages for the stolen timber, and will also give him a chance to sue those who have harmed him so that he can make the penalties that will be inflicted in case enough damage has already been done to make him forfeit his contracts. I should say now that he was a good three weeks behind his shipments, and that is a whole lot in one season. He has guaranteed to deliver a certain amount of timber at its destination by the last of September. It is the middle of August now, and he must make every minute count from now on to get out the required amount. Get the man responsible for this business and you will have accomplished what you have set out to. What do you think of my advice?”
“Sounds logical, and I think we will follow it. In the meantime I have a hunch now in regard to that stolen timber. I think I can hitch up a few things Barrows has tried to dissuade us from doing, and a certain lake in this vicinity. That’s our next work. Now what do you propose to do, Mr. Howells?” asked Garry.
“First thing I’m going to do is to go straight to Barrows and tell him about the deficiency shown by the records. That will do one of two things, I believe; either show him up for a crook, or else show that he is straight and start him investigating the thefts. If the latter happens, which I am frank to say I do not think will, then we have accomplished a great deal of good.”
Howells, however, had barely finished speaking, when the red haired cookee appeared at the shack and told him that Barrows wanted to see him at the camp office immediately.
Having delivered the message, the cookee sauntered off, and Howells looked at the boys with a puzzled stare.
“Wonder what’s up now. Thought that we talked over everything there was a little while ago. Well, there’s no use in wondering. I’m off to see his Royal Highness and find out what he wants. I’ll see you after a little while.”
Howells hustled off to the office and left the boys to talk things over among themselves.