"The point is this, boys," he said at last, turning quickly and looking at the two sturdy young fellows before him, "you and I and the rest of these people here"—he waved his hand towards the window—"have come into this valley because we believed in it. We're playing a kind of a hunch, boys, that the place is a good place to live in, an' when a man does what we've done he's playing pretty heavily. If we throw up the game now, we lose. That's all there is to it. And not only do we lose but these people around us lose too—and lose heavily. We've got to play the game through against hard luck and wait for the next spring before we begin to take our winnings."
"But we've got to live, Mr. Hurley," one of the men protested.
"Live—yes—and I've been working on that. And I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll grub-stake the whole caboodle of you for six months, beginning the middle of October, and I'll pay you a dollar a day for every day's work you put in if you hang on."
The men looked doubtful but were interested. "That looks all right," one of them offered, "but—"
"But nothing," interrupted Hurley. "I'll do what I say and I can make money on it too. I couldn't pay one man a dollar a day for a forenoon just now, but listen—this country's got to produce something if it's going to live, and it might as well start in this year as next. And when the rush comes in here next spring—and it's coming strong—there'll be a crowd of people here I hear about it every time the mail comes in. This town will be five times as big in a month. The man who's on the ground with his eyes open will take the winnings. The railway will be in before July, and the towns will be springing up and business will start and we'll be a part of the world we've just left before we know it. And that's only one side of it. You boys have registered your claims here and started improvements because you want to live here sometime. If it's going to be a fit place to live in we don't want any set-backs. Start to stampede for the outside now and by the time you get back you'll be where you were when you first landed here. That's not my idea. I'm going to stay right here and get ready for the big rush."
All at once they were aware of someone entering the office, and turned to find Keith McBain coming through the doorway. The young fellows got up at once and with a word to Hurley, promising to drop in the next day, left the office.
"Do you know what I've done?" said Hurley as soon as they had gone.
Keith McBain merely waited for a reply.
"I've promised those two boys work for the winter at a dollar a day and three square meals. I had to do it, Keith—they're good men, both of them, and they were on their way out for the winter. We can't let these men go. We've got to give them something to do and hold them here till spring."
"I've got it worked out," said Keith. "I was talking last week to McKenzie, and we can put in a camp just as soon as we can get a good location. They want a quarter to a half million ties for construction. There's a lot of stuff in there just south of the camp. All we've got to do is to go and find it and start right in. Any of your men here know anything about cruising?"