Greenleaf nodded to the cook, a fat man in a white apron who was leaning against one of the tables.
“Can we get a hand-out?” he asked.
A grunt was the only response, but Greenleaf walked familiarly to the counter, pulled a box out from under it and selected some cookies. He unearthed another box containing some doughnuts, bread from another and soon had quite a collection. As soon as the cook saw they knew the ropes he warmed up immediately. “You’ll find the coffee and tea on the back of the stove, boys, and there’s some pie on the shelf. Beans are in the oven and some meat in the safe.” On the whole they had a pretty good lunch.
When they returned to the office they found the foreman waiting for them. The fact that they had not been thrown out by the cook increased his respect for them—for the cook is the real autocrat of the logging camp.
“The boss says to give you fellows whatever you want. What is it?”
“Board and lodging for two weeks,” Greenleaf answered promptly. “We want to look over the work here and see how things are done.”
“Want me to show you around?” the foreman asked tentatively. Those were the instructions in the letter, and he did not like the prospect.
“No,” Greenleaf said, “we can take care of ourselves.”
The foreman looked relieved. “You can get your meals at the cookshack and sleep here in the office in that upper bunk; you’d get full of varmints in the bunkhouse.”
With that he left them, glad to get away.