“They are as tickled as you are,” the agent answered confidently. “He is always bragging, and none of them like him. He’ll probably have to quit the country after this.”
Scott was glad to hear it. That would leave him free to carry out his plans. He told the agent of the trip he was going to make, and spent the afternoon busily working over a bunch of legal-looking papers. Four o’clock found him on the afternoon train headed north, an impatient traveler.
Scott had not told any one where he was going. If he had said that he was going to Washington, they would have thought that he was running away as the other fellows had done. But he was going to Washington, and when he got there he lost no time in going to the Forest Service office and to the chief of his division.
Mr. Johns seemed very much surprised to see him back so soon. “Well, Burton,” he laughed, “I didn’t think that they could put the run on you, not so soon, anyway.” He laughed, but at the same time it was plain that he was disappointed.
“Well, they have,” Scott replied, “but I am going back.”
Mr Johns brightened at once. “That sounds better,” he said heartily.
“There are one or two things about that logging contract I want to make sure of,” Scott said. “As I understand it, those logs have been sold and we have contracted to have them delivered at a certain time.”
“That’s right,” Mr. Johns agreed. “It is rather an unusual thing to do, but we were forced to it in this instance or we could not have bought that piece of land for the forest at all.”
“And now,” Scott continued, “we are responsible for the delivery, and no one will take the logging contract.”
Mr. Johns frowned. “I thought that man Reynolds told me that he had arranged for the logging contract before he left.”