"Now we are out of employment again," said Dale to Owen, after they had been paid off. "This job didn't last near as long as we had expected."
"Well, Mr. Paxton isn't responsible for the forest fire, Dale, so we can't blame him. The question is, what shall we do next?"
"Guess we had better strike down the river and look for work—unless you can think of something better."
"I've half a notion to go out West. It seems to me that there are more chances out there than here."
"Out West! Do you mean away out to Oregon or Washington?"
"Not quite as far as that—at first. We might go from here to Buffalo, and try to get a job on one of the lumber boats to some place in Michigan or Wisconsin, and then try it there for a while. If that didn't suit, we could push on further."
"Providing our money didn't give out. It costs money to travel."
"Oh, I thought we could work our way for the most part. I wasn't going to touch our bank account, or very much of our other savings."
"We'd have to pay the railroad fare to Buffalo—although it may be possible to get on a canal boat at Albany, and go through that way. It would take some time, but it would be cheap traveling."
"The plan is certainly worth considering, anyway," said Owen; and they talked it over for fully an hour. But they reached the conclusion it would be best to see what could be done along the Penobscot before leaving Maine.