CHAPTER X
PAUL AWAKENS TO THE SITUATION
At first Colonel Howell’s camp appeared to be deserted, but as the boats made in toward the shore and the crew began shouting, two men appeared from the cabin. These were Ewen and Miller—Chandler was not in sight.
The new log cabin with its flat tar-paper roof, glistening with its many tin washers, and with a substantial looking chimney built against one end, had a satisfactory look. In addition, several large ricks of cordwood standing at the edge of the clearing gave sign that the men had not been idle during the spring. At the same time, there were many evidences of a lack of thrift to be seen in the debris left from the cabin building.
No arrangements had been made for a boat landing and Colonel Howell’s canoe was lying carelessly against the steep bank. Both Norman and Roy felt somewhat disappointed. While neither was bothered with the romantic ideas usually attached to the woodland cabins of fiction, each had expected a smarter camp. Nor were they very favorably impressed with the two men who appeared on the bank. They were not exactly tidy in appearance and their figures and faces suggested that they had spent a winter of comparative ease among the colonel’s stores.
“Where’s the Englishman?” was Colonel Howell’s salutation, as he and his friends sprang ashore.
“Over at the settlement,” answered Ewen, as he jerked his thumb down the river. “There wasn’t much doing here and he went over there a few days ago to visit some friends.”
“A few days ago,” exclaimed the colonel, as his eyes made a survey of the littered-up clearing. “He might have put in a little time clearin’ out these stumps.”
“We just got through cuttin’ the wood,” broke in Miller as he and Ewen shook hands with their boss, “and we just got the finishin’ touches on the cabin. We didn’t know when to expect you.”
Colonel Howell, followed by his men and the new arrivals, scrambled up the bank and, with no great show of enthusiasm, began a close examination of the new cabin and its surroundings. Nor were the boys any more impressed with the structure, which, inside, showed very little ingenuity. It had been made for the use of four men—seven were going to crowd it. After Colonel Howell had inspected the derrick, he returned and seated himself on a stump.