"Where are we going?" asked Wentworth.
"To the mill site. I want to look it over and return here by the day after to-morrow. All ready?"
The guides swung their packs to their backs and struck into the timber, followed closely by the others of the party.
The following day, Orcutt and Wentworth stood at the head of the rapids and Orcutt listened as the engineer, with the aid of his field notes and maps, explained the construction of the dam, and roughly indicated the contour of the reservoir. "But what's this line—the dotted one, that crosses the river just above us?"
"That is our western property line. It crosses about a mile above here, and we are standing about the same distance above the mill site."
"Do you mean that we own only a mile of timber on the big river above this point?"
"Just about a mile. Our property runs a long way up Gods River, and both sides of the Shamattawa below the dotted line."
Orcutt studied the map for a moment. "Who owns the land above here?" he asked sharply.
"The Hudson's Bay Company on the north side, and the Government on the south."
"Well, what in hell is to prevent someone—McNabb, for instance—from buying up that land and starting operations above us? Even if they didn't put in a dam they could raise the devil with us by driving their stuff through. John McNabb knows every trick of the logging game, and when he finds out what has happened he'll go the limit to buck us."