"Did he lie?"
Dave shrugged.
"It depends what he calls hurt. Some of the boys were hurt."
"Ah. He didn't mention them."
Again the conversation languished.
"I didn't hear how the smash happened," Truscott went on presently.
Dave's eyes suddenly became steely.
"It was Mansell's saw. Something broke. Then we got afire. I just got out—a miracle. I was in the tally room."
The lumberman's brevity had in it the clip of snapping teeth. If Truscott noticed it, it suited him to ignore it. He went on quickly. His interest was rising and sweeping him on.
"On Mansell's saw!" he said. "When I heard you'd got him working I wondered. He's bad for drink. Was he drunk?"