t, Orde looked
up at the sky with a deep breath of relief.

"Whew!" said he, "that was a terror! We've gone off the wrong foot that
time."

Newmark looked at him with some amusement.

"You don't mean to say that fooled you!" he marvelled.

"What?" asked Orde.

"All that talk about insults, and the rest of the rubbish. He saw we
had spotted his little scheme; and he had to retreat somehow. It was as
plain as the nose on your face."

"You think so?" doubted Orde.

"I know so. If he was mad at all, it was only at being found out."

"Maybe," said Orde.

"We've got an enemy on our hands in any case," concluded Newmark, "and
one we'll have to look out for, I don't know how he'll do it; but he'll
try to make trouble on the river. Perhaps he'll try to block the stream
by not breaking his rollways."

"One of the first things we'll do will be to boom through a channel
where Mr. Man's rollways will be," said Orde.

A faint gleam of approval lit Newmark's eyes.

"I guess you'll be equal to the occasion," said he drily.

Before the afternoon train, there remained four hours. The partners at
once hunted out the little one-story frame building near the river in
which Johnson conducted his business.

Johnson received them with an evident reserve of suspicion.

"I see no use in it," said he, passing his hand over his hair "slicked"
down in the lumber-jack fashion. "I can run me own widout help from any
man."

"Which seems to settle that!" said Newmark to Orde after they had left.

"Oh, well, his drive is small; and he's behind us," Orde pointed out.

"True," said Newmark thoughtfully.

"Now," said Newmark, as they trudged back to their hotel to get
lunch and their hand-bags. "I'll get to work at my part of it. This
proposition of Heinzman's has given me an idea. I'm not going to try to
sell this stock outside, but to the men who own timber along the river.
Then they won't be objecting to the tolls; for if the company makes any
profits, part will go to them."

"Good idea!" cried Orde.

"I'll take these contracts, to show we can do the business."

"All correct."

"And I'll see about incorporation. Also I'll look about and get a proper
office and equipments, and get hold of a book-keeper. Of course we'll
have to make this our headquarters."

"I suppose so," said Orde a little blankly. After an instant he laughed.
"Do you know, I hadn't thought of that? We'll have to live here, won't
we?"

"Also," went on N