been opened--were
the most prolific of opportunities. Logs rarely jam on rising water,
for the simple reason that constantly the surface area of the river
is increasing, thus tending to separate the logs. On the other hand,
falling water, tending to crowd the drive closer together, is especially
prolific of trouble. Therefore, on flood water the watchers scattered
along the stretches of the river had little to do--save strand
Heinzman's logs for him. And when flood water had passed, some of those
logs were certainly high and dry.

Up to a certain point this was all very well. Orde took pains not to
countenance it officially, and caused word to be passed about, that
while he did not expect his men to help drive Heinzman's logs, they must
not go out of their way to strand them.

"If things get too bad, he'll have spies down here to collect evidence
on us," said Orde, "and he'll jug some of us for interference with his
property. We don't own the river."

"How about them booms?" asked the Rough Red.

"I did own them," explained Orde, "and I had a right to take them up
when I had finished with them."

This hint was enough. The men did not cease from a labour that tickled
them mightily, but they adopted a code of signals. Strangers were not
uncommon. Spectators came out often from the little towns and from
the farms round-about. When one of these appeared the riverman nearest
raised a long falsetto cry. This was taken up by his next neighbour and
passed on. In a few minutes all that section of the drive knew that it
would be wise to "lie low." And inside of two weeks Orde had the great
satisfaction of learning that Heinzman was working--and working hard--a
crew of fifty men.

"A pretty fair crew, even if he was taking out his whole drive,"
commented Orde.

The gods of luck seemed to be with the new enterprise. Although Orde
had, of course, taken the utmost pains to foresee every contingency
possible to guard against, nevertheless, as always when dealing with
Nature's larger forces, he anticipated some of those gigantic obstacles
which continually render uncertain wilderness work. Nothing of the kind
happened. There formed none of the tremendous white-water jams that pile
up several million feet of logs, tax every resource of men, horses, and
explosives, and require a week or so to break. No men were killed, and
only two injured. No unexpected floods swept away works on which the
drive depended. The water held out to