ns. But he resembled Collins so much that Charley did not wonder
that, at such a distance, he had made the mistake of thinking the man was
Collins.

Chapter XXIII

A Startling Discovery

Charley was glad enough that the man was not Collins. Had he been Collins,
Charley would have had another matter to worry about. He was carrying such
a load of responsibility these days that he sometimes felt that he
couldn't stand another thing; and in moments of depression he thought he
could not continue to carry the load he already had.

For Charley was learning the lesson that every man in authority learns:
when the forester laid out a piece of work for him, the forester expected
him to get it done. No matter what the difficulties were, Charley had to
find a way to surmount them. Many and many a day he would gladly have
exchanged places with the humblest laborers in his crew.

All that was required of them was merely to do what they were told to do,
hour after hour or day after day. There was no need for them to lie awake
wrestling with problems that seemed impossible of solution, as Charley had
more than once lain awake.

For it had not all been smooth sailing for Charley, any more than it is
for any man in authority. After his first set-to with the surly laborer,
he had not had any open trouble with his men. But more than one of his
crew did not always do an honest day's work, and any failure on the men's
part put Charley behind with the amount of work he was expected to get
done. This difficulty Charley had finally remedied by asking for Mr.
Morton's help. The latter had sent for several of the laborers and had
shown them that in hindering Charley they were hurting the Forest Service
and thus, in the long run, harming themselves.

Furthermore, as the days passed, and Charley showed that he knew his job,
that he was just to everybody, that he had control of his temper, that he
expected a fair day's work every day, while he himself accomplished more
actual work each day than any man in his gang, the attitude of the men
under him changed. Before the summer ended, Charley had as loyal a crew as
any man could ask for. And to their loyalty they began to add ambition.
For Charley was able gradually to instil into them the spirit which made
them want to do as much as any other crew and a little bit more.

So his road making came on apace. Rapidly the rude highway advanced
through the forest. Every day after his crew ha