men who would be otherwise forced off
into cities, our poor mountains have been lumbered every generation or
so, on an immense, murderous, slashing scale, to make a big sum of money
for somebody in one operation. When old Mr. Burton Crittenden's nephew
came to town it was a different story. Mr. Neale Crittenden's ideal of
the lumber business is, as I conceive it, as much a service to mankind
as a doctor's is."

Neale winced, and shook his head impatiently. How ministers did put the
Sunday-school rubber-stamp on everything they talked about--even
legitimate business.

"And as Mrs. Crittenden's free-handed generosity with her musical
talent has transformed the life of the region as much as Mr.
Crittenden's high and disinterested . . ."

"Oh _Gosh_, Arthur, never mind about the rest!" murmured Neale, moving
back quickly into the inner office to create a diversion. "All ready?"
he asked in a loud, hearty voice, as he came up to them. "Up to 1920 by
this time, Mr. Bayweather?" He turned to Marsh, "I'm afraid there is
very little to interest you, with your experience of production on a
giant scale, in a business so small that the owner and manager knows
every man by name and everything about him."

"You couldn't show me anything more _out_ of my own experience,"
answered Marsh, "than just that. And as for what I know about production
on a giant scale, I can tell you it's not much. I did try to hook on,
once or twice, years ago--to find out something about the business that
my father spent his life in helping to build up, but it always ended in
my being shooed out of the office by a rather irritable manager who knew
I knew nothing about any of it, and who evidently hated above everything
else, having amateur directors come horning in on what was no party of
theirs. 'If they get their dividends all right, what more do they want?'
was his motto. I never was able to make any sense out of it. It's all on
such a preposterously big scale now. Once in a while, touring, I have
come across one of our branch establishments and have stopped my car to
see the men come out of the buildings at quitting-time. That's as close
as I have ever come. Do you really know their _names_?"

"I can't pronounce all the French-Canadian names to suit them, but I
know them all, yes. Most of them are just the overflow of the rural
population around here."

He said to himself in congratulation, "Between us, we pried old
Bayweather loose from his soft