wishing us all a merry, merry Christmas and a happy, successful
new year."

On the following morning Spike entered the office of the company where
Tom Gray was at work on the books.

"Boss," he said, "it ain't right this thing that ye said last night. I
been sittin' out thar in the woods all night thinkin'--"

"About being made foreman?" questioned Tom.

"Yes. An' 'bout that other thing. When the fellers laughed an' ye said I
was 'barin' my soul,' I didn't have no such thing. But Cap'n! Out thar
in the woods, an' God Almighty lookin' down and seein' me thar in the
moonlight, I found one. Mebby ye told him to give it to me, but I got
it. I didn't un'erstan' then what ye meant. I do now, an' wanted ye to
know it. Cap'n! I got er soul!"

Without giving Tom Gray opportunity to make fitting reply, Spike squared
his shoulders and shuffled out and called his gang together.

Spike's confession and his new job worked a transformation in him. He no
longer wore the surly, hang-dog expression of former days; he walked
more erectly and his gray eyes boldly met those of any person who
addressed him. The manner in which the red-headed foreman drove the work
along throughout the winter, overcoming obstacles and winning and
holding the respect of the men, confirmed the judgment of Tom and Hippy
that Spike was the right man for the job.

The girls of the Overland party, with Joe Shafto, Henry and the mules,
started for home two days later, leaving Tom, Hippy and the bull pup to
remain in the woods until spring.

All that winter the big circular saws in the mill far down on the Little
Big Branch sang their way through millions of feet of huge logs, cutting
them into lumber, and piling up profits for the firm of Wingate & Gray,
while the jacks toiled and abused each other, and all bosses--especially
their own--and fought with the jacks from rival lumber camps until the
end of the season. Each man then received a cash bonus that brought from
him a gasp of amazement and a growl of appreciation. Willy Horse and
most of the "original" party of jacks were kept at work on the section
all during the next summer, again to resume lumbering operations in the
early fall.

The further adventures of the Overland Riders will be related in a
following volume, entitled "Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders in the High
Sierras," the story of an eventful summer's outing. The hold-up of the
Red Limited, the capture of an Overlander, strange adventure