Next morning continued the traditions of its calm predecessors1. Therefore by daybreak every man was at work. The hatches were opened, and soon between-decks was cumbered with boxes, packing cases, barrels, and crates2. In their improvised3 stalls, the patient horses seemed to catch a hint of shore-going and whinnied. By ten o'clock there loomed4 against the strange coast line of the Pictured Rocks, a shallow bay and what looked to be a dock distorted by the northern mirage5.
"That's her," said the captain.
Two hours later the steamboat swept a wide curve, slid between the yellow waters of two outlying reefs, and, with slackened speed, moved slowly toward the wharf6 of log cribs filled with stone.
The bay or the dock Thorpe had never seen. He took them on the captain's say-so. He knew very well that the structure had been erected7 by and belonged to Morrison & Daly, but the young man had had the foresight8 to purchase the land lying on the deep water side of the bay. He therefore anticipated no trouble in unloading; for while Morrison & Daly owned the pier9 itself, the land on which it abutted10 belonged to him.
From the arms of the bay he could make out a dozen figures standing11 near the end of the wharf. When, with propeller12 reversed, the Pole Star bore slowly down towards her moorings, Thorpe recognized Dyer at the head of eight or ten woodsmen. The sight of Radway's old scaler somehow filled him with a quiet but dangerous anger, especially since that official, on whom rested a portion at least of the responsibility of the jobber's failure, was now found in the employ of the very company which had attempted that failure. It looked suspicious.
"Catch this line!" sung out the mate, hurling14 the coil of a handline on the wharf.
No one moved, and the little rope, after a moment, slid overboard with a splash.
The captain, with a curse, signalled full speed astern.
"Captain Morse!" cried Dyer, stepping forward. "My orders are that you are to land here nothing but M. & D. merchandise."
"I have a right to land," answered Thorpe. "The shore belongs to me."
"This dock doesn't," retorted the other sharply, "and you can't set foot on her."
"You have no legal status. You had no business building in the first place--" began Thorpe, and then stopped with a choke of anger at the futility15 of arguing legality in such a case.
The men had gathered interestedly in the waist of the ship, cool, impartial16, severely17 critical. The vessel18, gathering19 speed astern, but not yet obeying her reversed helm, swung her bow in towards the dock. Thorpe ran swiftly forward, and during the instant of rubbing contact, leaped.
He alighted squarely upon his feet. Without an instant's hesitation20, hot with angry energy at finding his enemy within reach of his hand, he rushed on Dyer, and with one full, clean in-blow stretched him stunned21 on the dock. For a moment there was a pause of astonishment22. Then the woodsmen closed upon him.
During that instant Thorpe had become possessed23 of a weapon It came hurling through the air from above to fall at his feet. Shearer24, with the cool calculation of the pioneer whom no excitement can distract from the main issue, had seen that it would be impossible to follow his chief, and so had done the next best thing,--thrown him a heavy iron belaying pin.
Thorpe was active, alert, and strong. The men could come at him only in front. As offset25, he could not give ground, even for one step. Still, in the hands of a powerful man, the belaying pin is by no means a despicable weapon. Thorpe hit with all his strength and quickness. He was conscious once of being on the point of defeat. Then he had cleared a little space for himself. Then the men were on him again more savagely26 than ever. One fellow even succeeded in hitting him a glancing blow on the shoulder.
Then came a sudden crash. Thorpe was nearly thrown from his feet. The next instant a score of yelling men leaped behind and all around him. There ensued a moment's scuffle, the sound of dull blows; and the dock was clear of all but Dyer and three others who were, like himself, unconscious. The captain, yielding to the excitement, had run his prow27 plump against the wharf.
Some of the crew received the mooring13 lines. All was ready for disembarkation.
Bryan Moloney, a strapping28 Irish-American of the big-boned, red-cheeked type, threw some water over the four stunned combatants. Slowly they came to life. They were promptly29 yanked to their feet by the irate30 rivermen, who commenced at once to bestow31 sundry32 vigorous kicks and shakings by way of punishment. Thorpe interposed.
"Quit it!" he commanded. "Let them go!"
The men grumbled33. One or two were inclined to be openly rebellious34.
"If I hear another peep out of you," said Thorpe to these latter, "you can climb right aboard and take the return trip." He looked them in the eye until they muttered, and then went on: "Now, we've got to get unloaded and our goods ashore35 before those fellows report to camp. Get right moving, and hustle36!"
If the men expected any comment, approval, or familiarity from their leader on account of their little fracas37, they were disappointed. This was a good thing. The lumber38-jack demands in his boss a certain fundamental unapproachability, whatever surface bonhomie he may evince.
So Dyer and his men picked themselves out of the trouble sullenly39 and departed. The ex-scaler had nothing to say as long as he was within reach, but when he had gained the shore, he turned.
"You won't think this is so funny when you get in the law-courts!" he shouted.
Thorpe made no reply. "I guess we'll keep even," he muttered.
"By the jumping Moses," snarled40 Scotty Parsons turning in threat.
"Scotty!" said Thorpe sharply.
Scotty turned back to his task, which was to help the blacksmith put together the wagon41, the component42 parts of which the others had trundled out.
With thirty men at the job it does not take a great while to move a small cargo43 thirty or forty feet. By three o'clock the Pole Star was ready to continue her journey. Thorpe climbed aboard, leaving Shearer in charge.
"Keep the men at it, Tim," said he. "Put up the walls of the warehouse44 good and strong, and move the stuff in. If it rains, you can spread the tent over the roof, and camp in with the provisions. If you get through before I return, you might take a scout45 up the river and fix on a camp site. I'll bring back the lumber for roofs, floors, and trimmings with me, and will try to pick up a few axmen for swamping. Above all things, have a good man or so always in charge. Those fellows won't bother us any more for the present, I think; but it pays to be on deck. So long."
In Marquette, Thorpe arranged for the cashing of his time checks and orders; bought lumber at the mills; talked contract with old Harvey, the mill-owner and prospective46 buyer of the young man's cut; and engaged four axmen whom he found loafing about, waiting for the season to open.
When he returned to the bay he found the warehouse complete except for the roofs and gables. These, with their reinforcement of tar-paper, were nailed on in short order. Shearer and Andrews, the surveyor, were scouting47 up the river.
"No trouble from above, boys?" asked Thorpe.
"Nary trouble," they replied.
The warehouse was secured by padlocks, the wagon loaded with the tent and the necessaries of life and work. Early in the morning the little procession laughing, joking, skylarking with the high spirits of men in the woods took its way up the river-trail. Late that evening, tired, but still inclined to mischief48, they came to the first dam, where Shearer and Andrews met them.
"How do you like it, Tim?" asked Thorpe that evening.
"She's all right," replied the riverman with emphasis; which, for him, was putting it strong.
At noon of the following day the party arrived at the second dam. Here Shearer had decided49 to build the permanent camp. Injin Charley was constructing one of his endless series of birch-bark canoes. Later he would paddle the whole string to Marquette, where he would sell them to a hardware dealer50 for two dollars and a half apiece.
To Thorpe, who had walked on ahead with his foreman, it seemed that he had never been away. There was the knoll51; the rude camp with the deer hides; the venison hanging suspended from the pole; the endless broil52 and tumult53 of the clear north-country stream; the yellow glow over the hill opposite. Yet he had gone a nearly penniless adventurer; he returned at the head of an enterprise.
Injin Charley looked up and grunted54 as Thorpe approached.
"How are you, Charley?" greeted Thorpe reticently55.
"You gettum pine? Good!" replied Charley in the same tone.
That was all; for strong men never talk freely of what is in their hearts. There is no need; they understand.
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1
predecessors
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| n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身 | |
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crates
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| n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱 | |
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improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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mirage
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| n.海市蜃楼，幻景 | |
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wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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abutted
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| v.（与…）邻接( abut的过去式和过去分词 )；（与…）毗连；接触；倚靠 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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mooring
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| n.停泊处；系泊用具，系船具；下锚v.停泊，系泊（船只）(moor的现在分词) | |
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14
hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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futility
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| n.无用 | |
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impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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shearer
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| n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机 | |
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offset
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| n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿 | |
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savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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strapping
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| adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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irate
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| adj.发怒的，生气 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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hustle
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| v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌) | |
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fracas
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| n.打架；吵闹 | |
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lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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component
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| n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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45
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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47
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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48
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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49
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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50
dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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51
knoll
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| n.小山，小丘 | |
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52
broil
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| v.烤，烧，争吵，怒骂；n.烤，烧，争吵，怒骂 | |
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53
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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54
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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reticently
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| adv.沉默寡言地，沉默地 | |
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