Page:From the West to the West.djvu/268

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"Well, Jean, it will not do to be loitering here. Yonder come the logging crew. There'll be a lot of hungry men to feed. Some of them are educated men, quite equal in intelligence and culture to Mr. Burns. Don't go to losing your heart."

"Don't speak of hearts to me, daddie dear; mine is dead and buried. But you have no idea how cruelly it was wrung."

"There, there, daughter, don't worry! There are as good fish in the sea as any that have ever been caught."

There was no time for loitering. There was an extra lodge to be built in the wilderness for the crew of loggers, and a long dining-shed to be added; the rails had to be made and fences built; the ground had to be cleared and broken for the spring's planting; and much rude furniture for the homes had yet to be manufactured. The building of a skid road was another pressing need; and, taken all together, the Captain did not wonder that his partner should take his departure seriously.

That the partner was not lacking in executive ability was evident.

"I tell you, gals, that partner of mine is a corker for business," said the Captain.

"He may be, daddie/' said Jean, "but that is all he's good for. If there's a chance to murder the Queen's English, he'll do it. He afflicts me with nausea whenever he speaks."

"But if you had a man like him for a husband, you would never lack means for the indulgence of the selfish philanthropies you and I have been talking about. You know you promised your grandfather that you would assist him as soon as you could earn some money."

"That's so, daddie; but I must earn it honestly. And I'd be getting it through the worst kind of fraudulent practice if I married Happy Jack. Besides, he will be too stingy for anything after he's married."