"Yes," said Bob mildly. "Why not? The lumberman fulfills a commercial function, like any one else; why shouldn"t he be allowed freely a commercial reward? You can"t lead a commercial cla.s.s by ideals that absolutely conflict with commercial motives. If you want to introduce your ideals among lumbermen, you want to educate them; and in order to educate them you must fix it so your ideals don"t actually spell _loss!_ Rearrange the scheme of taxation, for one thing. Get your ideas of fire protection and conservation on a practical basis. It"s all very well to talk about how nice it would be to chop up all the waste tops and pile them like cordwood, and to sc.r.a.pe together the twigs and needles and burn them. It would certainly be neat and effective. But can"t you get some scheme that would be just as effective, but not so neat? It"s the difference between a yacht and a lumber schooner. We can"t expect everybody to turn right in and sacrifice themselves to be philanthropists because the spirit of the age tells them they ought to be. We"ve got to make it so easy to do things right that anybody at all decent will be ashamed not to. Then we"ve got to wait for the spirit of the people to grow to new things. It"s coming, but it"s not here yet."
California John, who had listened with the closest attention, slapped his knee.
"Good sense," said he.
"But you can educate people, can"t you?" asked Amy, a trifle subdued and puzzled by these practical considerations.
"Some people can," agreed Thorne, speaking up, "and they"re doing it.
But Mr. Orde is right; it"s only the spirit of the people that can bring about new things. We think we have leaders, but we have only interpreters. When the time is ripe to change things, then the spirit of the people rises to forbid old practices."
"That"s it," said Bob; "I just couldn"t get at it. Well, the way I feel about it is that when all these new methods and principles have become well known, then we can call a halt with some authority. You can"t condemn a man for doing his best, can you?"
The girl, at a loss, flushed, and almost crying, looked at them all helplessly.
"But----" she cried.
"I believe it will all come about in time," said Thorne. "There"s sure to come a time when it will not be too much off balance to _require_ private firms to do things according to our methods. Then it will pay to log the government forests on an extensive scale; and private forests will have to come to our way of doing things."
"What"s the use of all our fights and strivings?" asked Amy; "what"s the use of our preaching decent woods work if it can"t be carried out?"
"It"s educational," explained Thorne. "It starts people thinking, so that when the time comes they"ll be ready."
"Furthermore," put in Bob, "it fixes it so these young fellows who will then be in charge of private operations will have no earthly excuse to look at it wrong, or do it wrong."
"It will then be the difference between their acting according to general ideas or against them," agreed Thorne.
"Never lick a pup for chasin" rabbits until yore ready to teach him to chase deer," put in California John.
VIII
Bob found it much more difficult to approach Welton. When he did, he had to contend with the older man"s absolute disbelief in what he was saying. Welton sat down on a stump and considered Bob with a humorous twinkle.
"Want to quit the lumber business!" he echoed Bob"s first statement.
"What for?"
"I don"t think I"m cut out for it."
"No? Well, then, I never saw anybody that was. You don"t happen to need no more money?"
"Lord, no!"
"Of course, you know you"ll have pretty good prospects here----" stated Welton tentatively.
"I understand that; but the work doesn"t satisfy me, somehow: I"m through with it."
"Getting restless," surmised Welton. "What you need is a vacation. I forgot we kept you at it pretty close all last winter. Take a couple weeks off and make a trip in back somewheres."
Bob shook his head.
"It isn"t that; I"m sorry. I"m just through with this. I couldn"t keep on at it and do good work. I know that."
"It"s a vacation you need," insisted Welton chuckling, "--or else you"re in love. Isn"t that, is it?"
"No," Bob laughed quite wholeheartedly. "It isn"t that."
"You haven"t got a better job, have you?" Welton joked.
Bob considered. "Yes; I believe I have," he said at last; "at least I"m hoping to get it."
Welton looked at him closely; saw that he was in earnest.
"What is it?" he asked curtly.
Bob, suddenly smitten with a sense of the futility of trying to argue out his point of view here in the woods, drew back.
"Can"t tell just yet," said he.
Welton climbed down from the stump; stood firmly for a moment, his st.u.r.dy legs apart; then moved forward down the trail.
"I"ll raise his ante, whatever it is," he said abruptly at length. "I don"t believe in it, but I"ll do it. I need you."
"You"ve always treated me better than I ever deserved," said Bob earnestly, "and I"ll stay all summer, or all next winter--until you feel that you do not need me longer; but I"m sure that I must go."
For two days Welton disbelieved the reality of his intention. For two days further he clung to a notion that in some way Bob must be dissatisfied with something tangible in his treatment. Then, convinced at last, he took alarm, and dropped his facetious att.i.tude.
"Look here, Bob," said he, "this isn"t quite fair, is it? This is a big piece of timber. It needs a man with a longer life in front of him than I can hope for. I wanted to be able to think that in a few years, when I get tired I could count on you for the heavy work. It"s too big a business for an old man."
"I"ll stay with you until you find that young man," said Bob. "There are a good many, trained to the business, capable of handling this property."
"But n.o.body like you, Bobby. I"ve brought you up to my methods. We"ve grown up together at this. You"re just like a son to me." Welton"s round, red face was puckered to a wistful and comically pathetic twist, as he looked across at the serious manly young fellow.
Bob looked away. "That"s just what makes it hard," he managed to say at last; "I"d like to go on with you. We"ve gotten on famously. But I can"t. This isn"t my work."
Welton laboured in vain to induce him to change his mind. Several times he considered telling Bob the truth--that all this timber belonged really to Jack Orde, Bob"s father, and that his, Welton"s interest in it was merely that of the active partner in the industry. But this his friend had expressly forbidden. Welton ended by saying nothing about it.
He resolved first to write Orde.
"You might tell me what this new job is, though," he said at last, in apparent acquiescence.
Bob hesitated. "You won"t understand; and I won"t be able to make you understand," he said. "I"m going to enter the Forest Service!"
"What!" cried Welton, in blank astonishment. "What"s that?"
"I"ve about decided to take service as a ranger," stated Bob, his face flushing.