"Oh, they happened to, did they? What is your name?"
"Orde."
The stranger gurgled again.
"You"re just out then. You must have captained those big scoring teams."
"They were good teams. I was lucky," said Bob.
"Didn"t I see by the papers that you went back to coach last fall?"
"Yes."
"I"ve been away and couldn"t keep tab. How did you come out?"
"Pretty well."
"Win all your games?"
"Yes."
"That"s good. Thought you were going to have a hard row to hoe. Before I went away the papers said most of the old men had graduated, and the material was very poor. How did you work it?"
"The material was all right," Bob returned, relaxing a trifle in the interest of this discussion. "It was only a little raw, and needed shaking into shape."
"And you did the shaking."
"I suppose so; but you see it didn"t amount to much because I"d had a lot of experience in being captain."
The stranger chuckled one of his jolly subterranean chuckles again. He arose to his feet.
"Well, I"ve got to get along to town," said he.
"I"ll trot along, too," said Bob.
They tramped back in silence by the River Trail. On the pole trail across the swamp the stranger walked with a graceful and a.s.sured ease in spite of his apparently unwieldy build. As the two entered one of the sawdust-covered streets, they were hailed by Jim Mason.
"Why, Mr. Welton!" he cried, "when did you get in and where did you come from?"
"Just now, Jim," Welton answered. "Dropped off at the tank, and walked down to see how the river work was coming on."
XII
Toward dusk Welton entered the boarding house where Bob was sitting rather gloomily by the central stove. The big man plumped himself down into a protesting chair, and took off his slouch hat. Bob saw his low, square forehead with the peculiar hair, black and gray in streaks, curling at the ends.
"Why don"t you take a little trip with me up to the Cedar Branch?" he asked Bob without preamble. "No use your going home right now. Your family"s in Washington; and will be for a month or so yet."
Bob thought it over.
"Believe I will," he decided at last.
"Do so!" cried Welton heartily. "Might as well see a little of the life.
Don"t suppose you ever went on a drive with your dad when you were a kid?"
"No," said Bob, "I used to go up to the booms with him--I remember them very well; but we moved up to Redding before I was old enough to get about much."
Welton nodded his great head.
"Good old days," he commented; "and let me tell you, your dad was one of the best of "em. Jack Orde is a name you can scare fresh young rivermen with yet," he added with a laugh. "Well, pack your turkey to-night; we"ll take the early train to-morrow."
That evening Bob laid out what he intended to take with him, and was just about to stuff it into a pair of canvas bags when Tommy Gould, the youngest scaler, pushed open the door.
"h.e.l.lo!" he smiled engagingly; "where are you going? Been transferred from the office?"
"On drive," said Bob, diplomatically ignoring the last question.
Tommy sat down on the edge of the bed and laughed until he was weak. Bob stared at him.
"Is there anything funny?" he inquired at last.
"Did you say on drive?" inquired Tommy feebly.
"Certainly."
"With that?" Tommy pointed a wavering finger at the pile of duffle.
"What"s the matter with it?" inquired Bob, a trifle uncertainly.
"Oh, _it"s_ all right. Only wait till Roaring d.i.c.k sees it. I"d like to see his face."
"Look here, Tommy," said Bob with decision, "this isn"t fair. I"ve never been on drive before, and you know it. Now tell me what"s wrong or I"ll wring your fool neck."
"You can"t take all that stuff," Tommy explained, wiping his eyes. "Why, if everybody had all that mess, how do you suppose it would be carried?"
"I"ve only got the barest necessities," objected Bob.
"Spread out your pile," Tommy commanded. "There. Take those. Now forget the rest."
Bob surveyed the single change of underwear and the extra socks with comical dismay. Next morning when he joined Welton he discovered that individual carrying a tooth brush in his vest pocket and a pair of woolen socks stuffed in his coat. These and a sweater were his only baggage. Bob"s "turkey," modest as it was, seemed to represent effete luxury in comparison.
"How long will this take?" he asked.
"The drive? About three weeks," Welton told him. "You"d better stay and see it. It isn"t much of a drive compared with the old days; but in a very few years there won"t be any drives at all."
They boarded a train which at the end of twenty minutes came to a stop.