King Spruce, A Novel Read online

  Produced by Audrey Longhurst, D Alexander and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from scanned images of public domainmaterial from the Google Print project.)

  KING SPRUCE

  A NOVEL

  BY

  HOLMAN DAY

  AUTHOR OF

  "SQUIRE PHIN" "UP IN MAINE" "KIN O' KTAADN" ETC.

  ILLUSTRATED BY E. ROSCOE SHRADER

  NEW YORK AND LONDON HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS

  Copyright, 1908, by HARPER & BROTHERS.

  _All rights reserved._

  Published April, 1908.

  "'I KNOW YOUR HEART'" [_See p. 289_]

  TO

  A. B. D.

  MY COMRADE OF TRAIL AND CAMP

  CONTENTS

  CHAP. PAGE

  I. UP IN "CASTLE CUT 'EM" 1 II. THE HEIRESS OF "OAKLANDS" 17 III. THE MAKING OF A "CHANEY MAN" 27 IV. THE BOSS OF THE "BUSTERS" 35 V. DURING THE PUGWASH HANG-UP 55 VI. AS FOUGHT BEFORE THE "IT-'LL-GIT-YE CLUB" 62 VII. ON MISERY GORE 78 VIII. THE TORCH, AND THE LIGHTING OF IT 92 IX. BY ORDER OF PULASKI D. BRITT 104 X. "LADDER" LANE'S SOIREE 114 XI. IN THE BARONY OF "STUMPAGE JOHN" 127 XII. THE CODE OF LARRIGAN-LAND 142 XIII. THE RED THROAT OF POGEY 153 XIV. THE MESSAGE OF "PROPHET ELI" 164 XV. BETWEEN TWO ON JERUSALEM 174 XVI. IN THE PATH OF THE BIG WIND 181 XVII. THE AFFAIR AT DURFY'S CAMP 198 XVIII. THE OLD SOUBUNGO TRAIL 217 XIX. THE HOME-MAKERS OF ENCHANTED 230 XX. THE HA'NT OF THE UMCOLCUS 241 XXI. THE MAN WHO CAME FROM NOWHERE 256 XXII. THE HOSTAGE OF THE GREAT WHITE SILENCE 270 XXIII. IN THE MATTER OF JOHN BARRETT'S DAUGHTER 278 XXIV. THE CHEESE RIND THAT NEEDED SHARP TEETH 293 XXV. SHARPENING TEETH ON PULASKI BRITT'S WHETSTONE 303 XXVI. THE DEVIL OF THE HEMPEN STRANDS 312 XXVII. THE "CANNED THUNDER" OF CASTONIA 324 XXVIII. "'TWAS DONE BY TOMMY THUNDER" 341 XXIX. THE PARADE PAST RODBURD IDE'S PLATFORM 352 XXX. THE PACT WITH KING SPRUCE 361

  ILLUSTRATIONS

  "'I KNOW YOUR HEART'" _Frontispiece_

  "WADE STOOD ABOVE THE FALLEN FOE" _Facing p._ 70

  "WRITHING AT HIS BONDS, HIS CONTORTED FACE TOWARDS THE RED FLAMES GALLOPING UP THE VALLEY" " 172

  "'WHAT I SAY ON THIS RIVER GOES!'" " 334

  NOTE

  When the trees have been cut and trimmed in the winter's work in thewoods the logs are hauled in great loads to be piled at "landing-places"on the frozen streams, so that the spring floods will move them. Most ofthe streams have a succession of dams. On the spring drive the logs arefloated to the dams, and then the gates are raised and the logs are"sluiced" through with a head of water behind them to carry themdown-stream. Thus the drive is lifted along in sections from one dam toanother. It will be seen that Pulaski D. Britt's series of dams onJerusalem constituted a valuable holding, and enabled him to control thewater and leave the logs of rivals stranded if he wished. The collectionof water and quick work in "sluicing" are most important, for thestreams give down only about so much water in the spring.

  When a load of logs is suddenly set free from the cable holding it backon a steep descent, as in Chapter XXVI., it is said to be "sluiced."

  When there is a jam of entangled logs as they are swept down-stream, ifit is impossible to find and pry loose the "key-log," it is sometimesnecessary to blow up the restraining logs with dynamite.

  When the floating logs are caught upon rocks, and the men are pryingthem loose, they are said to be "carding" the ledges.

  A "jill-poke," a pet aversion of drivers, is a log with one end lodgedon the bank and the other thrust out into the stream.

  The "cant-dog" is illustrated on the cover of the book.

  The "peavy" is the Maine name for a slightly different variety of"cant-dog," which takes its title from its maker in Old Town.

  The "pick-pole" is an ashen pole ten to twelve feet long, shod with aniron point with a screw-tip, which enables a driver to pull a logtowards him or to push it away.

  KING SPRUCE