“Darrell is a good man on a big job,” said Welton; “you can’t beat him, and you can’t get him to take a drink.  But it takes a big job to steady him.”

“Well, I’d fire him,” stated Hank positively.

“He’s already fired,” spoke up a hostler, “they laid him off two days ago when he went down drunk and tried to take charge.”

“Well, now,” chuckled Welton, as he gathered up the reins, “who’d have thought old Larsen could scare up the spunk!”

He drove down the river road.  When he came to a point opposite Murdock’s he drew up.

“That wire said that Murdock had the river blocked,” he mused, “but she’s certainly flowing free enough now.  The river’s sacked clean now.”

His presence on the bank had attracted the attention of a man in the mill.  After a long scrutiny, this individual launched a skiff and pulled across the stream.

“I thought it was you,” he cried as soon as he had stepped ashore.  “Well, let me tell you I’m going to sue you for damages, big damages!”

Welton looked him over quizzically, and the laughing lines deepened around the corners of his eyes.

“Lay on, MacDuff,” said he, “nobody’s sued me yet this year, and it didn’t seem natural.”

“And for assault with deadly weapons, and malicious destruction of property, and seizure and——­”

“You must have been talking to a country lawyer,” interrupted Welton, with one of his subterranean chuckles.  “Don’t do it.  They got nothing but time, and you know what your copy book says about idle hands.”  He crossed one leg and leaned back as though for a comfortable chat.  “No, you come and see me, Murdock, and state how much you’ve been damaged, and we’ll see what we can do.  Why, these little lawyers love to name things big.  They’d call a sewing circle a riot if one of the members dropped a stitch.”

But Murdock was in deadly earnest.

“Perhaps throwin’ dynamite on the end of a pole, and mighty nigh killin’ us, and just blowin’ the whole river up in the air is your idea of somethin’ little,” he stormed; “well, you’ll find it’ll look big enough in court.”

“So that’s what they did to clear the river,” said Welton, more than half to himself.  “Well, Murdock, suit yourself; you can see me or that intellectual giant of a lawyer of yours.  You’ll find me cheaper.  So long.”

He drove on, chuckling.

“I didn’t think old Larsen had the spunk,” he repeated after a time.  “Guess I ought to have put him in charge in the beginning.”

He drove to a point where the erratic road turned inland.  There he tied his horse to a tree and tramped on afoot.  After a little he came in sight of the rear—­and stopped.

The men were working hard; a burst of hearty laughter saluted Welton’s ears.  He could hardly believe them.  Nobody had heard this sullen crew of nondescript rivermen from everywhere exhibit the faintest symptoms of good-humour or interest before.  Another burst of laughter came up the breeze.  A dozen men ran out over the logs as though skylarking, inserted their peavies in a threatened lock, and pried it loose.