“Love at first sight, eh, Buck?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s nice.  Who is she?”

“She’s Moira McTavish, and you’re not to make love to her.  Understand?  I can’t have you snooping around this office after to-day.”

Mr. Ogilvy’s eyes popped with interest.  “Oh,” he breathed.  “You have an eye to the main chance yourself have you?  Have you proposed to the lady as yet?”

“No, you idiot.”

“Then I’ll match you for her—­or rather for the chance to propose first.”  Buck produced a dollar and spun it in the air.

“Nothing doing, Buck.  Spare yourself these agonizing suspicions.  The fact of the matter is that you give me a wonderful inspiration.  I’ve always been afraid Moira would fall in love with some ordinary fellow around Sequoia—­propinquity, you know—­”

“You bet.  Propinquity’s the stuff.  I’ll stick around.”

“—­and I we been on the lookout for a fine man to marry her off to.  She’s too wonderful for you, Buck, but in time you might learn to live up to her.”

“Duck!  I’m liable to kiss you.”

“Don’t be too precipitate.  Her father used to be our woods-boss.  I fired him for boozing.”

“I wouldn’t care two hoots if her dad was old Nick himself.  I’m going to marry her—­if she’ll have me.  Ah, the glorious creature!” He waved his long arms despairingly.  “O Lord, send me a cure for freckles.  Bryce, you’ll speak a kind word for me, won’t you—­sort of boom my stock, eh?  Be a good fellow.”

“Certainly.  Now come down to earth and render a report on your stewardship.”

“I’ll try.  To begin, I’ve secured rights of way, at a total cost of twelve thousand, one hundred and three dollars and nine cents, from the city limits of Sequoia to the southern boundary of your timber in Township Nine.  I’ve got my line surveyed, and so far as the building of the road is concerned, I know exactly what I’m going to do, and how and when I’m going to do it, once I get my material on the ground.”

“What steps have you taken toward securing your material?”

“Well, I can close a favourable contract for steel rails with the Colorado Steel Products Company.  Their schedule of deliveries is O. K. as far as San Francisco, but it’s up to you to provide water transportation from there to Sequoia.”

“We can handle the rails on our steam schooners.  Next?”

“I have an option of a rattling good second-hand locomotive down at the Santa Fe shops, and the Hawkins & Barnes Construction Company have offered me a steam shovel, half a dozen flat-cars, and a lot of fresnos and scrapers at ruinous prices.  This equipment is pretty well worn, and they want to get rid of it before buying new stuff for their contract to build the Arizona and Sonora Central.  However, it is first-rate equipment for us, because it will last until we’re through with it; then we can scrap it for junk.  We can buy or rent teams from local citizens and get half of our labour locally.  San Francisco employment bureaus will readily supply the remainder, and I have half a dozen fine boys on tap to boss the steam shovel, pile-driver, bridge-building gang, track-layer and construction gang.  And as soon as you tell me how I’m to get my material ashore and out on the job, I’ll order it and get busy.”