The Rainy Day Railroad War Part 7

"We've been told to go ahead here," said the "boss."

"I don't care what yeh've been told. You all know me, don't you?" Ward slapped his breast. "You know me? Well, I say stop that chopping on my--understand?--on _my_ land."

Parker, who was in advance of the choppers with his instruments, heard, and came plowing through the snow. He found Colonel Ward roaring oaths and abuse, brandis.h.i.+ng his fists, and backing the crew of a dozen men fairly off the right of way. Ward's own band of "Gideonites" stood at a little distance, grinning admiringly.

Parker set himself squarely in front of the old man, elbowing aside a woodsman to whom the colonel was addressing himself. The young engineer's gaze was level and determined.

"Colonel Ward," he said, "you are interfering with my men."

The answer was a wordless snarl of ire and contempt.

"There's no mistaking your disposition," continued Parker. "You have set yourself to balk this enterprise. But I haven't any time to spend in a quarrel with you."

"Then get off my land."

"Now, see here, Colonel Ward, you know as well as I that my princ.i.p.als have complied with all the provisions of law in taking this location.

This road is going through. I am going to put it through."

"Talk back to me, will you? Talk to me! ni--I'll--" Ward's rage choked his utterance.

"Certainly I'll talk to you, sir, and I am perfectly qualified to boss my men. Go ahead there, boys!" he called.

"A moment, Mr. Parker," broke in the suave voice of the lawyer. "I see you don't understand the entire situation. Briefly, then, Mr. Ward has a telephone-line across this carry. You may see the wires from where you stand. I find that your right of way trespa.s.ses on Colonel Ward's telephone location. In this confusion of locations, you will see the advisability of suspending operations until the matter can be referred to the courts."

"There is room for Colonel Ward's telephone and for our railroad, too,"

he retorted. "If we are compelled to remove any poles, we'll replace them."

Of course Parker did not know that the telephone-line was, in fact, only Colonel Ward's private line, and after the taking by the railroad was on the location wholly without right. But that was a matter for his superiors, and not for him.

"Another point that I fear you have not noted. Colonel Ward's telephone wires are affixed to trees, and your men are preparing to cut down these same trees in clearing your right of way. You see it can't be done, Mr.

Parker."

There was an unmistakable sneer in the lawyer's tones. Parker's anger mounted to his cheeks.

"I'm no lawyer," he cried, "but I have been a.s.sured by our counsel that I have the right to build a railroad here, and I reckon he knows! I've been told to build this railroad and, Mr. Attorney, I'm going to build it. I've been told to have it completed by a certain time, and I haven't days and weeks to spend splitting hairs in court."

"No, I see you're not much of a lawyer!" jeered the other. "Mr. Parker, you may as well take your plaything," pointing to the engine, "and trundle it along home."

"We'll see about that!" Parker s.n.a.t.c.hed an ax from the nearest man. "Mr.

Lawyer, you may _go_ back to the city and fight your legal points with the man my princ.i.p.als hire for that purpose, and enjoy yourself as much as you can. In the meantime I'll be building a railroad. Men, those trees are to come down at once." He began to hack at a tree with great vigor.

The choppers, encouraged by his firm att.i.tude, promptly moved forward and began to use their axes.

"The club you must use, Colonel, is an injunction," advised the crestfallen lawyer after he had watched operations a few moments. Ward was swearing violently. "I'll have one here in twenty-four hours."

The irate lumberman whirled on his counsel.

"Get out of here!" he snarled. "Your injunction would prob'ly be like the law you've handed out here to-day. You said you'd stop him, but you haven't."

"There's no law for a fool!" snapped the attorney.

"Get along with your law!" roared Ward. "I was an idiot ever to fuss with it or depend on it. 'Tain't any good up here. 'Tain't the way for real men to fight. I've got somethin' better'n law."

He shook his fists at Parker. "Better'n law!" he repeated, in a shrill howl. "Better'n law!" he cried again. "And you'll get it, too."

At first the engineer believed that Ward was about to rally his little band at the carry camp, but the old man turned and stumped away. His lawyer tried to interpose and address him, but the colonel angrily shoved him to one side with such force that the attorney tumbled backward into the snow.

"Get out my horse!" the colonel screamed, as he advanced toward the camp.

A helper precipitately backed the turnout from the hovel. Ward leaped into the sleigh, pulled his peaked fur cap down over his ears, and took up the reins and big whip. He brandished his great fist at the little group he had just left.

"Better'n law!" he shouted again. "That for your law!" and he struck his rangy horse with a crack as loud as a pistol-shot.

The animal leaped like a deer, fairly lifting the narrow sleigh, and with tails fluttering from his fur robes, his cap's c.o.o.n tail streaming behind, away up the tote-road went Gideon Ward on his return to the deep woods, the mighty din of his myriad bells clas.h.i.+ng down the forest aisles. At the distant turn of the road he hooted with the vigor of a screech owl, "Better'n law!" and disappeared.

"Your client doesn't seem to be in an especially amiable and lamb-like mood this morning," said Parker.

The lawyer dusted the snow from his garments.

"Beautiful disposition, old Gid Ward has!" he snarled. "Left me here to walk sixteen miles to a railroad-station, and never offered to settle with me."

"You forget the 'Poquette and Sunkhaze Air-Line," Parker smiled. "You are free to ride back with us when we go."

"No hard feelings, then?" asked the lawyer.

"I'm not small-minded, I trust," returned Parker. The lawyer looked at the self-possessed young man with pleased interest. This generous att.i.tude appealed to him.

"Do you realize, young man," he inquired, "that old Gideon Ward never had a man really back him down before?"

"I don't know much about Colonel Ward personally, except that he has a very disagreeable disposition."

"You've made him just as near a maniac as a man can be and still go about his business. There'll be a lot of trouble come from this. Hadn't you better advise your folks to call it off? They haven't the least idea, I imagine, what a proposition you are up against."

"I shall keep on attending to my business," Parker replied. "If any one interferes with that business, he'll do so at his own risk."

"I am afraid you are depending too much on your legal rights and on the protection of the law. Now Gideon Ward has always made might right in this section. He is rough and ignorant, but the old scamp has a heap of money and a rich gang to back him. I tell you, there are a lot of things he can do to you, and then escape by using his money and his pull."

"From what I have seen of the old man's temper, I am prepared to put a pretty high estimate on his capacity for mischief; but on the other hand, Mr. Attorney, suppose I should go back to my people and say I allowed an old native up here in the woods to back me off our property?

I fear my chances for promotion on the P. K, and R. system would get a blacker eye than I shall give him if he ever shakes his fist under my nose again. Have all the people up here allowed that old wretch to browbeat and tyrannize over them without a word of protest?"

"Oh, he has been whaled once or twice, but it never did him any good.

For instance, a favorite trick of his is to make every one flounder out of a tote-road into the deep snow. He won't turn out an inch. Most of the men he meets are working for him or selling him goods, and they don't dare to complain. However, one teamster he crowded off in that way broke two ox-goads on the old man. But that whipping only set him against other travellers more than ever.

"Another time Ward got what he deserved down at Sunkhaze. A man opened a store there and put in a plate-gla.s.s window, being anxious to show a bit of progress. There's nothing old Ward hates so much as he does what he calls 'slingin' on airs,' When he drove down from the woods and saw that new window he growled, 'Wal, it seems to me we're gettin' blamed high-toned all of a sudden!' He got out, rooted up a big rock and hove it right through the middle of that new pane of gla.s.s the only pane of plate gla.s.s Sunkhaze ever saw. Well, the storeman tore out and licked Ward till he cried. Storeman didn't know who the old man was till after it was all over. Neither did old Gid know how big that storeman was till he saw him coming out through that broken gla.s.s. Otherwise both might have thought twice.

"Ward boycotted and persecuted him till he had to sell out and leave town. He has persecuted everybody. His wife has been in the insane asylum going on ten years; his only girl ran away and got married to a cheap fellow, and his son is in state prison. The boy ran away from home, got into bad company, and shot a policeman who was trying to arrest him. If you are not crazy or dead before he gets done with you, then you'll come out luckier than I think you will."

With this consoling remark the lawyer plodded up to the camp, to wait until it should be time to start down the lake.