Clammy mist hung about the edge of the clearing, veiling the somber¹ spires² of the pines, but leaving the rows of straight trunks uncovered below a straight-drawn line. It was a gloomy morning. Jimmy, standing³ with Bethune and several others beside a growing log-pile, stopped a moment to rest his aching muscles. He was wet through, and his arms and back were sore from the previous day’s exertions⁴. Two strong skids⁵, placed so as to form an inclined bridge, led to the top of the log-pile and the soil between them was trodden into a wet, slippery mess in which it was difficult to keep one’s footing. A length sawed off a massive trunk lay across the ends of the skids, and Jimmy and his companions were trying to roll it into its place on top of the previously⁶ laid tier.  
Getting their poles beneath it they forced it upward, little by little. When they got half-way, a pole slipped, and for a few anxious moments the men strained every muscle to prevent the mass from rolling back, while their companion found a fresh rest for his pole. The log must be held: they could not jump clear in time. Breathing hard, with the sweat dripping from them, they raised it a foot or two, until it seemed possible to lift it on to the lower logs by a strenuous⁷ effort. They made the attempt; and one of the skids broke. Laying their shoulders beneath the mass, they struggled with it for their lives. If it overpowered them, they would be borne backward and crushed. With one support gone, it seemed impossible that they could lift it into place. For a few moments they held it, but did no more, though Jimmy felt the veins⁸ swell⁹ on his forehead and heard a strange buzzing in his ears. His mouth was dry, his heart beat painfully, and he knew he could not stand the cruel strain much longer. But there was no help available. They must conquer or be maimed.
 
“Lift! You have got to land her, boys!” cried somebody in a half-choked voice. And they made their last effort.
 
For a moment the mass hung in the balance, and then rose an inch. Again they hove it upward before their muscles could relax, and now its weight began to rest upon the lower logs. Another thrust rolled it slowly forward—and the danger was past.
 
Though the incident was not of an unusual character, Jimmy sat down limply in the wet fern to recover breath, and he was still resting when the foreman came up and beckoned¹⁰ him.
 
“We’ll not want you and your partner after to-night,” he said abruptly¹¹.
 
Jimmy looked at him in surprise.
 
“As you haven’t found any fault with us, might one ask the reason?”
 
“You might; but I can’t tell you. There it is—you’re fired. I’ve got my orders.”
 
The Canadian is often laconic¹², and Jimmy nodded.
 
“Very well,” he said; “we’ll go now. This isn’t a luxurious¹³ job.”
 
“As you like,” replied the foreman. “The boss’s clerk is in the shack¹⁴; I’ll give him your time.”
 
Jimmy followed him to the office and drew his pay, but the clerk seemed unable to explain his dismissal.
 
“I guess it’s because we can’t get our value out of the boys in this rain,” he said evasively.
 
“But why single us out?” Jimmy persisted. “I don’t know that I want to stay; but I’m curious. Our gang has put up as many logs as the others.”
 
“I’ve no time for talking!” the clerk exclaimed. “Take your money and quit!”
 
Bethune drew Jimmy away and they crossed the clearing to where Moran was at work. He showed no great surprise when he heard their news.
 
“Well,” he said, “I’ll finish the week here and then follow you to the city. We’ll need the money.”
 
“All right,” Bethune agreed; “if you get the chance of staying; but that’s doubtful. You know where to find us.”
 
They went back to the sleeping shack to get their clothes.
 
“What did you mean when you said he might not have the chance?” Jimmy asked.
 
“I have a suspicion that Hank will get his time in the next day or two. The boss wouldn’t want to make the thing too obvious, and Hank’s a good chopper. There are some awkward trees to get down where he’s working.”
 
“But why should they want to get rid of him—or us?”
 
Bethune smiled grimly.
 
“I think we’re marked men. We’ll find out presently whether I’m right.”
 
Bethune’s forebodings proved correct, for only a few days elapsed before Moran joined him and Jimmy in Vancouver. After spending a week in searching for employment they got work with a lumber¹⁵-rafting gang and kept it for a fortnight, when they were dismissed without any convincing reason being given.
 
On the evening after their return to the city they sat in a corner of the comfortless lobby at the hotel. It was quiet there because the other boarders lounged in tilted¹⁶ chairs before the big windows with their hats on and their feet supported by the radiator¹⁷ pipes, watching the passers-by.
 
“I came across the fellow we got the pumps from this afternoon,” Jimmy remarked. “The last time I saw him he was fairly civil, but he’s turned abusive now. Wanted to know when we were going to pay him the rest of his money, and made some pointed¹⁸ observations about our character.”
 
“That won’t hurt us,” laughed Bethune. “As we have nothing to give him and the sloop’s safely hidden, he can’t make much trouble. I heard something more interesting. An acquaintance of mine mentioned that they had a big lot of lumber to cut at the Clanch mill and wanted a few more men. If we could get a job there, we might hold it.”
 
“It seems to me we can’t hold anything,” Jimmy grumbled¹⁹. “Why that?”
 
Bethune chuckled²⁰ in a manner that indicated that he knew more than he meant to tell.
 
“Boldness often pays, and I imagine that our mysterious enemies won’t think of looking for us at the Clanch mill. We’ll go out there to-morrow.”
 
They found it a long walk over a wet road, for soon after they left the city rain began to fall. On applying at the mill gate, they were sent to the office, and Jimmy was standing, wet and moody²¹, by the counter, waiting until a supercilious²² clerk could attend to him, when an inner door opened and a young man came out. Jimmy started as he recognized the yachtsman they had met on the island; but Aynsley moved forward with a smile.
 
“This is a pleasant surprise! I’m glad you thought of looking me up.”
 
“As a matter of fact, we are looking for work,” Bethune said laconically²³.
 
Aynsley laughed and indicated the door behind him.
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