“Huh,” muttered Dick in an undertone. “A fine protector you are, and you know that Collins is innocent. He knows too much, that’s all.”
Old Collins marched out of the mill section and started toward the office. A moment later Dick unobtrusively followed him. In a few seconds he had caught up with the man and said goodbye to him.
“Goodbye, my lad, and let me give you a warning. Tell your pal that his father’s business is going to pot here. There’s something underfoot, I don’t know what it is or why, but it’s there. Too many accidents. You watch that Barrows and watch the timekeeper, and keep an eye on the two drivers with the moustaches. Throw in the cookee for good measure, and you’ll have a precious lot of rascals.”
Dick tried to elicit further information, but found that the old fellow either did not know anything specific, or was crotchety and would not tell.
There being nothing that could be done further, the manager and Dick returned to the office, while Garry went to the bunkhouse to see if he could render any aid to the man who had been cut by the flying particles of the saw.
At the office they found waiting their acquaintance of the attempted holdup, Arthur Howells. He acted according to the agreement and waited till they had been introduced.
“This is our scaler and cruiser,” announced Barrows.
Upon the boys professing ignorance of what the duties of a scaler were, they received an invitation from Howells to come with him after dinner and watch the operations. Barrows heartily advised the boys to go with him and learn something of the way in which the trees were spotted and the lumber measured.
The chums knew well that the invitation was solely for the purpose of getting them away from the camp so that they could confer on what was going on.
After dinner they sought out Howells, and after he had armed himself with a scaling stick, marked off in measurements, which was used to measure the trees, they wandered into the woods.
In a few words they told him of the events that had transpired since their arrival.
Howells was especially interested in the matter of the spiked tree, and was indignant at the fact that Collins had been discharged.
“Why, the old man was as honest as the day is long. He used to know your father a good many years ago, Garry, and he would never do anything that would harm him or his business,” Howells said vehemently.