Orcutt studied the map for a moment. "Who owns the land above here?" he asked sharply. "The Hudson's Bay Company on the north side, and the Government on the south." "Well, what in hell is to prevent someone--McNabb, for instance--from buying up that land and starting operations above us? Even if they didn't put in a dam they could raise the devil with us by driving their stuff through. John McNabb knows every trick of the logging game, and when he finds out what has happened he'll go the limit to buck us." Wentworth considered. "I guess he could do that, all right. We would have to let his stuff through--" "I'll fix him!" cried Orcutt. "I'll beat him to it! Where do we do business with the Government and the Hudson's Bay Company?" "With the Government in Ottawa, and the Company in Winnipeg." "Hell's bells!" cried Orcutt. "That means we'll be gallivanting all over Canada for the next week or ten days. Well, it can't be helped. I know John McNabb well enough not to leave any loop-hole for him to take advantage of." He called to the guides. "Hey, you Injuns! What's the quickest way to the railroad?" The guides pointed due north. "Mebbe-so wan hondre mile," announced one. "But," cried Wentworth, "we're going back by way of the post, aren't we?" "We're going to hit for the railway the quickest way God will let us!" "But, I--I left something--that is, I have nothing to travel in but these field clothes, and they're shockingly soiled and tattered." "Soiled and tattered--hell! What's that got to do with saving years of trouble at the mill? Maybe you ain't as pretty as you'd like to be--but, you've got enough on so they can't arrest you----" Wentworth felt a decidedly uncomfortable thrill at the word "arrest." He was thinking of a certain Russian sable coat that lay in his trunk at the cabin, and guarded from prying eyes by only a flimsy trunk lock. He thought, also, of Downey--and wondered. He would have given much to have returned to that cabin, but a single glance into Orcutt's face stilled any thought of further objection, and he reluctantly acquiesced. "We can follow the line of the tote-road," he said. "I blazed it to the railway, and by the way, Cameron said that McNabb had already started construction--had twenty or thirty miles of it completed several days ago." "Started construction?" cried Orcutt. "Construction of what?" "The tote-road. He figured it would be quicker and cheaper to haul his material for the mill in from the new railway than to ship by boat around through the Bay to Port Nelson, and then drag it up the river by scow." "And you mean to say he's started the work? Laid out good money on top of what his options cost him--and forgot to take up the options?" "That's just what he's done, according to Cameron."