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Farmers living on other than the Manistogee roads came into Ledyard and hurried back to tell their neighbors of the chance to get ahead of the railroad for once. Dennis, who was in charge at the yard, had hard work to keep up with the supply of empty wagons. Sloan disappeared early in the morning, but at five o'clock Bannon had a telephone message from him.
"That's when the procession moves," he added; as Sloan looked at him questioningly. The other nodded. "In an hour," he said to the office boy. "What are you going to do in an hour?" he asked, as the boy went out. "Why, it'll be four o'clock then, and we ought to start for Manistogee as early as we can." "We! Well, I should think not!" said Sloan.
"That's when the procession moves," he added, as Sloan looked at him questioningly. The other nodded. "In an hour," he said to the office boy. "What are you going to do in an hour?" he asked, as the boy went out. "Why, it'll be four o'clock then, and we ought to start for Manistogee as early as we can." "We! Well, I should think not!" said Sloan.
We'll stick that up at every crossroads between here and Manistogee." Sloan was scribbling on a memorandum pad before Bannon had finished speaking. He made a false start or two, but presently got something that seemed to please him. He rang for his office boy, and told him to take it to the Eagle office. "It's got to be done in an hour," said Bannon.
He went to the hotel and persuaded the head waiter to give him something to eat, although it was long after the dinner hour. As he left the dining room, the clerk handed him two telegrams. One read: Get cribbing down. The other: Steam barge Demosthenes leaves Milwaukee tonight for Manistogee. As Bannon was paying for his dinner, he asked the clerk what sort of a place Manistogee was.
Send the bill to MacBride. I knew your name would go down and mine wouldn't." The delay had proved costly, and it was half-past seven before they reached the Manistogee hotel. "Now," said Bannon, "we'll have time to rub down the mare and feed her before I'm ready to go back." Sloan stared at him for a moment in unfeigned amazement. Then slowly he shook his head. "All right, I'm no quitter.
"I don't care a damn for the G. & M. I want the cribbing." "Don't you worry. I'll have the law on those fellows " "And I'd get the stuff about five years from now, when I was likely enough dead." "What's the best way to get it, according to your idea?" "Take it over to Manistogee in wagons and then down by barges." Sloan snorted. "You'd stand a chance to get some of it by Fourth of July that way."
"I don't care a damn for the G.&M. I want the cribbing." "Don't you worry. I'll have the law on those fellows " "And I'd get the stuff about five years from now, when I was likely enough dead." "What's the best way to get it, according to your idea?" "Take it over to Manistogee in wagons and then down by barges." Sloan snorted. "You'd stand a chance to get some of it by Fourth of July that way."
"You don't want to get rich, that's the trouble with you," said Sloan, and he said it almost enviously. Bannon rode to Manistogee on the first wagon. The barge was there, so the work of loading the cribbing into her began at once. There were numerous interruptions at first, but later in the day the stream of wagons became almost continuous.
What do you think she is a sawhorse! She never took more than two hours to Manistogee in her life." The corners of Bannon's mouth twitched expressively. Sloan laughed again. "I guess it's up to me this time," he said. Before they started Sloan telephoned to the Eagle office to tell them to print a full-sized reproduction of his poster on the front page of the Ledyard Evening Eagle.
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