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The latter sat listening carefully, but did not speak, and Hilliard answered his own question. "Why, that it's an export trade from France to England an export trade only, mind you. As far as you learned, these people's boat runs the pit-props to England, but carries nothing back. Isn't that so?" "They didn't mention return cargoes," Merriman answered, "but that doesn't mean there aren't any.
Hilliard went on: "We thought there might be brandy, in fact we couldn't suggest anything else. But we didn't see any brandy; we saw pit-props. Isn't that right?" "Well?" Merriman returned impatiently. "Get on. What next?" "That's all," Hilliard declared with a delighted laugh. "That's the whole thing. Don't you see it now?" Merriman felt his anger rising.
At the back were a number of doors, and through these also narrow gauge lines were laid which connected with those radiating to the edge of the clearing. Everywhere between the lines were stacks of pit-props as well as blocks and cuttings. Three or four of the doors were open, and in front of one of them, talking to someone in the building, stood a man. Presently he turned and saw them.
"I don't know much about it, but I believe soft wood blocks are considered better than hard." "They wear more evenly, I understand. I'm trying to persuade the Paris authorities to try a piece of it, and if that does well it might develop into a big thing. Indeed, I can imagine our giving up the pit-props altogether in the future."
From the mill came the hard, biting screech of a circular saw. "A sawmill!" Merriman exclaimed rather unnecessarily. "Yes. We cut pit-props for the English coal mines. Those are they you see stacked up. As soon as they are drier they will be shipped across. My father joined with some others in putting up the capital, and voila!"
The Scots-fir is an interloper in the New Forest, and always looks out of place; it was introduced as an experiment I believe, less than 150 years ago, and has been found useful as I have explained for sheltering young plantations of oaks. It grows rapidly, and has been planted by itself on land too poor for more valuable timber, chiefly for pit-props.
Stacks of pit-props stood ready for loading between the lines. "Seems a sound arrangement," Hilliard commented as they made their inspection. "Quite. Anything I noticed before struck me as being efficient." When they had seen all that the wharf appeared to offer, they walked round the end of the shed.
For a long time afterwards we used to chaff the captain, and tell him that he valued his sergeant-major at six pit-props and ten sheets of iron." Hot sweltering days followed. Most mornings I spent at the O.P. watching our batteries' efforts to knock out suspected enemy trench mortars, or staring through my binoculars trying to pick out Boche transport, or fresh digging operations.
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