Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 27, 1925 — page 92: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

SS the great amusement of Whitey Wilkins. For Whitey had figured that a real, honest- to-guodness trapper would be above such a tol, would depend on his ax. All the trap- pers Whitey had read about had been the ax sort. However, when it came to building the cabin, Whitey admitted that a cross- cut saw had its uses. “7 tink we mak’ toboggan now.” Bateese stepped up to the birch, notched the trunk with the ax, then took up the SAN. Whitey grabbed hold of one handle. “ Nothin’ like bein’ forehanded,”’ he said, “but me, I don't see the use. A toboggan is a fine thing for travelin’ when you have the means o’ draggin’ it by dogflesh, but standin’ ornamental ag’in’ the wall it looks sort o’ superfluous.” “Nevaire you min’, Whitey.” Bateese bent his great back as he drew the cross- cut across the trunk of the birch. “ Jus’ now we'll have toboggan an’ no dogs, but later on—how you say it?—the proverb, ‘Don’ you swim over dose bridges till you come up wit’ hims.’”’ They dropped the bith, a small tree with a trunk that promised straight grain. Bateese measured eight feet off the lower end and cut it through again. The log thus formed, he squared roughly with his ax, a delicate job even for as expert an axman as he, for the grain was not true, though good for birch, and the wood was brittle. Finally across the end he marked off his planks, allowing almost an inch thickness for each. The cross-cut saw would dress them down, he figured. “Now we play sawmill,” Bateese said, and once more grabbed the cross-cut. They started their cut slowly. The saw, meant for working across the grain, cut rather poorly along it. But, at that, when they had finished their first rude plank, the result was gratifying. Rough it was, but Straight, five inches wide, about half an inch thick, and eight feet long. “We ain’t a fancy sawmill, Bateese,”’ Whitey crowed, “ but that there bodfd’s a board.” “We cut anodder,” Bateese laughed, ‘“ I tink we mak’ skis, too.” They went to work again. By night they ARGOSY-ALLSTORY, WEEKLY. had eight planks of a sort. Bateese aig aside the four best for skiis. The others hy took into the cabin. : | With the ax he dressed them down a bit cutting off the rough surfaces left by the cross-cut saw. Then breaking a bo. tle, he smoothed them still more with bity of broken glass. When finally they wer finished to suit he had four thin strips of birch which, laid side by side, would give him a toboggan eight feet long and perhaps twenty inches wide. “That don’t look like the toboggan you had last year,” Whitey objected as his big partner, laying the strips on the floor, side by side, began to nail a batten across one end. ‘ That there thing ain’t got a curve in front. It ’d do on hard goin’, mebbe, but it ’d nose-dive into the first drift you run across, and not all the dogs in this here north country would get it out.” Bateese said nothing. He liked to a. hibit his woodcraft to this new partner of his, liked to see, Whitey’s eyes widen as he found the way round each new obstruc- tion. So he went on stolidly with his work, nailing the first batten across almost at the ends of the thin strips of birch, nailing a second two feet farther back. The ends of these battens he left projecting an inch or so on either side. Another batten midway along and one at the other end and this stage of toboggan manufacture was Over. Bateese rose. ‘“‘ Mak’ hot fire, Whitey," he ordered. ‘‘ An’ boil water.” “What do you want hot water for?” Whitey asked. “ For mak’ the wood sof’. Then we bend heem.” Bateese picked up the toboggan and stepped outside. After putting the water on to heat Whitey followed him. The big Canuck was standing by tv small saplings—straight stemmed, perhaps a foot apart, springing from a common root. He slid the front end of his tobog- gan between them, and tested it, putting the strain on easily. But the toboggan 7% stiff, the wood brittle. However, he found out what he wanted. The trees would serve He could use them as a template. He went back into the cabin, rummaged around, 4nd came out again with a0 0 CONMUC NOO SS Co