The Project Gutenberg eBook of Greener than spruce This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Greener than spruce Author: Herbert Farris Release date: January 6, 2023 [eBook #69671] Language: English Original publication: United States: Street & Smith Corporation, 1926 Credits: Roger Frank and Sue Clark *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREENER THAN SPRUCE *** GREENER THAN SPRUCE By Herbert Farris Author of “Plenty Grub an’ Plenty Gold,” etc. “Maybe greener men _have_ hit Alasky--but I doubt it!” The speaker, a rheumy-eyed, old veteran of the trails, spoke thus disparagingly of young Harris Benton. The old-timer’s perpetual “sun-grin” expanded visibly as he watched Benton’s parka-clad figure disappear around a bend in the river trail. “Wonder how long he’ll last,” the old fellow speculated, turning to the group on the river bank. “I’ll bet I’ve showed him a dozen times how to tie his snowshoes to his feet, an’ I’ve told him little things about pitchin’ his tent and makin’ camp, till I’m black in the face. It’ll be three-four weeks yet before mushin’ll be any good, but I’ve got a right good notion to load up the old Yukon sled an’ take out after that young chechahco.” “An’ why?” The old-timer had paused for that query. The question certainly gave pith and point to the clever thing on the tip of his tongue. The remark would have lost its savor in the telling; the retort, however, was pungent. “An’ why?” he repeated. “I’ll tell you for why. I’ve been snow-blind twice, so my eyes ain’t what they used to be. Nowadays, when I ain’t wearin’ snow glasses--an’ blast the dang things, I hate ’em!-- I’ve got to keep my eyes clamped on the spruce. “Spruce is dang restful to the eyes. It’s restful because it’s green, but to keep on lookin’ at it, a man’s got to twist his head from one side the river to the other, an’ there’s times when I think I’m li’ble to twist my head plum off--like a screech owl. Now, instead of takin’ all that trouble, I _could_ start out an’ foller after this young Benton. Instead of lookin’ at the spruce then, I could keep my eyes fastened straight ahead on _him_. He’s greener than any spruce that ever growed.” If young Harris Benton could have heard this sarcastic speech, he would have been rudely made aware of the withering contempt in which he was held by the general run of Alaskans with whom he had come in contact. Had he been aware of the feeling which existed, he would not have been offended in the least; he would have been amused. He was green but, unlike many greenhorns, he realized the fact and was anxious to learn. Moreover, he was willing to accept the hard knocks--a part of the curriculum of Alaska’s trail school--and come up smiling. For Harris Benton, although he was probably the greenest chechahco in the North, had not been raised a pet. At noon, young Benton hauled his sled to the river bank and, with considerable difficulty, dropped a dead spruce tree and built a small tea fire. After his noon meal he unloaded his Yukon sled, inverted it so that the steel-shod runners shone like twin mirrors in the rays of the sun; then--and this is almost past believing--he proceeded to smear the steel shoes of the sled runners with lubricating oil. The dealer who had sold him the oil--either unscrupulous or a practical joker--had seriously informed him that “greased sled runners makes mighty easy slippin’ on the trail.” Harris Benton had innocently bought five gallons of the lubricant. Where a musher pulls without dogs, as young Benton was doing, every pound of excess weight is an additional check to his progress. And besides the five gallons of lubricating oil, Harris Benton was hauling other nonessentials. He had more clothing than he really needed; about twenty pounds of books and old magazines, and the merchant from whom he had bought his outfit had sold him far too many cooking utensils. Benton’s entire outfit weighed almost twelve hundred pounds, and, since at best he could haul but four hundred pounds on his Yukon sled, he was relaying. He would haul from three to four hundred pounds as far up the river trail as he could possibly travel in a day, cache his load, and return to his camp with his empty sled. Early in the month of May he reached the Kentna country. He had been on the trail four months, and he had arrived with pick, pan, and shovel, together with ample food to last him through the mining season. Also--as every old-timer in the Kentna country will testify--he had arrived with the ambition and energy of a half dozen men in spite of the grueling work on the trail. Young Benton spent his first week after arriving at “the cricks” in building a cache for his supplies. It was a simple box affair, built of logs, supported high in air by four posts. He was busily stowing his food and other supplies in the cache, when a voice at his elbow brought him about with a start. Looking up from his work, he saw the old-timer who had offered him many helpful suggestions back at the trading post. The old man was surveying him, his small stock of provisions, and his crude cache, with frank curiosity. “Well, I see you landed here all right,” he remarked by way of greeting. “I’m camped just above here on Penny Ante Crick, an’ I ain’t got a thing to do till the snow goes off, so I thought I’d mush over an’ see how you’re gettin’ along. Staked yourself a claim yet?” Benton admitted that he had not. “I didn’t know it was lawful to stake a claim unless you discover gold,” he added. “Plenty of ’em stakes first an’ find the gold afterward--if there’s any to be found.” The old man’s rheumy eyes were mildly disapproving. “I wouldn’t worry too much about makin’ my discovery, if I was you. Most any gravel you find around here carries _some_ gold. Trouble is to find it in payin’ quantities. So hurry up an’ stake yourself a claim or two, before some of these ground hogs comes in on the first boat this summer an’ grabs it all. Us old-timers takes just what we can work to good advantage, but most greenhorns’ll wear out a pair of hobnail shoes just a-racin’ over the country stakin’. You’re lucky to be here among the first, so hurry up an’ get busy.” “Thanks for the tip. I’ll----” “It’s none of my business,” the old-timer suddenly interrupted, “but what in thunder have you brought into the country in _that_?” Benton had placed his five-gallon can of lubricating oil near the cache, and it was that which had elicited the question. He was somewhat puzzled. “Why, that’s my oil,” he said. “How do you carry yours?” The ancient sour dough had all he could do to keep a straight face. This green chechahco had actually brought kerosene into this wilderness! “You won’t have no use for a lamp,” he said gently. “All summer you can read fine print right in your tent--any hour of the night, too. I thought ev’ry-body knowed----” “I have no lamp,” young Benton interrupted impatiently. “I’m green but I’m not quite a fool--I hope. That isn’t oil for a lamp; it’s about four gallons of lubricating oil that I had left over from my winter’s sledding.” “I see.” The old man shifted his weight from one moccasined foot to the other, swallowing his Adam’s apple twice before he once more found his voice. “I understand you but I don’t know what you mean,” he said. “How much of this oil did you use an’ how did you use it?” “Well, I used about a gallon.” Young Benton was looking doubtfully at the old man. “I think I see what you’re driving at now. I allowed that storekeeper to sell me five gallons when one was all that I needed.” The old-timer lifted his tufted eyebrows. “An’ you got through the winter with one gallon,” he said softly, wonderingly. “Why, I only used it in the morning and again at noon. Just when I--but maybe I didn’t use it often enough. Still, the sled came along pretty well.” The old-timer barked apologetically in his mittened hand. At last he understood. It had been so many years since he had heard of the old joke of greasing sled runners that he had forgotten. But this boy was so very much in earnest, it wouldn’t do to hurt his feelings. And besides, it might lead to serious trouble. This innocent youth had dragged this worthless stuff over the trail--pounds and pounds of it. Murder had been committed for less than a joke like that! “The skinflint sold you too much, all right,” he said, as he reached down and thoughtfully “hefted” the can. “But you’ve got it here--I reckon you might as well forget it. Anyhow, you won’t have any more use for it. You’re all through sleddin’. An’ now I’d better be gettin’ along. If you want anything this summer, you’ll find me over on Penny Ante Crick. Number Five Above Discovery’s the name of my claim.” * * * * * Harris Benton was highly elated when he next saw the old-timer. Not only had he staked a claim on what he called Benton Gulch but he had actually discovered gold and he had found it in paying quantities. For a week he had panned the gravel on Benton Gulch, and he was now displaying his sample to the old-timer. The old man listened attentively to the boy’s story, but did not enthuse over the sample. “You’ve come clean over here to Penny Ante Crick to show me this, an’ I’m right sorry to have to disappoint you.” In spite of the old man’s words, young Benton was grinning cheerfully. “It takes a whole lot to discourage a young rooster like you,” he resumed, “but I’ll soon show you why you’ve got to leave that gulch alone. I don’t doubt what you say. You got the gold here to prove it. But how’re you goin’ to work the ground? Answer me that.” Harris Benton still grinned. “I know why you think I can’t work that ground,” he said. “It’s what you old-timers call a dry gulch. I know there won’t be drinking water there this summer. What you overlooked is this. By digging a ditch less than a quarter mile in length I can get one of the best sluice heads in this country. Right over that shoulder at the head of my gulch is where I----” “I know where you mean, all right,” interrupted the old-timer. “But have you talked with Joe Murtry yet?” “Haven’t even seen him. But why should I talk to him? What has he to do with it?” “Ev’rything. Joe Murtry owns ev’ry drop of water in Caribou Crick. He recorded it last spring a year ago.” Young Benton was on the point of interrupting, but the old-timer silenced him. “Now don’t start to tell me that all you’ve got to do is to go over to Caribou Crick an’ get Joe Murtry to give you the right to take what water you want, for Joe ain’t that kind. He ain’t only the luckiest man in Alasky--he’s the _meanest_. If he’s worth a dime, he’s worth a half million right now, but even so, he wouldn’t give a man daylight in a dark cellar. You just forget you ever staked a claim on that little gulch an’ start out prospectin’ for something that’ll do you some good.” Young Benton thanked the old man for his advice. “But,” he added, “I’m not going to start out prospectin’, when I’ve already discovered gold--unless I’m forced to do so. I’m going over to see Murtry at once.” “All right; but be ready to run if he comes at you. He’s the meanest man in Alasky, bar none. Joe Murtry never done no man a favor, an’ he never will. Mark what I tell you, son. He’ll chase you off his ground just as soon as you show up an’ tell him what you want. You’re just wastin’ your time. But, then, that’s the trouble with all chechahcos; they won’t listen to an old-timer’s advice.” Young Benton went at once to Caribou Creek. In spite of what he had heard of Joe Murtry, he was not convinced. There was an abundance of water in Caribou Creek, and surely no man would be mean enough to refuse to allow the use of the surplus. This line of reasoning gave him great confidence, but his first glimpse of Murtry caused his heart to sink. Murtry was not tall, but he was as broad as two average-sized men. Yet he was not fat. His arms were unusually long, and, due to a slight stoop to his powerful shoulders, his huge hands hung slightly ahead of his knees. Young Benton looked at him and instantly thought of a gorilla. With two others, Murtry was setting up a string of sluice boxes. Benton watched them for a time; twice, without waiting to be asked, he gave them a hand. Murtry, who had barely spoken, paused at last and sized up his caller. What he saw evidently satisfied him. “Want a job?” he asked gruffly. “I’m taking one of these men upriver tomorrow, an’ if you’re lookin’ for work, you can stay here an’ help Sam. Do whatever he tells you.” Here was a golden opportunity. Surely if he favored Murtry, he might expect the big fellow to reciprocate. “I’m not looking for work for the season,” he said, “but I’ll be glad to help out for a few days--if that will do you any good.” Murtry grunted. “All I need,” he said. “I’ve got a foreman an’ fifteen men waitin’ for me upriver. They mush in from the coast--their time starts the first of June whether they’re here or not. Hunderd an’ fifty miles from here. I’m goin’ up in my boat an’ bring ’em down. You stay an’ help Sam out till I come back with my men, an’ I’ll pay you the goin’ wages--ten bucks an’ grub.” Sam soon shuffled off to cook the evening meal, and Benton decided to say nothing about his sluice head of water until after they had eaten. Their pipes going, he thought it time to broach the subject. “I didn’t tell you that I was a neighbor of yours,” he said by way of opening the conversation. “I spent the winter sledding in my outfit.” “That so?” Murtry said with a mild simulation of interest. “Where you camped?” Benton indicated the direction. “Right over there,” he said, “I’ve named it Benton Gulch.” “You ain’t staked that little dry gulch?” “Why, yes. You see, I believe there’s a little gold there--I don’t know how much--I’ve already done quite a bit of panning and I hope to----” “You’re a fool!” Murtry interrupted in a rage. “If you don’t know that I own ev’ry drop of water in Caribou Crick, it’s time you was learnin’. How do you aim to work that gulch without water?” “That’s what I came over to see you about,” said Benton. “I heard that it was your water and I thought that you would be glad to spare me a sluice head.” Benton was speaking calmly, in spite of the other’s belligerent attitude. “Of course,” he went on, “if the water in Caribou Crick should run low this summer or fall, I’d quit taking it out, but----” “You’d _quit_ takin’ it out!” Murtry cried. “You’re never goin’ to _begin_ takin’ it out! If you ever start monkeyin’ with Caribou Crick, I’ll drill you so full of holes you’ll look like----” Murtry’s anger was intensified by his failure to find the word he was seeking. “Say,” he cried, “you get clean off this claim! Beat it quick, while you’re all together!” Benton was sitting at the rough table; he rose slowly. “Why certainly--if it’s your claim--I’ll leave.” He was speaking hesitantly but he was not afraid of the glowering bully who had commanded him to leave. He was simply surprised at the man’s unreasonable anger. “But even if I have no water, that gulch belongs to me, and I mean to hold it.” “Hold it as long as you want to!” Murtry was shouting after him. “Hold it till you get good an’ tired of doing assessment work on it! Wait a minute till I tell you something you’d just as well know now as later!” Benton paused and Murtry continued. “There ain’t any gold in that gulch, but even if there was, _you’d_ never get to work it. I’ve got the water an’ I aim to keep it!” The old-timer was right. He was right about everything! He had said that Joe Murtry was the meanest man in Alaska; he had said that no matter how much gold the tiny gulch might carry, Murtry would never allow it to be worked. Benton considered the various things that the old-timer had told him until he reached his camp in Benton Gulch. Well, he decided, he would follow the old man’s advice and quit the gulch on the following day. Benton had been prospecting the gulch every day for more than a week. Through force of habit he took his pick, shovel and gold pan, and went to work in the narrow cut which he had been running into a shoulder of the hill near his tent. He was far from an expert with the gold pan, but he enjoyed the beginner’s thrill, which always came when he “tailed off” the residue in the pan, and saw the streak of yellow trickling behind the black sand. Young Benton extended his cut three feet into the hill. He was following along the disintegrated slate bed rock; although he did not realize it, the bedrock was totally different. Before it had been “slick,” now it was rough and “rotten.” He filled his pan with gravel and carried it to a hole which he had dug in the gulch’s channel. Now the hole was filled with water from the melting snows; in a week, perhaps, it would be dry. At least the old-timer had said that it would, and Benton was now a firm believer in the wisdom of the old man. It is a maxim with old-timers that “many things are mistaken for gold, but gold is never mistaken for anything else.” A greenhorn is often fooled, for example, by iron pyrites and “cube” iron, but when he discovers gold, the real thing, he knows. So it was with Benton. For a week he had been panning “pinhead stuff” that would “rattle in the pan.” Now, as he “tailed off” the pan he had taken from the disintegrated bed rock, he saw that a half-dozen dull-yellow pieces of gold were in the bottom of the pan. Benton’s old-timer would have pronounced them slugs. Benton was excited. He held the slugs in the palm of his hand, while he attempted to estimate their value. The smallest of them, he decided, was fully twice as large as a five-dollar gold piece; the largest was surely worth more than twenty dollars. The six slugs would total almost a hundred dollars. Chechahco that he was, Benton still knew that he had uncovered bonanza dirt. Young Benton went again to his cut. This time he worked feverishly for two hours. His pay streak was rich, extremely so, but there was a heavy overburden to handle. In other words, above the pay he had discovered on bed rock, lay ten, twenty, possibly as much as fifty feet of muck and gravel. Undoubtedly the ground was rich enough that he could take out hundreds of dollars that summer without water, but if he could only manage to get that sluicehead from Caribou Creek, he could with a pressure hose, run that overburden off like so much soup. He _must_ have that water? But how? At five o’clock next morning young Benton was seated on the stump of a spruce where the clear waters of Caribou Creek gushed into the brown foam-flecked river. He looked at Murtry’s river boat which was beached near by. It rested on two fresh-peeled logs, and Benton saw that all preparations had been recently made to launch the vessel. At six o’clock, Murtry and one of his men put in an appearance. Benton had no time to lose; he spoke to Murtry at once. “Murtry,” he said, without rising from his stump, “I’ve been thinking the matter over and I wonder if you would consider _selling_ me a sluice head of water from Caribou Crick. I’ll pay you what it is worth.” Murtry paid him no attention. He and his man put their shoulders at the stern of the boat and skidded the vessel into the river. Murtry made a line fast to a convenient “dead man,” while his man leaped into the stern of the boat and started the engine. No sooner did he have the engine purring rhythmically, than he shut it off. “What’s the matter?” Murtry, who was about to cast off and leap aboard, made the line fast again. “Anything wrong with that engine?” “No, but----” The man was looking at Murtry in wide-eyed alarm. He was afraid to tell what was wrong, and yet he dared not remain silent. “Mr. Murtry,” he said, speaking swiftly, as if anxious to break the news as quickly as possible, “there ain’t a single drop of engine oil. I spoke to Sam about it last night after we’d loaded the other stuff aboard, an’ he said there was plenty of oil here. But I just looked an’ there’s nothin’ but gasoline. There’s more gasoline than we need, but there ain’t a drop of----” “You idiot!” Murtry exclaimed. “Chase right up to camp an’ get some out of the cache an’ hurry!” Murtry’s man leaped ashore, but stood hesitantly, shifting his feet as if in a quandary. “Hurry! I don’t want to wait here all day!” “I’ll go look again, but I looked last evenin’ an’ there wasn’t any there. At least I didn’t see it. That’s why Sam was so sure there was plenty on the boat.” “Of course it’s there. If you don’t find it in the cache, look in the tool shed.” At this the man shuffled off. Young Benton was much pleased at Murtry’s unexpected delay, but he was somewhat nettled at the manner in which he had been ignored. He decided to try again, and this time he would do his utmost to make Murtry answer him. “I suppose you didn’t hear me a bit ago,” he began, “but----” “I heard you the first time,” Murtry interrupted with an oath. “Now shut your yap an’ get out!” Benton did not move. Seeing this, Murtry’s great hamlike hands twisted about convulsively; his lips drew back against his uneven teeth, and with an enraged snarl he quickly rushed at the youth. “I’ll show you if you move or not!” he shouted. “Once I get a hold of you, I’ll----” Murtry suddenly brought up with a sharp exclamation. Ten feet from Benton, he had stopped with an expression of bewilderment on his broad face. He was gazing like a man fascinated into the barrel of an automatic. “I came ready for you,” said young Benton coolly. “I’m not on your claim, and I don’t see you or anybody else throwing me off of government land. And now, you can at least listen to what I have to say, even if you don’t care to----” “I’ll listen, you young pup,” Murtry said, “but there’s a day comin’. You’ll wake up some day an’ learn that what I say goes in this neck of the woods.” Murtry advanced a step as he said this. “And you,” said Benton as he menaced Murtry with his weapon, “may _never_ wake up, if you come another step in this direction. There, that’s better,” he went on as Murtry retreated a step. “From what I’ve been told, Murtry, you’re a mighty rich man. It won’t bother you in the least to sell--or give me, for that matter--some of your water. You’ve got your pile made. Now be decent and give me a chance to get out of this country with a little money for all the hardship I’ve gone through. Will you listen to a sensible proposition?” “Rave on,” said Murtry sullenly. “You’ve got me dead to rights. Talk away if it does you any good, but you’ll get nothin’ out of me.” “I’ll give you a third of all the money I take out,” said Benton, speaking slowly and distinctly. “If you’ll give me the water to work the ground. Is it a go?” Murtry opened his lips as if he intended to reply; then closed them tightly. A minute passed and he seemed to reconsider. “You might as well trot along,” he said contemptuously. “Use your brains. Why _would_ I take a third? If there’s any money there, I can have it all after you starve out; an’ if there ain’t anything there, what’s the idee of my takin’ a third!” Benton said nothing more. Argument seemed such a futile thing, so far as Murtry was concerned. Five minutes passed and Murtry’s man appeared empty handed. His manner was apologetic. “It ain’t there,” he said, whining. “An’ there ain’t any on the boat. Sam or some of the other boys must’ve used it all up last fall before the boat was laid up. I don’t know what to do unless I mush up there an’ have the boys come down in a boat or on a raft.” For almost a minute, Murtry raved like a maniac. “An’ ev’ry day that my men stay up there, it’s costin’ me a hunderd an’ sixty-five dollars.” He groaned. “Fifteen men at ten a day an’ my foreman at fifteen a day. That’s what comes of puttin’ a man like you in charge of my boat. Say, how long do you think it’d take you to mush up there?” “A hunderd an’ fifty miles is a good ways--goin’ through the brush like I’ll have to do,” the man said. “I’ll do my best though to make it in ten days.” “Sixteen hunderd an’ sixty-five dollars!” Again Murtry groaned. “An’ maybe a whole lot more--if you _don’t_ make it in ten days. Well, what are you standin’ there for? Get a move on!” “Wait just a minute, Mr. Murtry. I’ve just thought about somethin’ that may save you a whole lot of money, an’ save me that long trip upriver on foot. An old-timer over on Penny Ante Crick has been tellin’ all around that this young Benton sledded in nearly five gallons of oil last winter. He was laughin’ about him usin’ it to grease his sled runners, an’ he’s got upward of four gallons of it left. Now, if you could buy it off him----” “Why, of course,” Murtry interrupted briskly. “I heard about it a month ago. Just forgot it.” He turned to Benton. “How much do you want for that oil?” he asked in a pleasant voice. Young Benton was thinking fast. He, too, had forgotten all about the oil that he had bought to make slippin’ easy. He had considered the stuff worthless, but now---- “I’ll tell you, Mr. Murtry,” he said thoughtfully, “I had a lot of work sledding that oil in here last winter. I really hadn’t thought about selling it, but since you need it, and I don’t, I’ll let you have it.” “You mean for nothin’?” Murtry asked incredulously. “Of course not. I mean for a fair price.” Murtry became suspicious. “What do you call a fair price?” he countered. “It’s worth nothin’ whatever to you, an’ I’ll give you--let’s see, I’ll give you two dollars a gallon for it an’ allow you a dollar a pound for freightin’ it into the country. Fair enough, ain’t it?” Benton grinned. “That’s one way of looking at it,” he said amiably, “but I really can’t think of letting it go for what you offer. Two dollars a gallon is more than the oil is worth, but--the freighting the stuff into this country. Man, that was the hardest work I ever did in my life!” “I get you.” Murtry spoke thickly. “You’ve got me where the wool’s short an’ you aim to gouge me. All right--tell you what I’ll do--I’ll give you a hundred dollars cash on the nail. How ’bout it?” “That _would_ be gouging, as you call it.” Benton seemed to be considering the matter. “No,” he said at last, “I can’t take that much money. Four gallons of oil isn’t worth a hundred dollars.” “Say, what in thunder are you drivin’ at?” Murtry cried angrily. “Are you tryin’ to kid somebody?” “Not at all. You’ve made your offer, and now I’ll make mine.” Benton spoke slowly and distinctly. “As you said a moment ago, that oil is really worth nothing at all to me, so I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll just give you the oil, provided that you’ll give me something that’s worth nothing whatever to you. In case you don’t know, I mean a sluice head of water from Caribou Creek. Are you on?” Murtry was thinking hard. There was not one chance in a thousand of this confident youngster finding gold on that little dry gulch. There was water to spare, lots of it going to waste, but oil--there was only four gallons of lubricating oil in the country! With a scowl, Murtry nodded his head in the affirmative. * * * * * It was a month later before the old-timer visited young Benton on his dry gulch. Fully a half dozen men were bustling about on the claim. Benton himself was closely watching two men who were holding the nozzle of a pressure hose trained against a bank of gravel. The old-timer stood aghast until Benton came over to greet him. “Well, how in the name of Sam Hill,” said the old man, “did you ever make a deal with Joe Murtry to get this water!” For reply Benton fished a bit of paper from his pocket, and passed it over. “Read it,” he said with a grin. The old-timer slowly spelled out the brief document. In consideration of four gallons of engine oil, I hereby agree to sell, assign, and transfer to Harris Benton, a full sluice head of water to be taken from the waters of Caribou Creek, and I agree to allow him or his agents to go on my claim or claims to dig the necessary ditch to carry said water. Joe Murtry. “You’re the first man that ever got the best of Joe Murtry,” gasped the old-timer. “How in thunder did you do it?” Benton explained. “And now,” he went on, “I’ve got some good miners working for me, but--you’re an old-timer--do they seem to be working the ground all right?” “Listen, son,” said the old-timer solemnly. “You don’t need the advice of an old-timer.” [Transcriber’s Note: This story appeared in the June 5, 1926 issue of Western Story Magazine.] *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREENER THAN SPRUCE *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. START: FULL LICENSE THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license. Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. 1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States. 1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed: This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. 1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License. 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. 1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that: • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.” • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works. • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work. • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. 1.F. 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. 1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life. Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS. The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate. While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate. International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate. Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org. This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.