Yours to the knife, LUKE TARBOE.
He read the letter through, and coming to the words, "When you come back here to play your part, you'll make it a success--the whole blessed thing," he paused, reflecting... He wondered what Carnac would think the words meant, and he felt it was bold, and, maybe, dangerous play; but it was not more dangerous than facts he had dealt with often in the last two years. He would let it stand, that phrase of the hidden meaning. He did not post the letter yet.
Four days later he put on his wide-brimmed panama hat and went out into the street leading to the centre of the city. There was trouble in the river reaches between his men and those of Belloc-Grier, and he was keeping an appointment with Belloc at Fabian Grier's office, where several such meetings had taken place.
He had not gone far, however, when he saw a sprightly figure in light-brown linen cutting into his street from a cross-road. He had not seen that figure for months-scarcely since John Grier's death, and his heart thumped in his breast. It was Junia. How would she greet him?
A moment later he met her. Raising his hat, he said: "Back to the firing-line, Miss Shale! It'll make a big difference to every one concerned."
"Are you then concerned?" she asked, with a faint smile.
"One of the most concerned," he answered with a smile not so composed as her own. "It's the honour of the name that's at stake."
"You want to ruin Mr. Grier's chances in the fight?"
"I didn't say that. I said, 'the honour of the name,' and the name of my firm is 'Grier's Company of Lumbermen.' So I'm in it with all my might, and here's a letter--I haven't posted it yet--saying to Carnac Grier where I stand. Will you read it? There's no reason why you shouldn't." He tore open the envelope and took the letter out.
Junia took it, after hesitation, and read it till she came to the sentence about Carnac returning to the business. She looked up, startled.
"What does that mean?" she asked, pointing to the elusive sentence.
"He might want to come into the business some day, and I'll give him his chance. Nothing more than that."
"Nothing more than that!" she said cynically. "It's bravely said, but how can he be a partner if he can't buy the shares?"
"That's a matter to be thought out," he answered with a queer twist to his mouth.