Understand? It's up to us to fight, ain't it?"
Later Elliot put this viewpoint before Strong.
"There's something in it," the miner agreed. "Wages have gone down, and
it's partly because the big fellows are consolidating interests. Alaska
ain't a poor man's country the way it was. But Mac ain't to blame for
that. He has to play the game the way the cards are dealt out."
The sky was clear again when the Hannah drew in to the wharf at Moose
Head to unload freight, but the mud in the unpaved street leading to the
business section of the little frontier town was instep deep. Many of
the passengers hurried ashore to make the most of the five-hour stop.
Macdonald, with Mrs. Mallory and their Kusiak friends, disappeared in
a bus. Elliot put on a pair of heavy boots and started uptown.
At the end of the wharf he passed Miss O'Neill. She wore no rubbers and
she had come to a halt at the beginning of the mud. After a momentary
indecision she returned slowly to the boat.
The young man walked up into the town, but ten minutes later he crossed
the gangplank of the Hannah again with a package under his arm. Miss
O'Neill was sitting on the forward deck making a pretense to herself of
reading.
Pages:
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51