In addition we
sell him, at a reasonable figure, sufficient land fronting on
tidewater to enable him to erect a sawmill, lay out his yards, and
build a dock out into the deep water.
"Thus Gregory will have that which he hasn't got now--an outlet to
his market by water; and when the railroad to Sequoia builds in from
the south, it will connect with the road which we have built from
Sequoia up into Township Nine to the north; hence Gregory will also
have an outlet to his market by rail. He can easily get a good
manager to run his lumber business until he finds a customer for it,
and in the meantime we will be charging his account with our freight-
bills against him and gradually pay off the loan without pinching
ourselves."
"Have you talked with Gregory?"
"Yes. I met him while I was in San Francisco. Somebody brought him up
to a meeting of the Redwood Lumber Manufacturers' Association, and I
pounced on him like an owl on a mouse."
John Cardigan's old hand came gropingly forth and rested
affectionately upon his boy's. "What a wonderful scheme it would have
been a year ago," he murmured sadly. "You forget, my son, that we
cannot last in business long enough to get that road built though
Gregory should agree to finance the building of it. The interest on
our bonded indebtedness is payable on the first--"
"We can meet it, sir.
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