And I'd just have an easy day back into town,
starting now.
So I turned and went back the way I had come.
VI
It was no sort of work this for a man; I was not satisfied. Nothing but
walk, walk up and down the river, clearing a few logs here and there, and
then on again. And after each trip, back to my lodging-house in the town.
All this time I had but one man to talk to--the boots or porter at the
hotel where the engineer was staying. He was a burly fellow, with huge
fists, and eyes like a child's. He had fallen down and hurt his head as a
youngster, he said, and never got on in life beyond hauling things and
carrying heavy loads. I had a talk with him now and again, but found no
one else to talk to in the town.
That little town!
When the river is high, a mighty roar of sound goes rushing through the
place, dividing it in two. Folk live in their little wooden houses north
or south of the roar, and manage, no doubt, to make ends meet from day to
day. Of all the many children crossing the bridge and running errands to
the shops, there are none that go naked, probably few that suffer want,
and all are decent looking enough.
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