That's one of the reasons we fell
out. John Grier's a big, ruthless trickster. I wasn't. I was for
playing the straight game, and I played it."
"Well, he's got his own way now. He's got a man who wouldn't blink at
throttling his own brother, if it'd do him any good. Tarboe is iron and
steel; he's the kind that succeeds. He likes to rule, and he's going to
get what he wants mostly."
"Is that why you're going away?" asked Fabian. "Don't you think it'll
be just as well not to go, if Tarboe is going to get all he wants?"
"Does Tarboe come here?"
"He's been here twice."
"Visiting?"
"No. He came on urgent business. There was trouble between our two
river-driving camps. He wanted my help to straighten things out, and he
got it. He's pretty quick on the move."
"He wanted you to let him settle it?"
"He settled it, and I agreed. He knows how to handle men; I'll say that
for him. He can run reckless on the logs like a river-driver; he can
break a jam like an expert. He's not afraid of man, or log, or devil.
That's his training. He got that training from John Grier's firm under
another name. I used to know him by reputation long before he took my
place in the business--my place and yours. You got loose from the
business only to get tied up in knots of your own tying," he added.
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