288 Sport and Life. 



than did old Sir Mathew Begbie, who, on one of his circuits through 

 Kootenay, stayed with us on the way. He and I were sitting on 

 the verandah of my shanty, a hundred yards or so from where a 

 new cabin was being shingled by the doctor. Twelve o'clock 

 whistle had just sounded, and, as usual, he had not heard it. 

 Calmly he continued his hammering. Presently a loud shout was 

 heard, " Doc, I say, Doc, those pills you gave me yesterday weren't 



worth a damn ; you have got to ," further details were 



suppressed, for the doctor had by this time turned round and 

 noticed his patient. He came tripping down the ladder at a great 

 rate. Arrived at the bottom he lugged his patient off into the 

 brush, for that was the only private place for further consultation. 

 Whenever any indistinct shouting was heard on the Flat one knew 

 the doctor was being consulted, a particular thick patch of willows 

 being soon known as Harley Street. 



The Canadians did not get on well with the " Upper Crusts " 

 or B.B.'s, of whom they were jealous, for I had the B.B.'s, often over 

 at my house for meals and an evening pipe. Much of this ill-feeling 

 was really caused by the evil-tongued millwright, and one day it 



came to a head. H , one of the B.B.'s, was a very powerful young 



chap, whose work in the mill was about the hardest going. He was a 

 slab carrier, i.e., he had to remove the slabs, or first and last outside 

 boards, as they fell from the log that was being cut up. Not only 

 is this stiff work, but it is dangerous too, for any mistake or 

 inattention is likely to cause severe injury or worse, to himself or 

 the other men about the place. Now, slabs can be cut large or 

 small according to the discretion of the millwright who guides the 

 saw. The larger the slab the heavier, of course, it is, and the more 

 difficult to remove quickly. Of this fact the millwright took advan- 

 tage to bother the B.B., till finally the slabs became so big that the 

 B.B., herculean as he was, found he was unable to tackle them, and 

 the millwright came to me to complain of him, demanding that I 

 should discharge him. Knowing how matters stood, I was waiting 

 for some such chance, for a more doggedly willing hand than was 

 H , that Canadian bounder never had in a mill. It was in this 



