Red Jacket by Joseph Heywood Read Free Book Online

Cruse of Houghton County?” Oates asked.
    Until last night he’d never talked to the sheriff, but he’d heard about him. “It’s said by some that he likes to curry favor with the mine owners.” Last night pretty much supported this contention.
    â€œCaptain Madog Hedyn of the Delaware mine?”
    â€œMet him just once,” Bapcat said, reeling under the irony of being queried about the very man he’d thrashed just the night before.
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œThey say he’s a hard man.”
    â€œEver hear Hedyn’s name in connection with market-hunting?” Oates asked.
    â€œNo, sir. I live way out on the tip of the peninsula, and I don’t get a lot of company.” Or welcome it.
    Oates exchanged a look with Jones. Bapcat was thin, almost six foot, with a short black beard, large hands, and dark hair. “I see your knuckles are abraded. You ever considered working as a lawman?” Oates asked.
    Bapcat shook his head and looked at his hands. “I fell down. What kind of lawman?”
    â€œDeputy State Game, Fish and Forestry Warden,” Jones said.
    â€œ Game warden? ” Bapcat said, seeking clarification. “Me?”
    â€œYes, deputy game warden. Chief Deputy Jones here would be your immediate supervisor,” Oates said.
    Roosevelt immediately weighed in. “These are fine men, Lute, and they need skilled and trustworthy men like you who know their way around the woods.”
    â€œOrdinarily,” Jones said, “counties pay deputy wardens, and we jointly select the men, but past choices have often been entirely political. Warden Oates and I want to put the focus squarely on conservation and resources, not politics. We want our men hired for their knowledge and skills, not their connections. We want high-minded, dedicated, professional lawmen, not political hacks. The job is supposed to be about the resources, not who you know or who owns what. President Roosevelt did the same thing when he headed the Civil Service Commission in Washington.”
    â€œ Keweenaw County?” Bapcat asked.
    â€œHoughton and Keweenaw,” Oates said, “but you will be paid from our offices in Lansing, not by either county. You can hire an assistant as our second deputy, but only on a trial basis. Let’s take some time to measure people before we commit to permanent hires. You can, of course, hire other assistants on a temporary basis as you need them, when season or circumstances dictate. Your pay will be three dollars and fifty cents a day, every day.”
    Jones said, “You provide your own firearms and ammunition, and your own means of transportation. You own an automobile?”
    Bapcat shook his head. “Doubt an automobile would help where I live. What roads we have outside the towns are bad when they’re at their best. A horse might be more useful.”
    â€œYes, about that—we want you to move to Ahmeek so you are close to both counties and can move north or south.”
    â€œAhmeek?” That was nearly forty miles south of his place, and right at the top of the mining district.
    â€œThe house there is state-owned, free to you. You’ll just need to keep the furnace supplied with coal and do your own repairs. The move to Ahmeek isn’t optional, son,” Oates added.
    â€œWe want you to hold off on identifying yourself at the outset,” Jones chimed in. “Better to pick a time and use that moment for maximum surprise effect.”
    Bapcat looked at his colonel. “ This is why you called me here, Colonel?”
    â€œThis, and because I always enjoy spending time with my boys. Take the job, Lute. Your colonel thinks it’s the right thing to do for yourself, for your state, and for your country. You see, I’m still your spotter, even after all these years, my boy.”
    Lute Bapcat trusted Roosevelt, but he harbored doubts—especially when it came to living in Ahmeek. He loathed