Dennis, of course, wore thick gloves, but in spite of these
his hands were mutilated horribly, because he lacked the experience to
handle the logs with discretion. Even the best men are badly knocked
about at this particular job, and the duffers are very likely to be
killed outright.
At the end of ten lamentable days Dennis came to the conclusion that
Tom Barker wanted to kill him by the Chinese torture of Ling, or death
by a thousand cuts. More than one of the boys said: "Why don't you get
what dough is comin' to ye and skip?" Dennis shook his head. Not being
able to explain to himself why he stayed, he held his tongue, and thus
gained a reputation for grit which lightened other burdens. Jim
Doolan, the big Irishman, was of opinion that Dennis Brown was little
better than a denied baby with a soft spot in his head, but he
admitted that the cow-puncher was "white," and obviously bent upon
self-destruction. By this time the camp knew that the boss was taking
an unholy interest in Dennis, although he continued to treat him with
derisive civility. The rage he couldn't suppress was vented upon the
dog.
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