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What I found at the bottom of the hill could only be called a town in the strictest sense of the word. There was a grand total of four actual buildings there: an old hotel, a post office, a municipalities building, and a general store. Several small shacks, hastily built, were scattered around the vicinity of the town, and it was here that other prospective lumber tycoons such as myself resided. A single gravel road ran through the center of town before looping back up towards the main highway, as if even the roads didn't want to stay here very long.
The only place I was interested in at the moment was the general store. I had been informed that this was the place to go to obtain a permit for land on which I could start my business. I strolled up the red brick building, and as I did so I noticed some peculiar posters plastered on the windows. They read:
Respect the land! Don't allow men to destroy our precious forests all for the sake of a quick profit! Join the Environmental League today and support us as we seek to ban these monsters from our woods!
The bell over the door jingled as I pushed it open.
“Howdy there, fella! What can I do you for?” asked a jovial old man seated behind the counter.
“Hi. What's with those posters on your window?”
“Oh! I've got to get those down! Those blasted tree-huggers were back again today. They're trying to get logging banned on this server like there's some sort of shortage of trees or something!” he laughed.
“I see. Well, I'm actually here about obtaining a logging permit...” I said.
“Excellent,” the old gentleman shouted and smacked a large hand on the counter. “Just give me your name and I'll draw up the documents!”
“My name is Randy.”
“Randy! That's a good strong name! I'm sure you'll fit in just great around here!”
“I hope so,” I said. “So, what sort of land can I get around here?”
“Well now,” the old shopkeeper began. “Most boys that come in here buy the standard issue lot of forty acres. It's not a bad idea for a starter logging business, but you'll need to upgrade pretty soon if you do well. But Randy, you're in luck!”
“How's that?” I asked.
“Because there's another young man in the store at the moment who also wants to buy a logging permit. And if you two were willing to go into business together I could sell you one hundred acres for a much cheaper rate!”
“Well that's certainly a tempting offer, but who is the other guy?” I asked.
“Ask him yourself, he's standing behind you!” the shopkeeper said, nodding at someone behind me.
I turned around and saw a young man, about my age, smiling at me. He stuck his hand out at me and stepped forward confidently.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Randy. My name is Hank, and I think we could make excellent business partners.”