e
roar of laughter. Then another burst out and another, till from the
ground spouted a fountain of jeers, hoots and ridicule that reached the
fat man as he hung suspended, with purple face and gesticulating arms.

Clark, in his office, waiting coolly for what might come, caught the
change in the note of riot and, stepping into the next room, saw the
legs of his comptroller brandished in the air. The rest of him was
invisible, and still in the square outside rocked the booming shouts of
Slavic and Scandinavian mirth. A moment later Hobbs was dragged back,
with torn clothing, swollen neck and scratched body. Clark glanced at
him contemptuously and went out. Then the doors opened, and he was on
the front steps.

The mob saw him and held its breath. Few of them had ever been so near
him before. He stood with a quiet smile on his face and a light in his
keen eyes, and, in the momentary hush, began to speak. There was no
fear in voice or attitude. The wind, blowing from the rapids, brought
the echo of their clamor to the upper windows so that the accounting
staff heard not a word, but the mob heard, and presently the big Pole
laughed, just as he had laughed at Hobbs' distorted face suspended
above him. It was contagious, and Clark, playing upon the mood of the
moment, drove home his point.

The money was coming, and he himself would stay there till it came. In
the meantime, the money would be slower to arrive if there was trouble,
and that was all he had to say.

There followed a little hesitation, then an indefinite movement, and
the crowd began to shuffle toward the shattered gates. As it dwindled
Clark glanced over his shoulder and saw a man within twenty feet, both
hands thrust eloquently into his bulging coat pockets.

"Thanks very much, Belding, I'm glad it wasn't necessary," he said
crisply, and vanished inside the big doors.

The engineer knew better than to follow, but was bitterly disappointed.
He had hoped for some word of comfort, but to not a single employee had
Clark said anything of explanation. It was not his habit, and he
looked to the intelligence of each man to carry him through. And this
was typical of his invariable attitude toward those with whom he came
in contact. He gauged them by the degree to which they contributed to
the work on hand, and just now the only work on hand was that which
none but himself could carry out. In personalities Clark was not
interested, but identified t