this young man had first been as valiant to
secure their rights as he was now ready to curb their rebellion.

In his own heart he was loathing this role of arbiter and mentor. His
first interference had come out of his natural sense of justice. He had
pitied this herd of men who had been so helplessly appealing against
their wrongs.

As he stood at one end of the room now and gazed at them, he realized
with a little pang of self-reproach that his latest exploit had been
prompted by as much of a desire to set himself right with the company as
to square the padrone's critical case.

Later, when they were trudging down the hill together Searles said with
a little touch of malice,

"For a philanthropist, Parker, you seem to relish rough-house about as
well as any one I ever saw, I've heard for a long time that football
makes prizefighters out of college boys--so much so that they go looking
for trouble. Is that so?"

"I wish you'd let the matter drop, Mr. Searles," said the young man.
"I'm thoroughly ashamed of the whole thing."

"Well, I was going to say," went on the elderly man, "that civil
engineers in these days get just as good wages without being
shoulder-hitters. You'll get along faster on the peace basis."

That was Parker's reflection two days later when he was in the room of
the chief engineer of the P. K. & R. system, at the company's general
offices.

"By the way," said the chief, after his subordinate had finished his
regular report, "Mr. Jerrard wishes to see you."

Jerrard was general traffic manager and chief executive.

The young engineer went slowly down the long corridor, apprehension
gnawing at his heart. He huskily muttered his name to the clerk at the
grilled door and was admitted. He fairly dragged his feet along the
strip of matting that led to the general manager's private office. It
was like the Bridge of Sighs to him.

"Parker, eh?" repeated the general manager, whirling in his chair and
letting his eyeglasses drop against his plump "front elevation," as
Parker whimsically termed it in his thoughts, even in this moment of his
distress.

Jerrard gazed at him for a little while, a rather curious expression in
his eyes under their shaggy gray brows, then whirled back to his desk
and scrabbled among his papers. He drew forth a sheet of memoranda, gave
Parker another shrewd glance and inquired:

"Is it true, sir, that you have been interfering in the padrone system
of the constructio