ld be the gang. Furthermore it must be a chance that I could use
without resorting to pull. Not only that but it must be something on
which I could prove myself to such good advantage that other business
would be sure to follow. I couldn't cut loose with my men and leave
them stranded at the end of a single job.

I watched every public proposal and analyzed them all. I found that
they very quickly resolved themselves into Dan's crowd. I kept my
ears wide open for private contracts but by the time I heard of any I
was too late. So I waited for perhaps three months. Then I saw in the
daily paper what seemed to me my opportunity. It was an open bid for
some park construction which was under the guardianship of a
commission. It was a grading job and so would require nothing but the
simplest equipment. I looked over the ground and figured out the
gang's part in it first. Then I went to Rafferty and told him what I
wanted in the way of teams. I wanted only the carts and horses--I
would put my own men to work with them. I asked him to take my note
for the cost.

"I'll take your word, Carleton," he said. "Thot's enough."

But I insisted on the note. He finally agreed and offered to secure
for me anything I wanted for the work.

I went back to Ruth and we sat down and figured the matter all over
once again. We stripped it down to a figure so low that my chief
profit would come on the time I could save with my machine. I allowed
for the scantiest profit on dirt and rock though I had secured a good
option on what I needed of this. I was lucky in finding a short haul
though I had had my eye on this for some time. Of one thing I was
extremely careful--to make my estimate large enough so that I couldn't
possibly lose anything but my profit. Even if I wasn't able to carry
out my hope of being able to speed up the gang I should be able to pay
my bills and come out of the venture even.

Ruth and I worked for a week on it and when I saw the grand total it
took away my breath. I wasn't used to dealing in big figures. They
frightened me. I've learned since then that it's a good deal easier in
some ways to deal in thousands than it is in ones. You have wider
margins, for one thing. But I must confess that now I was scared. I
was ready to back out. When I turned to Ruth for the final decision,
she looked into my eyes a second just as she did when I asked her to
marry me and said,

"Go after it, Billy. You can do it."

That night I s