4:30 o'clock at
the Albany station to take the Boston & Chicago Special for Harrisville.

George had entered the institute with a light heart and much zest,
because three years of progressive work were marked out for him. His
mental journey had now ended and his heart was heavy. No road opened
before him except the one that led back to the dingy old Harrisville
mills. In the last three years his sky had lifted a little, but the
intelligence gained only made him all the more conscious of the small
world in which he and his family lived. How was he ever to earn a living
for two, if Gertrude should possibly say "yes?"

Just as he put his foot on the platform of the railway station a letter
was placed in his hand by a fellow classmate. The envelope bore the
printed address of the Harrisville Iron & Steel Co. George, thinking the
letter was from his father, instantly tore it open and began reading. At
first his face flushed and then it was lit with joy.

"Good tidings, I hope," said Gertrude, as she with her sister approached.

"Yes, Gertrude, read for yourself. A friend at court is a friend indeed."

The two sisters were delighted and heartily congratulated George. "Of
course, you will accept the position?" inquired Gertrude.

"Your father, Gertrude, is very kind to me, and I believe I could fill
satisfactorily the position of chemist now offered by the steel company.
Later, Gertrude, we can talk this matter over." Three happy young people
bought tickets for home and took seats in a Pullman car.

After a week's rest, George Ingram assumed the duties of assistant
chemist for the Harrisville Iron & Steel Co. Two weeks' initiation by the
old chemist, whose health was failing, sufficed to give young Ingram
efficiency and confidence in his desirable position.

CHAPTER XI

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

The school vacation of the Harris young ladies came and went on wings.
The mother was too ill to leave her home; she stood in her door-way, and
gave her farewell, "God keep and bless you, children!" The father had
gone to Chicago, so George Ingram saw the daughters off touching
Gertrude's hand, with a hearty good-bye as she stood in the car door.

As George returned slowly to his task at the steel mills, he resolved to
use his evenings in post-graduate work. The more he studied iron ores and
steel-making, the more he felt that he must conquer the whole intricate
subject, if he would be of greatest service to his employer