threatens worse
treatment if we do not give up making the new silver steel."

"Yes," said Uncle Jack sternly as he turned to Uncle Dick; "what do you
mean to do?"

"Begin a fresh batch to-day, and let the men know it is being done.
Here, let's show them that we can be as obstinate as they." Then aloud
as we approached the men where they had grouped together, talking about
the "cooten bands," as they termed it. "You go at once to the
machinist's and get a couple of men sent on to repair such of these
bands as they can, and put new ones where they are shortened too much by
the mending."

Uncle Bob smiled at once.

"Look here," said Uncle Dick sharply, "some of you men can make shift by
tying or binding your bands till they are properly done."

"Ay, mester," came in a growl, and shortly after the sound of steel
being ground upon the sharply-spinning stones was heard. An hour later
a couple of men were fitting bands to some of the wheels, and mending
others by lacing them together.

I was standing watching them as they fitted a new band to Gentles'
wheel, while he stood with his bared arms folded, very eager to begin
work again.

"Ain't it a cruel shaame?" he whispered. "Here's me, a poor chap paid
by the piece, and this morning half gone as you may say. This job's a
couple o' loaves out o' my house."

He wiped a tear out of the corner of each half-closed eye as he stared
at me in a miserable helpless kind of way, and somehow he made me feel
so annoyed with him that I felt as if I should like to slap his fat face
and then kick him.

I went away very much exasperated and glad to get out of the reach of
temptation, leaving my uncles busily superintending the fitting of the
bands, and helping where they could do anything to start a man on again
with his work. And all the time they seemed to make very light of the
trouble, caring for nothing but getting the men started again.

I went down into the smithy, where Pannell was at work, and as I entered
the place he looked for a moment from the glowing steel he was hammering
into a shape, to which it yielded as if it had been so much tough wax,
and then went on again as if I had not been there.

His kitten was a little more friendly, though, for it ran from the
brickwork of the forge, leaped on to a bench behind me, and bounded from
that on to my back, and crept to my shoulder, where it could rub its
head against my ear.

"Well, Pannell," I said, "you've heard