hrough one of the passage-ways Mr. Sanford
and his nephew followed. As the passage opened into another building, the
barrow was reversed and its load deposited in a receptacle a few feet
lower.

In this room only a single man was employed, and the peculiar character
of his work at once attracted the attention of Paul. In a small frame
before him was suspended a very savage-looking circular saw, running at a
high rate of speed. The operator caught one of the great horns by its
tip, gave it a turn through the air before his eyes, seized it in both
hands and applied it to the saw. With a sharp hiss the keen teeth severed
the solid tip from the body of the horn, and another movement trimmed
away the thin, imperfect parts about the base. The latter fell into a
pile of refuse at the foot of the frame, the tip was cast into a box with
others; the horn, if large, was divided into two or more sections, a
longitudinal slit sawn in one side, and the sections thrown into a box.

[Illustration: THE NEW CIRCLE COMB]

"This man," said Mr. Sanford, "receives large pay and many privileges, on
account of the danger and unpleasant nature of his task. He has worked at
this saw for about forty years, and in that time has handled, according
to his record, some twenty-five millions of horns, or over two thousand
for every working day. He has scarcely a whole finger or thumb upon
either hand--many of them are entirely gone; but most of these were lost
during his apprenticeship. The least carelessness was rewarded by the
loss of a finger, for the saw cannot be protected with guards, as in
lumber-cutting."

Paul watched the skilful man with the closest interest, shuddering to see
how near his hands passed and repassed to the merciless saw-teeth as he
sent a ceaseless shower of parts of horns rattling into their respective
boxes. Before he left the spot Paul took a pencil and made an estimate.

"Why, uncle," he said, "to cut so many as that, he must saw over three
horns every minute for ten hours a day. I wouldn't think he could handle
them so fast."

Then, as he saw how rapidly one horn after another was finished, he drew
forth his little watch and found that the rugged old sawyer finished a
horn every ten seconds with perfect ease.

"Would you like to learn this trade?" the old fellow asked. He held up
his hands with the stumps of fingers and thumbs outspread; but Paul only
laughed and followed his uncle.

They watched a boy wheeling a