uffed at it, blew the smoke from under his mustache toward the
ceiling, and looked at the thin cloud before answering. It was as if
he had come intent on creating a disturbance through studied
insolence.

"Well," he said, without noticing the hot, antagonistic attitude of
the mine owner, "what do you think of the proffered agreement?"

"I think it's no good!" answered Mathews, facing him. "It's drawn up
on a number-one scale. This mine ain't in that class."

"Oh! So you've signed 'em before."

"I have. A dozen times. This mine has but one shift--the regular day
shift. It has but one engineer and a helper. It has but one mill
boss."

"Working eight batteries?"

"No. You know we couldn't work eight batteries with one small shift."

"Well, you've got to have an assistant millman at the union scale, you
know," insisted the delegate.

"What to do? To loaf around, I suppose," Bill retorted.

"And you've got to have a turn up in the engine-house. You need
another hoisting engineer," continued the delegate, as if all these
matters had been decided by him beforehand.

Dick thought that he might gain a more friendly footing by taking part
in the conversation himself.

"See here," he said. "The Croix d'Or isn't paying interest. Maybe we
aren't using the requisite number of men as demanded under this
rating; but they are all satisfied, and----"

"I don't know about that," interrupted the delegate, with an air of
insolent assurance.

"And if we can't go on under the present conditions, we may as well
shut down," Dick concluded.

"That's up to you," declared the delegate, with an air of disinterest.
"If a mine can't pay for the working, it ought to shut down."

The partners looked at each other. There was a mutual question as to
whether it would be policy to throw the delegate out of the door.
Plainly they were in a predicament, for the man was master, in his
way.

"Look here," Bill said, accepting the responsibility, "this ain't
right. You know it ain't. We're in another class altogether. You ought
to put us, at present, under----"

"It is right," belligerently asserted the delegate. "I've looked it
all over. You'll agree to it, or I'll declare the Croix d'Or unfair."

He had arisen to his feet as if arbitrarily to end the argument. For a
wonder, the veteran miner restrained himself, although there was a
hard, glowing light in his eyes.

"We won't stand for it," he said, restraining Dick with his elbow.
"Wh