; he gave me a pointer before I
left Louisville. I didn't see anything in it then but revenge; but
afterward I saw how we might spend some money to a possible advantage."

Caleb's eyes had grown narrow.

"I reckon I'm sort o' dull, Buddy; what-all did you do?"

"Wired the disgruntled one that there was a letter and a check in the
mail for him, to be followed by another and a bigger if his pole proved
long enough to reach the persimmons."

The old iron-master left his chair and began to walk the floor, six
steps and a turn. After a little he said:

"Tom, is that business?"

"It is the modern definition of it."

"What's goin' to happen up yonder in Indiany?"

"If I knew, I'd be a good bit easier in my mind. What I'm hoping is that
the rumpus will be big enough to make 'em turn the contract our way."

Caleb stopped short.

"My God!" he ejaculated. "Where's your heart, Buddy? Would you take the
chance of sendin' these fellows to jail for the sake of gettin' that
contract?"

"Cheerfully," said Tom. "They're rascals; I could have bought them if
I'd had money enough; and the other fellow did buy them."

The old man resumed his monotonous tramp up and down the room. The
hardness in Tom's voice unnerved him. After another interval of silence
he spoke again.

"I wish you hadn't done it, son. It's a dirty job, any way you look at
it."

Tom shrugged.

"Norman says it's a condition, not a theory; and he is right. We are
living under a new order of things, and if we want to stay alive, we've
got to conform to it. It gagged me at first: I reckon there are some
traces of the Christian tradition left. But, pappy, I'm going to win.
That is what I'm here for."

Caleb Gordon shook his head as one who deprecates helplessly, but he sat
down again and asked Tom what the programme was to be.

"There is nothing for us to do but to sit tight and wait. If we get a
telegram from Indiana before these idiots of ours lose their heads and
go to rioting and burning, we shall still have a fighting chance. If
not, we're smashed."

"You mustn't be too hard on the men, Buddy. They've been mighty
patient."

The scowl deepened between the level gray eyes.

"If I could do what I'd like to, I'd fire the last man of them. It makes
me savage to have them turn up and knock us on the head after we've been
sweating blood to pull through. Have you seen Ludlow?"

"Yes; I saw him last night. He's right ugly; swore he wouldn't raise a
hand