ork. But that was nothing to the way he hugged Jack and
Ruth--separately--together--then Ruth, then Jack--and then both together
again, only stopping at MacFarlane, whose hand he grabbed with a "Great
day! hey? Great day! By Cricky, Henry, these are the things that put new
wine into old leather bottles like you and me."

And this was not all that the spring and summer had brought. Fresh sap
had risen in Jack's veins. This girl by his side was his own--something
to work for--something to fight for. MacFarlane felt the expansion and
put him in full charge of the work, relieving him often in the night
shifts, when the boy would catch a few hours' sleep, and when, you may
be sure, he stopped long enough at the house to get his arms around Ruth
before he turned in for the night or the morning, or whenever he did
turn in.

As to the injury which McGowan's slipshod work had caused to the "fill,"
the question of damages and responsibility for the same still hung in
the air. The "fill" did not require rebuilding--nor did any part of the
main work--a great relief. The loss had not, therefore, been as great as
MacFarlane had feared. Moreover, the scour and slash of the down-stream
slope, thanks to Jack's quick work, required but few weeks to repair;
the culvert, contrary to everybody's expectation, standing the test, and
the up-stream slope showing only here and there marks of the onslaught.
The wing walls were the worst; these had to be completely rebuilt,
involving an expense of several thousands of dollars, the exact amount
being one point in the discussion.

Garry, to his credit, had put his official foot down with so strong
a pressure that McGowan, fearing that he would have to reconstruct
everything from the bed of the stream up, if he held out any longer,
agreed to arbitrate the matter, he selecting one expert and MacFarlane
the other; and the Council--that is, Garry--the third. MacFarlane had
chosen the engineer of the railroad who had examined McGowan's masonry
an hour after the embankment had given way. McGowan picked out a brother
contractor and Garry wrote a personal letter to Holker Morris, following
it up by a personal visit to the office of the distinguished architect,
who, when he learned that not only Garry, MacFarlane, and Jack were
concerned in the outcome of the investigation, but also Ruth--whose
marriage might depend on the outcome,--broke his invariable rule of
never getting mixed up in anybody's quarrels,