orkers' Association. He would rather
drive a junk-cart. He might be allowed to steer that himself.

_Giles_. Oh!

_Richard_. Good-morning, Giles.

_Gikles_. 'Mornin', Mr. Shackford.

Richard rushed back to Mr. Slocum.

"The strike is broken, sir!"

"What do you mean?"

"The thing has collapsed! The tide is turning, _and has washed
in a lot of dead wood!"_

"Thank God!" cried Mr. Slocum.

An hour or so later a deputation of four, consisting of Stevens,
Denyven, Durgin, and Piggott, waited upon Mr. Slocum in his private
office, and offered, on behalf of all the departments, to resume work
at the old rates.

Mr. Slocum replied that he had not objected to the old rates, but
the new, and that he accepted their offer--conditionally.

"You have overlooked one point, Mr. Stevens."

"Which one, sir?"

"The apprentices."

"We thought you might not insist there, sir."

"I insist on conducting my own business in my own way."

The voice was the voice of Slocum, but the backbone was Richard's.

"Then, sir, the Association don't object to a reasonable number of
apprentices."

"How many is that?"

"As many as you want, I expect, sir," said Stevens, shuffling his
feet.

"Very well, Stevens. Go round to the front gate and Mr. Shackford
will let you in."

There were two doors to the office, one leading into the yard, and
the other, by which the deputation had entered and was now making its
exit, opened upon the street.

Richard heaved a vast sigh of relief as he took down the beam
securing the principal entrance.

"Good-morning, boys," he chirped, with a smile as bright as newly
minted gold. "I hope you enjoyed yourselves."

The quartet ducked their heads bashfully, and Stevens replied,
"Can't speak for the others, Mr. Shackford, but I never enjoyed
myself worse."

Piggott lingered a moment behind the rest, and looking back over
his shoulder said, "That peach garden was what fetched us!"

Richard gave a loud laugh, for the peach garden had been a
horticultural invention of his own.

In the course of the forenoon the majority of the hands presented
themselves at the office, dropping into the yard in gangs of five or
six, and nearly all were taken on. To dispose definitely of Lumley,
Giles, and Peterson, they were not taken on at Slocum's Yard, though
they continued to be, directly or indirectly, Slocum's pensioners,
even after they were retired to the town farm.

Once more the chisels sounded merril