fact, I
said we'd stand for it if he put up a better hash."

Festing laughed. The plan was characteristic of Bob's methods.

"You must send them back," he said, and went away, doubting if Bob would
do so.

For all that, he admitted that Charnock was doing well. He stuck to his
work, and had a talent for handling men. Nobody was at all afraid of
him; but his sympathetic forbearance with his helpers' weaknesses and
his whimsical humor seemed to pay much better than bullying. He made a
joke where Festing frowned, but the latter felt thoughtful as he
went down-hill. One must make allowance, but Bob was something of a
responsibility.

A week later, he got a jar as he stood with Charnock beside a part of
the track they had laboriously underpinned. The ballast train was coming
down, filling the valley with its roar, and the beaten snow heaved among
the ties as the big cars rolled by. The rails sank beneath the wheels
and then sprang up until the load on the next axle pressed them down
again; the snow flaked off the side of the road-bed, which was built up
with broken rock. Festing thought the movement was too marked and waited
for the locomotive, which was coupled to the back of the train.

The engine was of the ponderous, mountain type, but it ran smoothly,
with steam cut off, and although the ground trembled and the rails
groaned as it passed, there was no threatening disturbance.

"The bank's holding up, and this was about the worst spot," Charnock
remarked. "We had some trouble in bedding the king posts in the slippery
stuff."

Then Kerr gave them a nod as he went by. "Looks pretty good, and they
have a full load on the cars."

"I think we'll wait until the train comes back," Festing said to
Charnock. "The engineer will open the throttle wide to pull her up the
grade."

They sat down in a hollow of the bank, for a bitter wind blew through
the gorge, and after a time the roar of falling gravel echoed among the
pines. Then there was a heavy snorting and the locomotive came round
a curve, rocking and belching out black smoke. The cars banged and
rattled, slowing with jarred couplings and rolling on when the driving
wheels gripped. Festing waited anxiously, because the wheels of a
locomotive when driven hard strikes what is called a hammer blow.

By and by the ground began to throb; the vibration got sharper, and
Festing watched the track as the engine passed. Cinders rattled about
him, there was a mist of snow, b