e-third
of his men at work, he kept things going, and the business went on with
regularity, if with smaller output. The Press unanimously supported him,
for it was felt the strike had its origin in foreign influence, and as
French Canada had no love for the United States there was journalistic
opposition to the strike. Carnac had telegraphed to his father when the
strike started, but did not urge him to come back. He knew that Grier
could do nothing more than he himself was doing, and he dreaded new
influence over the strikers. Grier happened to be in the backwoods and
did not get word for nearly a week; then he wired asking Carnac what
the present situation was. Carnac replied he was standing firm, that
he would not yield a cent increase in wages, and that, so far, all was
quiet.

It happened, however, that on the day he wired, the strikers tried to
prevent the non-strikers from going to work and there was a collision.
The police and a local company of volunteers intervened and then the
Press condemned unsparingly the whole affair. This outbreak did good,
and Luc Baste was arrested for provoking disorder. No one else was
arrested, and this was a good thing, for, on the whole, even the men
that followed Luc did not trust him. His arrest cleared the air and
the strike broke. The next day, all the strikers returned, but Carnac
refused their wages for the time they were on strike, and he had
triumphed.

On that very day John Grier started back to Montreal. He arrived in
about four days, and when he came, found everything in order. He went
straight from his home to the mill and there found Carnac in control.

"Had trouble, eh, Carnac?" he asked with a grin, after a moment of
greeting. Carnac shrugged his shoulders, but said nothing.

"It's the first strike I ever had in my mills, and I hope it will be the
last. I don't believe in knuckling down to labour tyranny, and I'm glad
you kept your hand steady. There'll be no more strikes in my mills--I'll
see to that!"

"They've only just begun, and they'll go on, father. It's the influence
of Canucs who have gone to the factories of Maine. They get bitten there
with the socialistic craze, and they come back and make trouble. This
strike was started by Luc Baste, a French-Canadian, who had been in
Maine. You can't stop these things by saying so. There was no strike
among Belloc's men!"

"No, but did you have no trouble with Belloc's men?"

Carnac told him of the death of t