rk during the day, and coming on at seven in the
morning, he would have a hand on the work of all three shifts. He knew
that Peterson would not see it reasonably; that he would think it was
done to keep him away from Hilda. He stood leaning against the gate to
keep it open, buttoning his ulster.

"Coming on up to the house, Pete?"

Peterson got down off the railing.

"So you're going to put me on the night shift," he said, almost as a
child would have said it.

"I guess that's the way it's got to work out," Bannon replied. "Coming
up?"

"No--not yet. I'll be along pretty soon."

Bannon started toward the door, but turned with a snap of his finger.

"Oh, while we're at it, Pete--you'd better tell Max to get those men to
keep time for the night shifts."

"You mean you want him to go on with you in the daytime?"

"That's just as he likes. But I guess he'll want to be around while his
sister is here. You see about that after lunch, will you?"

Peterson came in while Bannon was eating his dinner and stayed after he
had gone. In the evening, when he returned to the house for his supper,
after arranging with Peterson to share the first night's work, Bannon
found that the foreman's clothes and grip had been taken from the room.
On the stairs he met the landlady, and asked her if Mr. Peterson had
moved.

"Yes," she replied; "he took his things away this noon. I'm sorry he's
gone, for he was a good young man. He never give me any trouble like
some of the men do that's been here. The trouble with most of them is
that they get drunk on pay-days and come home simply disgusting."

Bannon passed on without comment. During the evening he saw Peterson on
the distributing floor, helping the man from the electric light company
rig up a new arc light. His expression when he caught sight of Bannon,
sullen and defiant, yet showing a great effort to appear natural, was
the only explanation needed of how matters stood between them.

It took a few days to get the new system to running smoothly--new
carpenters and laborers had to be taken on, and new foremen worked into
their duties--but it proved to be less difficult than Max and Hilda had
supposed from what Peterson had to say about the conduct of the work.
The men all worked better than before; each new move of Bannon's seemed
to infuse more vigor and energy into the work; and the cupola and annex
began rapidly, as Max said, "to look like something." Bannon was on hand
all day