hind him, brought down the timekeeper's book on
Hilda's desk with a slap that made her jump, and vaulted to a seat on
the railing. "Well, I guess it's a case of hurrah for us, ain't it,
Pete?"

"Your sister asked me if I thought we'd get done on time. I was just
saying it's a sure thing."

"I don't know," said Max, laughing. "I guess an earthquake could stop
us. But why ain't you abed, Pete?"

"What do I want to be abed for? I ain't going to sleep any more this
year--unless we get through a day or two ahead of time. I don't like to
miss any of it. Charlie Bannon may have hustled before, but I guess this
breaks his record. Where is he now, Max?"

"Down in the cellar putting in the running gear for the 'cross-the-house
conveyors. He has his nerve with him. He's putting in three drives
entirely different from the way they are in the plans. He told me just
now that there wasn't a man in the office who could design a drive that
wouldn't tie itself up in square knots in the first ten minutes. I
wonder what old MacBride'll say when he sees that he's changed the
plans."

"If MacBride has good sense, he'll pass anything that Charlie puts up,"
said Pete.

He was going to say more, but just then Bannon strode into the office
and over to the draughting table. He tossed Pete's hat to one side and
began studying a detail of the machinery plans.

"Max." He spoke without looking up. "I wish you'd find a water boy and
send him up to the hotel to get a couple of sandwiches and a bottle of
coffee."

"Well, that's a nice way to celebrate, I must say," Pete commented.

"Celebrate what?"

"Why, last night; throwing Grady down. You ought to take a day off on
the strength of that."

"What's Grady got to do with it? He ain't in the specifications."

"No," said Pete, slowly; "but where would we have been if he'd got the
men off?"

"Where would we have been if the house had burned up?" Bannon retorted,
turning away from the table. "That's got nothing to do with it. I
haven't felt less like taking a day off since I came on the job. We may
get through on time and we may not. If we get tangled up in the plans
like this, very often, I don't know how we'll come out. But the surest
way to get left is to begin now telling ourselves that this is easy and
it's a cinch. That kind of talk makes me tired."

Pete flushed, started an explanatory sentence, and another, and then,
very uncomfortable, went out.

Bannon did not look up; he went