stle blew. For an instant Regan thought
the engineer had somehow or other already heard the news, but a glance
at Dan's face dispelled that idea as quickly as it had come. Dan was
always smiling, but there was a smile on the wizened, puckered, honest
old face now that seemed to bubble out all over it.

"Regan," said old Dan, bursting with happy excitement, "I just had to
drop in and tell you on the way over to the roundhouse, and the missus,
she says, 'You tell Mr. Regan, Dan; he'll be rightdown glad.'"

Regan got up out of his chair. There seemed a sense of disaster coming
somehow that set him to breathing heavily.

"Sure, Dan--sure," he said weakly. "What is it?"

"Well," said Dan, "you know that--that trouble the boy got into
back--back----'

"Yes, I know," said Regan hastily.

"Well," said Dan, "it's taken a long time, a good many years, but
yesterday, you know, was pay day; and to-day, Regan, we, the missus and
me, Regan, sent the last of that money East, interest and all, the last
cent of it, cleaned it all up. Say, Regan, I feel like I was walking
on air, and you'd ought to have seen the missus sitting up there in the
cottage and smiling through the tears. 'Oh, Dan!' she says, and then
she gets up and puts her two hands on my shoulders, and I felt blamed
near like crying myself. 'We can start in now, Dan, to save up for old
age,' she says, smiling. Say, Regan, ain't it--ain't it fine? We're
going to start in now and save up for old age."

Regan didn't say a word. It came with a rush, choking him up in his
throat, and something misty in front of his eyes so he couldn't
see--and he turned his back, searching for his hat on the peg behind
his desk. He jammed his hat on his head, and jerked it low down over
his forehead.

"Ain't you--glad?" said old Dan, a sort of puzzled hurt in his eyes.

"I'll walk over a bit of the way to the roundhouse with you, Dan," said
Regan gruffly. "Come on."

They stepped out of the shops, and across a spur--old Dan, still
puzzled, striding along beside the master mechanic.

"What's the matter, Regan?" he asked reproachfully. "I thought you'd
be----"

And then Regan stopped--and his hand fell in a tight grip on the
other's shoulder.

"I got to tell you, Dan," he blurted out. "But I don't need to tell
you what I think of it. It's a damned shame! The new crowd that's
running this road don't want anybody helping 'em to do it after the
first of the month that'