"Well, we haven't got such a lot of time. You see, it's November already."

"What's the hurry all of a sudden? They didn't say nothing to me."

"I guess you haven't been crowding it very hard, have you?"

Peterson flushed.

"I've been working harder than I ever did before," he said. "If it wasn't
for the cribbing being held up like this, I'd 'a' had the cupola half done
before now. I've been playing in hard luck."

Bannon was silent for a moment, then he said:--

"How long do you suppose it would take to get the cribbing down from
Ledyard?"

"Not very long if it was rushed, I should think--a couple of days, or
maybe three. And they'll rush it all right when they can get the cars. You
see, it's only ten or eleven hours up there, passenger schedule; and they
could run it right in on the job over the Belt Line."

"It's the Belt Line that crosses the bridge, is it?"

"Yes."

Bannon spread his legs apart and drummed on the front of his chair.

"What's the other line?" he asked--"the four track line?"