somewhere else. They ain't happy except when they've just put me
in a hole and told me to climb out. Generally before I'm out they
pick me up and chuck me down another one. Old MacBride wouldn't
think the Company was prosperous if I wasn't working nights and
Sundays."

"You won't be doing that down here."

"I don't know about that. Why, when I first went to work for 'em, they
hired me by the day. My time cards for the first years figured up four
hundred and thirty-six days." Peterson laughed. "Oh, that's straight,"
said Bannon. "Next time you're at the office, ask Brown about it. Since
then they've paid me a salary. They seem to think they'd have to go out of
business if I ever took a vacation. I've been with 'em twelve years and
they've never given me one yet. They made a bluff at it once. I was down
at Newport News, been doing a job for the C.&O., and Fred Brown was down
that way on business. He--"

"What does Brown look like?" interrupted Peterson. "I never saw him."

"You didn't! Oh, he's a good-looking young chap. Dresses kind of sporty.
He's a great jollier. You have to know him a while to find out that he
means business. Well, he came 'round and saw I was feeling pretty tired,
so he asked me to knock off for a week and go fishing with him. I did, and
it was the hardest work I ever tackled."

"Did you get any fish?"

"Fish? Whales! You'd no sooner threw your line over than another one'd
grab it--great, big, heavy fish, and they never gave us a minute's rest. I