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"When do we report, Mr. Jones?"

"Right away—Sheriff Bascom is goin' down with ye."

"We heard he was.—Not goin' to be any trouble, d'reckon?"

"Reckon shorely not. They ain't nobody big enough fools to tell a set of men like you they won't let ye work. If so, you boys know what to do?"

"Hell, yes."

The black-bearded man winked. "There's one feller in this crowd who stopped two revenuers from raidin' his still one night."

"Nobody ort to disturb a man at work," returned Railroad, and winked solemnly.

Another gust of wheezing and hacking laughter. The men filed on out, leaving in the office the rank odour of their unwashed bodies. As they were going out, a motor honked outside, and a little later Adelaide came in among the outgoing stream of men. As she passed them she spoke to some, nodded brightly to every individual workman. They all knew her and gave her "Good-days," "Howdy, Adelaide?" "Howdy do, Addy?"

Her bright cordiality to them might have been timed.

"Dad," she called, "got those blanks ready for me?"

Railroad turned to his table and drew out a drawer.

"Come an' see if these ain't them, Addy."

In passing she flung at the youth, "Hello, Abner!—Yes, that's them, Daddy."

"As you drive over to Arntown, you might give Abner a lift to the camp, Addy," suggested the magnate.

The girl gave Abner a swift glance. "So you are going to be with us after all?" she said with a warm inflection.

Abner stood by the big goods box full of papers.

"Yeh, I told yore daddy I was," he said, a little constrained.

"Well—we hadn't heard anything more. . . ." She stepped over, took the bundle of papers from her father's hand, then started past Abner to the door.