CHAPTER XIII

STEVE'S SUSPICIONS AROUSED

"ARE you going to the meeting to-night?" asked a foreman of a shift, pausing at Steve Rush's main drift.

"Why, yes, of course; aren't you!"

"I guess so. I hear there will be something doing to-night."

This conversation took place on the day following the meeting at which Cavard had so successfully outwitted his young opponents and had carried the meeting through in accordance with his own ideas. As yet neither Steve nor Bob had heard of the meeting. They, with others of their fellows, had received cards that morning saying, "There will be a special meeting of the union this evening at the usual time and place."

The cards were undated and they had not thought to look at the post mark, taking for granted that the meeting was to be held on the evening of that day.

"There ain't going to be any meeting to-night," volunteered a miner who had overheard the conversation.

"Yes, there is. Here is the card saying that there will be," answered Rush, exhibiting the card he had received that morning.

"Naw; no such thing. The meeting was _last_ night," continued the miner. "Ain't you heard about it?"

Steve looked at the fellow to see if he were joking. He saw that the man was in earnest.

"There was a meeting of the union last night?"

"Sure there was."

"How do you know?"

"Friend of mine was there and told me about it. And you ain't heard about it?"

"I certainly have not. What was done?"

"A lot of things was done."

"That's queer. My postal notifying me of the meeting did not reach me until this morning. When did you get yours?" asked the lad of the foreman with whom he had been talking.

"I got mine this morning, too."

"That explains it, then; but it is odd that no one said anything about it yesterday."

"Probably didn't get their cards till after supper last night. Well, I guess we didn't miss much," added the foreman, with a grin.

"You haven't told us what was done," said Steve.

"Well, for one thing, they elected a new secretary. Didn't you know about that?"

Rush peered at the man keenly.

"See here, Abe, are you joking?"

"Naw, I ain't joking. They bounced you and elected another man in your place."

Steve could scarcely believe his own ears.

"Why did they do that?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask. But they bounced you, all right, all right."

"May I ask who my successor is?" inquired the lad, with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

"I don't know. I didn't ask that, either."

"What do you think of that?" demanded the boy, turning to the foreman.

"I don't believe it. They wouldn't be such fools as to do a thing like that."

"I am of the opinion that something was done there, and it seems mighty queer to me. Have you seen Cavard to-day?"

"Yes; I passed him when I was coming over here. He must be somewhere hereabouts now. We'll walk out, and maybe we shall meet him," said the foreman.

The two men made their way out of the drift together. Steve was silent and thoughtful. He did not like this thing that he had heard, nor did he know what to make of it.

They did not find the Duke at once, but half an hour later Steve came across the walking delegate near the ore rise on the twentieth level.

"Oh, Mr. Cavard," he called.

"Yes, Rush; what is it?"

"I hear you had a meeting last night."

"We did. Why were you not there?"

"Because I knew nothing about it."

"But you received a notice, did you not?"

"This morning, yes. I supposed from the card that the meeting was to be held to-night. I understand others did not receive theirs until to-day, either."

"Then that accounts for the small attendance," answered Cavard smoothly. "The cards were mailed rather late, but it was quite important to hold a meeting last night. I wondered why so few were present. It was most unfortunate, for very important business was transacted."

"So I heard. May I ask what was done?"

"Several things were attended to," replied the man evasively.

"Including the election of a new secretary?"

"Well, yes; I believe so."

Cavard showed some slight irritation under the sharp questioning of the Iron Boy.

"Why?"

The question came out with a snap.

"You should have attended the meeting if you want to know what was done. We are not supposed to talk about it on the outside."

"Yes; no doubt I should have attended, but I did not for the reason I have just given. Why was I deposed and another put in my place?"

"Well, to be candid with you, since you insist, the members did not think you were old enough, nor that you had had experience enough to warrant keeping you in such an important position. You see, they chose you in a moment of intense enthusiasm. After they had thought the matter over more calmly they came to the conclusion that it would be better to have an older man for the place, so they elected another."

"Who?"

"Mr. Caldert."

"Mike Caldert?"

"Yes."

Steve laughed uproariously.

"Why, that man can barely write his name. I'll wager he cannot write correctly the name of the state in which he lives."

"I think you are mistaken," replied the walking delegate, drawing himself up frigidly. "At least I have nothing to do with that. It was the will of the meeting, and there was nothing for me to do but to put to vote the motions that were offered."

Steve surveyed the walking delegate with a sarcastic look on his face.

"Has Caldert the minutes of the meeting, or have you?"

"I believe he has them."

"Then I shall demand to see them to-night. I want to know what was done at that meeting, and I think I have a right to know. I shall bring the matter before the next meeting and find out whether you have the right to railroad through a piece of business like this. It's not that I care a rap about holding the office, but I don't propose to be done out of it in any such way without finding out what it all means."

Cavard saw possibilities of trouble.

"Don't be a baby. Take your medicine like a man. You are proving that you are not fitted for an office in the union yet. When you get older and have had more experience, then perhaps you may do."

There was an implied sneer in the man's tone, which his smiling face failed to mask.

"Indeed! I shall bring the subject before the next full meeting of the union, just the same, and we shall see whether it will stand or not."

"Look here, young man!"

The walking delegate dropped his mask of assumed politeness. His chin was thrust forward and his eyes gleamed with anger.

"I've been too easy with you--easy because you are a boy. Now I'm done with this foolishness. This is a man's game, and men are going to play it. You can get out of the union if you want to; we don't need you. But let me tell you one thing: you mind your own business after this, if you know what's good for you! I'm running this union just now, and I'm running it in the way that suits me best--that means the right way. If you don't like it, you get out and shut up--that's all."

Steve laughed in the delegate's face.

"Now you are beginning to show yourself in your true colors, Mister Man. I don't want your office. I did not care in the first place to have anything to do with an organization that you were interested in, but I thought possibly it might be run by honest men, so I joined the union."

"What's that? You throw that at me--you accuse me of being dishonest, you young whelp?" shouted Cavard in a rage.

"Take what I said for what it's worth, and I repeat your own words: 'If you don't like it, get out and shut up.' That's my answer."

Steve snapped his fingers in the face of the walking delegate and turned on his heel. Cavard was at his side in a few quick, long strides. He gripped the collar of the Iron Boy and was about to spin him about when Steve turned on him.

"Unless you are looking for trouble, I wouldn't put hands on the other man in this instance, if I were you. If you do that again, you will answer for it."

"Indeed! And may I ask you if you are in authority here?" sneered Cavard.

"Well, all I have to say is, if you want to know who's boss on this shift, just start something. You'll find out mighty quick, and the knowledge may not be particularly pleasant to you, either. That's all I have to say to you to-day. I may have something further to say later. Good afternoon."

Rush left the walking delegate fuming in the drift as he walked away. The Iron Boy made it his business to ask every man he met whether or not he had received a notification of the meeting of the previous evening. Some of them had received their notices that morning, others had received no notice whatever. Not one of the miners had gotten his card on the previous day, so far as the lad could learn.

Steve was determined to get to the bottom of the matter. He consulted with Bob Jarvis and the latter proposed looking up the walking delegate at once and giving him a sound thrashing.

"No, Bob, we don't know that he is to blame in this matter at all, though I have my suspicions. Even if we were sure, we should gain nothing by following that course. There, I forgot to ask him what else was done at the meeting. After we get off duty to-night we must find out what has been going on. I'll see you and talk it over later."

As soon as he had finished his work in the mine Rush went directly over to the post-office, where he waited until the postmaster was at leisure, when he called him aside.

"I received a postal card to-day that I should have had last night," said the lad, producing the notification of the meeting and handing it to the postmaster.

"What did you say?" exclaimed the postmaster.

"I said I should have received this post card last night," repeated Steve. "You see it is quite important. It is a notification of a meeting and the meeting was held last night."

"I don't see how you could very well have received this postal last night, when it wasn't mailed until this morning."

"Not mailed until this morning?" demanded the lad, in well-feigned surprise.

"No, sir."

"Are you sure of that?"

"I ought to be. These postals--there were a lot of them--were stuffed in through the slot in the door some time during the night. It must have been late, for we didn't close until nearly twelve o'clock. The postals were all on the floor when I opened up the place this morning."

"Did you read any of the postals?" asked Steve innocently.

"Oh, yes, I always read postals. Don't have much of anything else to do part of the day, you know," replied the postmaster in a matter-of-fact tone. "Why, what's in the wind? No trouble about it, is there?"

"There may be," replied the lad mysteriously. "But if you will state the facts when called upon to do so, there will be no trouble so far as you are concerned. Will you do that?"

"Yes; I'll do that, all right. It won't violate any regulation of the department that I know of."

"Thank you. Say nothing to anyone of what I have asked you to-night, please."

"I think I have got something on our friend, the walking delegate, now," muttered the lad triumphantly, as he made his way toward home. He had gone but a short distance when he met five of the members of the union, all dressed in their best, hurrying along the street.

Steve halted and peered at them suspiciously.

"Hello, where are you fellows going?" he demanded.

"To the superintendent's office."

"What for?"

"We are going to present our demands. You know the document we decided to present to him to-day?"

Steve did not know, but he did not say so.

"You are going there now?"

"Yes; Mr. Cavard is going to meet us there at eight o'clock. We are the committee. You lost your secretary job last night. That's what comes of being too fresh," jeered the speaker.

"So that's the game, is it?" muttered Steve. "I should like to be present at that committee meeting. And I'm going to be there, too," he added, after a moment's reflection. "They can do no more than put me out."