CHAPTER X

IN A NEW JOB

That afternoon was the longest that Steve Rush ever remembered having put in. Spooner saw at once that the lad had been in a fight, and that he was well nigh spent. The contractor took the keenest possible delight in driving Steve, just because the lad was in no condition to work.

The Iron Boy, however, possessed too much grit to show the white feather. In spite of his swollen face and aching body, he summoned all his courage and worked as he never had worked before.

With Bob Jarvis it was different. Bob worked half of the afternoon, when the shift boss under whom he was laboring, observing that the lad could scarcely stand up, sent him home, and Jarvis promptly went to bed. The shift boss reported the circumstance to the mine captain and the latter made a written report to the general superintendent, Mr. Penton. Another report showed that Steve Rush had also been in a fight.

When the superintendent had read these two reports, he at once understood that Jarvis and Rush had had a battle. The rules against fighting were very strict; therefore he sent for the mining captain, the one directly in charge of all the operations underground. The two men had a long interview and when the captain finally left the superintendent was smiling broadly.

On the following Monday morning Steve was requested to call at the office of the general superintendent before reporting for work in the mine.

"Bob, he's heard about our difficulty and he is going to fine or fire me," said Steve.

Bob's face took on a serious expression.

"Then I'm going to see the superintendent," he said in an emphatic tone.

"What for, Bob?"

"I am going to tell him that you are not to blame--that I forced you into the fight. I'll take whatever punishment is coming to me, but I won't stand by and see you get the worst of it--not for a skip full of red ore."

The boys were in their room at the boarding house, they having asked the boarding boss to bunk them in the same room after their fight in the mine. This had been done willingly enough and to their mutual satisfaction.

"I guess not," replied Steve firmly. "What do you take me for?"

"You know what I take you for. I have already told you."

"If I remember correctly, you called me Little Miss Rush up to a couple of days ago," answered Steve, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Forget it. I've changed your name. You're Mr. Big Rush now. Such a walloping as you gave me I never had before in my life. You're a regular little cyclone. And to think that I had picked you for an easy mark."

Bob smiled as broadly as his swollen face would permit.

"We have agreed to forget that. It was worth while, though, because it was the beginning of our friendship," replied Rush thoughtfully. "We shall never have another misunderstanding."

"I hope not."

"But we must be going. You will be late for work. I will see the superintendent; then I'll let you know, to-day noon, what he wanted of me."

The lads hurried out.

"I wish you would let me go with you and tell him," urged Bob.

"No. Time enough when he sends for you."

As the lads moved along the workmen laughed and some of them jeered, for it was plain that the lads were on terms of intimate friendship. The story of their great battle had been circulated until most of the men in the mine had heard of it.

Bob's face flushed angrily.

"Never mind, old man," said Steve in a soothing tone. "A lot of those fellows who are laughing at us to-day will be shoveling dirt for you and me before many years have passed."

"I doubt it."

"I do not. There are great opportunities in this big corporation, and I am going after them. I am after them now, and I propose to take you along with me. You'll find the company will be glad to help us on if they find we are worth helping. Here we are at the superintendent's office. I shall have to leave you now."

The boys shook hands warmly, Bob turning reluctantly and going on his way, while Steve ran up the steps and entered the executive building. He asked for the superintendent and was told to go in at once. The clerks all smiled at Steve's disfigured face, but he pretended not to have seen their scrutiny of him.

"Good morning, Rush," greeted Mr. Penton, with a quizzical look at his caller.

"Good morning, sir. You sent for me."

"Yes; sit down."

The superintendent was a large man, six feet tall, big, broad and powerful, but good nature shone from his round, full face, and his eyes always appeared to be sparkling with laughter. For all of that, Mr. Penton was a strict disciplinarian, as a number of those who had worked under him had reason to know.

"Who was the young man with whom I saw you shaking hands in front?" was the superintendent's first question.

"Bob Jarvis, sir. He is my roommate."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

"How long have you been rooming together?"

"Since Saturday."

"Indeed. This is somewhat surprising. But, Rush, what has happened to you? You look as if you had been through an ore grinder."

Steve flushed, then straightened up, eyeing the superintendent steadily.

"I have been in a fight, sir. I had a little disagreement, but it is all right now."

"My lad, did you not know that it was against the rules of the company to fight?"

"I did not at the time."

"With whom did you fight?"

"Must I answer that question, sir?"

"Yes."

"I fought with Bob Jarvis," replied the lad, after slight hesitation.

"Who started the fight?"

"I guess I was the one most to blame."

The superintendent already knew all about the matter. He well knew who had started the fight and why, and he knew also of the warm friendship that had sprung up between the two boys since the battle; but Mr. Penton was a shrewd man--one who judged men with almost unerring instinct. He was drawing Steve out to verify his own impressions.

"And you two are rooming together now?"

"Yes, sir. We are friends now. There will be no more trouble between us. As a matter of fact, our little battle was an entirely friendly one."

The superintendent leaned back, laughing heartily. His plump sides shook with merriment, while Steve sat calm and respectful, his eyes fixed on the face of his employer.

"You are quite sure that you two will not fight again, are you?" questioned Mr. Penton, after regaining his equanimity.

"Oh, yes, sir."

"Who won the fight?"

"Neither of us, sir, though Bob gave me about all I wanted."

"And I understand that you gave him a little more than he wanted. Now, Rush, let me give you a piece of advice. Never indulge in fights, unless in self-defence, in defence of the company's property or to save another person. We have a rough element in the mines. Naturally that cannot be wholly avoided, especially among the foreigners, though many of them are self-respecting citizens. It requires a strong man to cope with them and every executive must be equal to the task, but we cannot tolerate any rows except for the reasons mentioned."

"I understand, sir. I think you can trust me."

"I am sure of that. I want to see you get ahead. You are both fine boys. You have the making of men worth while--in other words, you are 'live ones,' and this company is always in the market for just that kind of material."

"Thank you, sir."

Steve's face glowed happily.

"I am going to take you off the Spooner contract and give you another place to work. I have taken a keen interest in you, and I want you to learn all about the workings of the mine."

"That is what I am going to do, sir," answered Rush in a quiet but firm tone.

"I have decided to place you at the main chute on the same level where you have been working. Your duty will be to dump the cars as they come in. You will be right by the tally-boards and you will learn how we count up there, besides many other things. It is an important point, the central point of each level. After you have become familiar with the operations at that point, perhaps I may be able to transfer you to some other."

"I thank you very much, sir. May I ask where Bob Jarvis is going to work? He said he was to be transferred to-day."

"Yes; I have put him on the Spooner contract to fill the place you had."

Steve smiled. He could well imagine what would happen if Spooner treated Bob as he had treated Steve. Bob was too hot tempered to endure the contractor's insults without resenting them.

Mr. Penton seemed to understand what was in Steve's mind.

"It will be good for the boy," he nodded. "Every boy needs a certain amount of hard knocks. They make a man of him."

"Bob is quite a man already," replied Rush, with a faint smile.

Mr. Penton laughed good-naturedly.

"Yes, I understand. You will report at the chute at once. Tell the mine captain to inform the time keepers of your change of place. That will be all."

Expressing his thanks to the superintendent, Steve left the office and made his way to the mine, to take up his new work--work that was to be much less trying than that of the previous week.

After the lad's departure Mr. Penton spent a long time in studying a bundle of reports of the work in the Cousin Jack Mine. His eyes soon lost their twinkle, and his forehead wrinkled with perplexity.

"This passes all understanding. This shortage in the output is something that I cannot understand. If I do not find the leakage soon I shall be in trouble with the company," he muttered.

Then, putting on his coat and hat, he left the office and started for the mines.