darned independent," observed McCoy. "If it was
anybody else, they'd jump at your offer."

"That's the trouble," Gregory admitted. "She's a woman and she's mighty
hard to talk out of an idea she sets her mind on. If I was dealing with
a man I'd have come to a show-down long before this. As it is, I'm going
to see her this afternoon and try to get down to brass tacks."

A screech of the steam whistle interrupted further speech and the two
men jumped to their feet and hurried out on the floor of the cannery at
the signal to resume work.

"Only have enough to run about an hour," McCoy answered in response to
Gregory's question concerning the supply of fish on hand. And as he
noticed the frown on his employer's face, he supplemented: "We've had
enough the last few days to break the crew in anyway."

"That's something, but it isn't good enough," Gregory answered. "You're
fixed right now to handle three times what we're getting. And I'm paying
for it. I'm not worrying about things in here, Mac. Everything is going
fine."

He paused suddenly and his face glowed with enthusiasm as he walked
nearer the cutting-bench.

"Look at the way those poor blind fellows are taking to their job, Mac,"
he whispered. "They can't tell black from white but watch them work.
They'll be doing as much in a week as a man with two good eyes. How are
you coming, Dorgan?"

He addressed a cutter working at the nearest bench. The blind man turned
quickly.

"Fine, Capt. It's getting easier all the time. 'Twon't be long before
I'll be making real wages at this job."

They passed from the blind cutters and came to the capping machine where
a man with an artificial leg was being instructed in soldering the cans.
Again Gregory's eyes expressed his satisfaction.

"That's fine, Carlson," he commended. "You're getting on fine."

The man at the machine nodded. "Nothing much to it," he answered
cheerfully. "Got kind of tired standing at first. But I don't notice it
much now."

Kenneth Gregory strove to express his appreciation of McCoy's work as
they came to one of the empty warehouses, but the manager refused to
take the credit.

"It was your idea," he said, "you paid me to carry it out. At first I
didn't think much of it. But now I believe it's going to work. The men
are tickled to death. I never had a crew that tried so hard to learn or
picked it up so quickly. I can handle an average run with them right now
and they've only been working broken