with her?"

"Steel splinter--in her eye," Worth shouted.

With a quick oath, the belt pole was thrown to stop the lathe; down the
length of the shop to the scrap heap of odds and ends at the rear Hughes
raced, returning with a bit of metal in his hand. Barbara was backed
against the bench, her eyes shut, and tears had begun to flow from under
the lids.

"Now, Miss Barbie," Hughes remonstrated. "You let me at that thing.
This'll pull it out and never touch you." I saw it was a horse-shoe
magnet he carried.

"Do you think it will?"

"Sure," and Eddie approached the magnet to her face. "It won't hurt you
a-tall. She'll begin to pull before she even touches. Now, steady. Want
to come as near contact as I can. Don't jump.... Hell!"

Barbara had sprung away from him. But for Worth's quick arm, she would
have been into the machines.

"No!" she said between locked teeth, tears on her cheeks, "I can't let
him."

"Why, Barbara!" I said, astonished; and poor Eddie almost blubbered as
he begged,

"Aw, come on, Miss Barbie. It was my fault in the first place--leavin'
that damned lathe run. Yuh got to let me--"

"But if it doesn't work?"

"Sure it'll work. Would I offer to use it for you if I hadn't tried it
out lots o' times--to pull splinters and--"

"Give me that magnet," Worth reached the long arm of authority, got what
he wanted, shouldered Hughes aside, and took hold of the girl with,
"Quit being a little fool, Barbara. That thing's only caught in your
lashes now. Let it get in against the eyeball and you'll have trouble.
Hold still."

The command was not needed. Without a word, Barbara raised her face, put
her hands behind her and waited.

Delicately, Worth caught the dark fringe of the closed eye, turned back
the lid so that he could see just what he was at, brought the horse-shoe
almost in touch, then drew it away--and there was the tiny steel
splinter that could have cost her sight, clinging to the magnet's edge.

"Here you are," he smiled. "Wasn't that enough to call you names for?"

"You didn't call me names," dabbing away with a small handkerchief. "You
told me to quit being a little fool. Maybe I will. How would you like
that?"

Apparently Hughes did not resent Barbara's refusing his help and
accepting Worth's. He went back to his vise; the two others strolled
together through the doorway into the garage, talking there for a moment
in quick, low tones; then Barbara returned to perch on the end of