'm right, if they're going to put December wheat in this house,
they'll have to have it in before the last day of December."

"We couldn't do that," said Peterson, "if the cribbing was here."

Bannon, who had stretched out on the bed, swung his feet around and sat
up. The situation was not easy, but he had been sent to Calumet to get the
work done in time, and he meant to do it.

"Now, about this cribbing, Pete," he said; "we've got to have it before we
can touch the annex?"

"I guess that's about it," Peterson replied.

"I've been figuring a little on this bill. I take it there's something
over two million feet altogether. Is that right?"

"It's something like that. Couldn't say exactly. Max takes care of the
lumber."

Bannon's brows came together.

"You ought to know a little more about this yourself, Pete. You're the man
that's building the house."

"I guess I've been pushing it along as well as any one could," said
Peterson, sullenly.

"That's all right. I ain't hitting at you. I'm talking business, that's
all. Now, if Vogel's right, this cribbing ought to have been here fourteen
days ago--fourteen days tomorrow."

Peterson nodded.

"That's just two weeks of lost time. How've you been planning to make that
up?"

"Why--why--I reckon I can put things together soon's I get the cribbing."

"Look here, Pete. The office has contracted to get this house done by a
certain date. They've got to pay $750 for every day that we run over that
date. There's no getting out of that, cribbing or no cribbing. When
they're seeing ten or twenty thousand dollars slipping out of their hands,
do you think they're going to thank you for telling 'em that the G.&M.
railroad couldn't get cars? They don't care what's the matter--all they
want of you is to do the work on time."

"Now, look here, Charlie--"

"Hold on, Pete. Don't get mad. It's facts, that's all. Here's these two
weeks gone. You see that, all right enough. Now, the way this work's laid
out, a man's got to make every day count right from the start if he wants
to land on his feet when the house is done. Maybe you think somebody up in
the sky is going to hand you down a present of two extra weeks so the lost
time won't count. That would be all right, only it ain't very likely to
happen."

"Well," said Peterson, "what are you getting at? What do you want me to
do? Perhaps you think it's easy."

"No, I don't. But I'll tell you what to do. In the first place you w