work. It looked to him as if he must be down there all day.
There was almost a panic in the planing rooms. The air was heavy with
the horror of the night before. Owing to the wreck, there was more
need of work in the shops than ever; but along toward noon Burns came
into the office, pulling a long face, and asking Mr. Hardy to step
across the yard and talk to the men, who had threatened, Burns said, to
do mischief if they were not given the afternoon to go down to the
scene of the disaster. Mr. Hardy rose with a sinking heart, and
followed Burns into the planing rooms. He told the foreman to get the
men together in the centre of the room. They stopped their machines
and gathered in the largest open space between the planers, and Mr.
Hardy addressed them:

"What do you want? Burns tells me there is dissatisfaction. Speak
out, so that we may know what the trouble is."

There was an awkward pause. Then one man spoke up:

"We think the company ought to give us the day off."

"What for?" asked Mr. Hardy mildly.

Under any other circumstances he would have told the men they might
leave for good if they didn't like the pay and the company. He had
done just that thing twice before; but things were different now. He
looked at the men in a new light. He was a new man himself. Besides,
it was imperative that the work in the shops go on. The company could
ill afford to lose the work just at this particular time. All these
considerations did not blind Robert to his obligations as an officer of
the company. He was only anxious that no injustice should be done, so
he said, "What for?" mildly and quietly, and waited for an answer.

The spokesman was not quite ready with an answer. The directness of
the question and the mildness of it also surprised him. Another man
spoke up:

"Our friends was in the accident. We want to go see them."

"Very well. How many men had relatives or friends in the accident who
are injured or killed? Let them step forward."

There was a moment of inaction. Then three men stepped out. Mr. Hardy
said: "You may go if you want to. Why didn't you ask for leave off if
you wanted it? What reason have you to suppose the company would
refuse such a request? Now, what is the trouble with the rest? The
company is not in a position to grant a holiday at this particular
time, and you know it. Come, be fair, men! I can't shut down the
shops all day to let you go and see a railroad wr