ong black night, under scorching sun and bitter
frost, and now that the result of that day's operations had brought the
end of the work in sight, there was satisfaction in the knowledge that
he had led such men.

"They're a fine crowd, Tom, and I'll be sorry to part with them," he
said. "It's hard to believe, after all we have struggled with, that
less than three weeks will see us through, but I'd give many dollars
for every hour we can reduce the time by. Send for a keg of the
hardest cider and I'll tell them so."

There was applause when the keg was lifted to the table with its head
knocked in. Geoffrey, who had filled a tin dipper, said: "Here's my
best thanks for the way you have backed me, boys. Since they carried
the railroad across Beaver Creek, few men in the province have grappled
as you have with a task like this; but it's sometimes just possible to
go a little better than what looks like one's best, and I'm asking as a
favor from all of you that you will redouble your efforts. I estimate
that we'll finish this tough section in eighteen days from now, but I
want the work done in less time, and accordingly I'll promise a bonus
to every man if we can fire the last big shot a fortnight from to-day."

"Stan' by!" shouted a big section foreman, as he hove himself upright.
"Fill every can up an' wait until I've finished. Now, Mr. Thurston,
I'm talking for the rest. You've paid us good wages, an' we've earned
them, every cent, though that wasn't much to our credit, for Tom from
Mattawa saw we did. Still, even dollars won't buy everything, and what
you can't pay us for we're ready to give. If flesh an' blood can do
it, a fortnight will see us through, an' the next contract you take, if
it's to wipe out the coast range or run off the Pacific, we're coming
along with you. I've nailed you to the bargain, boys, an' here's--The
Boss, victorious, an' to ---- with his bonus!"

The long shanty rang to the roar that followed, and, when it died away,
Geoffrey, who set down his can, turned to his foreman.

"Who is the little man next to Walla Jake?" he asked.

"An old partner of his from Oregon. Came in one day when you were
away, and, as Jake allowed he was a square man, I took him on. Found
him worth his money, and fancied I'd told you."

"You did not," said Geoffrey. "Jake's quite trustworthy, but watch the
stranger well. No doubt he's honest, but I'm getting nervous now we're
so near the end."

The for