That dispatch, of course, had been sent not from the mines, but from the
General Freight Agent's office in another town. But there were always
men in those days who were deeply interested to learn what was going on
among the masters of finance, and one of these over-curious ones was a
certain telegraph operator. It was his practice to take off the wires
whatever dispatches there might be passing between Napper Tandy and the
railroad people.

Thus it came about that Joe Arnold brought to Guilford Duncan a mass of
accurate and detailed information which enabled him to take the high
hand in his telegraphic controversy with the General Freight Agent, when
that person, late in the evening, called him up on the wire in answer to
his letter, received the night before. Thus was Duncan armed,
_cap-a-pie_, for the telegraphic controversy. And thus it came about
that during the next six days there were a hundred cars shunted to
Redwood side-tracks, where they were rapidly loaded with the coal output
of the Redwood mine.

XVII

AN OLD FRIEND

From that hour forth the Redwood mine became a paying property and, as
Guilford Duncan liked to think, one which was contributing its share to
the public benefit and the welfare of the people.

But Duncan's work there had only begun. Having solved the problem of
shipping coal as fast as the miners could dig it, he gave his attention
next to the equally pressing problem of increasing output. In the
solution of that a great help unexpectedly came to him.

He was sitting late one night over the books and correspondence, when,
near midnight, a miner sought speech with him.

He bade the man enter and, without looking up from the papers he was
studying, asked him to take a seat. Still without taking his eyes from
the papers, he presently asked of the man, who had not accepted the
invitation to sit:

"Well, sir, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing," answered the man. "I came to serve you, not to ask service."

The voice seemed familiar to Duncan--almost startlingly familiar. He
instantly looked up and exclaimed:

"Why, it's Dick Temple!"

"Yes," answered the other. "You and I quarreled very bitterly once. The
quarrel was a very foolish one--on my side."

"And on mine, too!" responded Duncan, grasping his former enemy's hand.
"Let us forget it, and be friends."

"With all my heart. It was in that spirit that I came hither to-night--I
want to render you a service."

Meanwhile