ly with the
characteristic raising and lowering of his eyebrows, "I'll get all there
is, all right."

The next morning, about ten o'clock, Hamilton presented himself at the
general offices of the company on the outskirts of the town, about a
mile from the college. He asked to see the business manager, and was
granted an interview.

"Mr. Arverne," said the boy, "I called with regard to securing the
figures for the census of nineteen hundred and ten."

"But you are not the special agent surely?" said the manager, looking at
him sharply.

"No, sir," the boy answered, "Mr. Burns is the special agent, and I am
one of his assistants."

"I should have thought Mr. Burns would have come himself," the man said;
"you are young for this work, aren't you?"

Hamilton flushed at this reference to his boyish appearance, but he
answered steadily: "Yes, sir, I believe I am younger than most of the
assistant special agents, but I have had a good deal to do with
figures."

"Burns is a good man," the manager continued. "If the government has
men of that stamp all over the country, the statistics will be
invaluable. You know Mr. Burns?" he added suddenly.

"Only just since this work began, Mr. Arverne," the boy replied.

"Queer chap. I don't believe he eats a bit of food or drinks a glass of
water without mentally figuring the nutritious percentage in the food,
and the effect of his drink upon the water supply of the world."

Hamilton laughed.

"He is a little that way, sir," he said.

"A little!" the manager exclaimed. "But to return to the point. You
didn't tell me why Mr. Burns didn't come himself."

"He said that the office work was piling up, sir," answered the boy,
"and--if you don't mind my saying so, Mr. Arverne--he spoke of it as an
opportunity for me, since it was the largest plant in the city and my
schedules had been the most complete of those turned in to him."

The manager eyed the boy keenly.

"Mr. Burns doesn't make many mistakes," he said, after a moment, "and if
he has confidence in you, he knows what he is talking about. This is a
country of young men anyway, and it seems to be getting younger all the
time. Where is the schedule?"

Hamilton handed him the paper and sat back, waiting. Several minutes
passed, while the manager went over the questions item by item.

"Yes," he said at last, "I think our books can answer every question
there without difficulty. We keep very complete books. I am not so sure