shall not stop at Copah," was the decisive rejoinder. "The winters
on the western side of the range are much milder than they are here, and
not to be spoken of in the same day with your Minnesota and Dakota
stamping-ground. If we can get well out of the mountains before the
heavy snows come--"

Frisbie wagged his head.

"I guess I've got it all, now--after so long a time. We merely break the
record for fast railroad building--all the records--for the next six
months or so. Is that about it?"

"You've surrounded it," said Ford tersely.

"Good enough: we're ready to make the break when you give the word. What
are we waiting for?"

"Just at this present moment, for the contractors."

"Why, I understood you had closed with the MacMorrogh Brothers," said
Frisbie.

"No. At the last moment--to relieve me of a responsibility which might
give rise to charges of favoritism, as he put it--Mr. Colbrith took the
bids out of my hands and carried the decision up to the executive
committee. Hence, we wait; and keep a growing army of laborers here
under pay while we wait," said Ford, with disgust thinly masked. Then
he added: "With all due respect to Mr. Colbrith, he is simply a senile
frost!"

Frisbie chuckled.

"Been cooling your fingers, has he? But I understood from the
headquarters people down-town, that the MacMorroghs had a sure thing on
the grading and rock work. Their bid was the lowest, wasn't it?"

"Yes; but not the cheapest for the company, Dick. I've been keeping tab
on the MacMorroghs for a good while: they are grafters; the kind of men
who take it out of the company and out of their labor in a thousand
petty little steals--three profits on the commissary, piece-work for
subs where they know a man's got to lose out, steals on the working
hours, fines and drawbacks and discounts on the pay-rolls, and all that.
You know how it's done."

"Sure," agreed Frisbie, with his most diabolical grin. "Also, I know how
it keeps the engineering department on the hottest borders of Hades,
trying to hold them down. The good Lord deliver us!"

"I wanted to throw their bid out without consideration," Ford went on.
"But again Mr. Colbrith said 'No,' adding that the MacMorroghs were old
contractors on the line, and that Mr. North had always spoken very
highly of them."

"Ah; the fine Italian hand of Mr. North again," said Frisbie. "And that
reminds me: are we going to be at war with the main line operating
department?"

Fo