t angles to the direction of the gallery; they were to be held
together at the top by a corbel. No one gave rush orders any more on
Calumet K, for the reason that no one ever thought of doing anything
else. If Bannon sent for a man, he came on the run. So in an incredibly
short time the fences were down and a swarm of men with spades, post
augers, picks, and shovels had invaded the C. & S. C. right-of-way. Up
and down the track a hundred yards each way from the line of the gallery
Bannon had stationed men to give warning of the approach of trains.
"Now," said Bannon, "we'll get this part of the job done before any one
has time to kick. And they won't be very likely to try to pull 'em up by
the roots once we get 'em planted."

But the section boss had received instructions that caused him to be
wide-awake, day or night, to what was going on in the neighborhood of
Calumet K. Half an hour after the work was begun, the picket line up the
track signalled that something was coming. There was no sound of bell or
whistle, but presently Bannon saw a hand car spinning down the track as
fast as six big, sweating men could pump the levers. The section boss
had little to say; simply that they were to get out of there and put up
that fence again, and the quicker the better. Bannon tried to tell him
that the railroad had consented to their putting in the gallery, that
they were well within their rights, that he, the section boss, had
better be careful not to exceed his instructions. But the section boss
had spoken his whole mind already. He was not of the sort that talk just
for the pleasure of hearing their own voices, and he had categorical
instructions that made parley unnecessary. He would not even tell from
whom he had the orders. So the posts were lugged out of the way and the
fence was put up and the men scattered out to their former work again,
grinning a little over Bannon's discomfiture.

Bannon's next move was to write to Minneapolis for information and
instructions, but MacBride, who seemed to have all the information there
was, happened to be in Duluth, and Brown's instructions were
consequently foggy. So, after waiting a few days for something more
definite, Bannon disappeared one afternoon and was gone more than an
hour. When he strode into the office again, keen and springy as though
his work had just begun, Hilda looked up and smiled a little. Pete was
tilted back in the chair staring glumly out of the window. He did