eal.
"By Jove! I believe that may be it," he mused. "And Annette? Had
she observed it? What was in her heart? Was there a reason for the
Scotchman's jealousy on that side?"

This thought disturbed him greatly. He was not possessed of a larger
measure of self-conceit than falls to the lot of the average young man,
but the thought that possibly Annette had come to regard him other than
as a friend released a new tide of emotion within him. Rapidly he passed
in review many incidents in their association during the months since he
returned from the war, and gradually the conviction forced itself upon
him that possibly McNish was not without some cause for jealousy. It
was rotten luck and was bound to interfere with their present happy
relations. Yet none the less was he conscious that it was not altogether
an unpleasant thought to him that in some subtle way a new bond had been
established between this charming young girl and himself.

But he must straighten things out with McNish at the very first
opportunity. He was a decent chap and would make Annette a first-rate
husband. Indeed, it pleased Jack not a little to feel that he would be
able to further the fortunes of both. McNish had good foreman timber in
him and would make a capable assistant. As to this silly prejudice of
his, Jack resolved that he would take steps immediately to have that
removed. That he could accomplish this he had little doubt.

But the most acutely pressing of the problems that engaged his mind were
those that arose out of his new position as manager. The mere organizing
and directing of men in their work gave him little anxiety. He was sure
of himself as far as that was concerned. He was sure of his ability
to introduce among the men a system of team play that would result in
increased production and would induce altogether better results. He
thought he knew where the weak spots were. He counted greatly upon the
support of the men who had been associated with him in the Maitland
Mills Athletic Association. With their backing, he was certain that he
could eliminate most of that very considerable wastage in time that
even a cursory observation had revealed to him in the shops, due to
such causes as dilatory workers, idle machines, lack of co-ordination,
improper routing of work, and the like. He had the suspicion that a
little investigation would reveal other causes of wastage as well.

There was one feature in the situation that gave him concern