MAKING GOOD WITH 
 MARGARET
 
 Before he could stop her she was riding in the 
 opposite direction. (See page 24.)
 
 MAKING GOOD 
 WITH MARGARET 
 
 BY 
 
 E. WARD STRAYER 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 A. O. SCOTT
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY 
 GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY 
 
 All rights reserved
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I A Matter of Business .... 7 
 
 II Ross Comes to a Decision . . . . 17 
 
 III The Railroad Contract .... 27 
 
 IV "It's Make or Break!" . . . ... 37 
 
 V Awarding the Contract . ... 51 
 
 VI 'Twixt Business and Something Else . 62 
 
 VII O'Mara Shows His Hand .... 72 
 
 VIII Ross and His Enemies .... 87 
 
 IX A Blow in the Dark . . . . -97 
 
 X Under Arrest 113 
 
 XI Margaret Makes a Move . . . .127 
 XII As in a Dream 140 
 
 XIII In Harness Once More . . . .152 
 
 XIV What the Doctor Said 161 
 
 v 
 
 2138285
 
 vi Contents 
 
 CHAPTE* PAGE 
 
 XV A First Victory . . . . . .171 
 
 XVI Looking Up a List Drill . . . .187 
 
 XVII Caught in the Storm 194 
 
 XVIII An Unexpected Meeting .... 205 
 XIX The Rock Drill . . ...... 218 
 
 XX Three Against One 225 
 
 XXI Dr. Parmalee Speaks 232 
 
 XXII A Dastardly Plot 244 
 
 XXIII Margaret's Decision 251 
 
 XXIV With Not a Moment to Spare . . . 258 
 XXV Afterwards 263
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Before he could stop her she was riding 
 in the opposite direction. 
 (See page 24.) Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PACK 
 
 The man peered down on the unconscious form. 
 
 (See page 113.) 114 
 
 "Your coming has made me feel like a new man." 
 
 (See page 151.) 150 
 
 "Turn the switch!" he yelled hoarsely to Cole. 262
 
 MAKING GOOD WITH 
 MARGARET 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 A MATTER OF BUSINESS 
 
 "TELEGRAM." 
 
 "Who for, Son?" 
 
 "Mr. Ross Goodwin," answered the telegraph 
 messenger. 
 
 "Hand it over." 
 
 The telegram was delivered just as Ross was 
 packing away the last of the books that he intended 
 to ship to Durham by express. 
 
 College days were truly over, for even Judson, 
 the senior who was forever late, had called at the 
 rooms to say farewell, and every train leaving New 
 Haven was packed with students and "grads." 
 
 Ross' last days at Yale had been of such a char- 
 acter as to upset anybody. First, several of the ex- 
 aminations had gone wrong, and then had come 
 the news that his uncle, John Goodwin, had met 
 with a serious accident while inspecting some blast- 
 ing for the new outlet sewer at Jackson's Point. 
 Then had come the death and burial, with Ross as 
 chief mourner, and on top of that the commence- 
 
 7
 
 8 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 ment, which blunt John Goodwin had insisted he 
 must attend, funeral or no funeral. 
 
 "It won't do any good for you to stand around 
 here and pine," John Goodwin had said. "I sent 
 you to Yale to get an education, and you might as 
 well finish it while you are at it." 
 
 And now his uncle was gone, college days were 
 at an end, and he was left alone in the world. 
 
 Ross had been working in an abstracted manner, 
 with his thoughts far away, and for the moment he 
 stared blankly at the messenger boy and took the 
 message mechanically. It was brief and to the 
 point, and interested him in spite of himself. 
 
 Stop and see us at our Philadelphia offices when 
 on your way home. Important. 
 
 GARTON & WELLINGTON. 
 
 "Garton & Wellington?" he repeated, slowly. 
 "Oh, yes; they were Uncle John's lawyers. Um." 
 
 "Any answer? Please sign here," came from 
 the boy. 
 
 "No yes," was the answer, and signing the 
 book, Ross wrote out his reply, saying he would 
 be on the next morning. 
 
 The boy gone, the young college graduate re- 
 sumed his packing. He could guess what the law-
 
 A Matter of Business 9 
 
 yers wanted to see him about. He and his uncle 
 had been practically alone in the world. He knew 
 that good, honest-hearted Uncle John had left him 
 the bulk of his property. 
 
 The two had never had any differences. It was 
 Uncle John who had made the college course pos- 
 sible. The man had been worth all of fifty thou- 
 sand dollars, maybe a great deal more, so the pros- 
 pect was certainly a pleasing one. 
 
 "Good man!" murmured Ross. "What a pity 
 he couldn't have lived to enjoy the money himself." 
 
 For Uncle John Goodwin had been a hard 
 worker, there was no denying that. With but a 
 limited education, he had worked his way up step 
 by step, taking small contracts at first and then 
 those which were larger, until, in that section of the 
 State, he was looked at as a business man of con- 
 siderable importance. 
 
 He had built the dam at Highland Lake, the 
 water line running to Durham, the joint sewer at 
 Livermore and Hensey, and the railroad line from 
 Lapp's Junction to Fenwick the latter a bit of 
 work that more than one contractor had declared 
 could not be accomplished. 
 
 The Jackson's Point outlet sewer had been all but 
 completed when that fatal blast came that cost him 
 his life. He had been much liked by his men, and
 
 10 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 the funeral had been a large one, with even the 
 "Dagoes" and Poles in line at the end. He had 
 not known their names, only their numbers; but 
 they had known him, and more than one tear was 
 dropped from a tanned and dirt-hardened cheek 
 when "Boss Yon" was put under ground. 
 
 Ross wondered what would become of the con- 
 tracting business now. He had entered Yale with 
 no more definite purpose than to get a thorough 
 education. 
 
 Some of his friends were going in for law, some 
 for medicine, one wanted to become the editor of a 
 metropolitan newspaper, and another had signified 
 his intention of taking up ancient and modern his- 
 tory with a view of filling some chair when the 
 opportunity offered. None of these had appealed 
 to Ross. 
 
 "Guess I'll have to try ranch life," Ross had 
 said, when appealed to by his chums. "I like a life 
 in the open. If I had a pot of money I'd travel 
 around the world." 
 
 "Well, all of us might do worse," Finley had 
 answered, dryly. "But as the pots of money are 
 not within reach " 
 
 "Going to follow in your uncle's footsteps?" an- 
 other had asked. 
 
 "I don't know. To tell the truth, I don't feel as
 
 A Matter of Business 11 
 
 if I'm cut out for anything just now." And then 
 the conversation took a new channel. 
 
 The books packed away, only one other thing 
 remained on the shelf over the table at which Ross 
 had been in the habit of studying. That was the 
 photograph of a girl of twenty, with a round, sweet 
 face, clear, frank eyes, and a mass of dark, curly 
 hair. The eyes seemed to gaze directly into Ross' 
 own, and he could scarcely take his gaze from them. 
 
 "Dear, dear Margy," he murmured. "I wonder 
 if I'll ever be able to make good with you." He 
 looked fondly at the photograph for a minute 
 longer, and then placed it in his breast pocket. 
 
 On the way to New York on the following morn- 
 ing, Ross had two of the professors for company. 
 They were not very talkative, yet he was glad when 
 the Grand Central Terminal was reached and he 
 parted company with them. 
 
 "Well, what do you expect to do in the future?" 
 questioned one of the professors while shaking 
 hands. 
 
 "I don't know yet," was Ross' reply. "I'm 
 very much up in the air." 
 
 At the terminal he hailed a taxicab, and was 
 driven to the Pennsylvania Station. Here he 
 boarded the Philadelphia Limited. He looked 
 around the parlor car in which he had obtained his
 
 12 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 seat, but saw no face which was familiar to him. 
 For this he was not sorry, for it gave him time to 
 review the situation, even though he was not able 
 to reach any satisfactory conclusion. 
 
 Arriving in the Quaker City he soon made his 
 way to the offices of Carton & Wellington. By 
 presenting his card he was immediately ushered into 
 Mr. Carton's private office. The lawyer was an 
 elderly man ; shrewd, but pleasant. 
 
 "Happy to see you, Mr. Goodwin," he said. "Sit 
 down. I'll be at liberty in just a few moments." 
 
 And as Ross took a chair he continued the read- 
 ing of a long, legal document. This finished, he 
 pushed a button, a clerk appeared, and the document 
 was sent away. 
 
 "I presume you got my telegram," began Ross. 
 
 "Exactly, Mr. Goodwin; and I presume you 
 know why we sent ours. We were your late uncle's 
 legal advisers for many years he employed no 
 other counsel. His will was drawn up by us, and 
 that is the matter to be brought up now. With the 
 exception of several small amounts left to his house- 
 keeper and to his foreman and others, you are his 
 sole heir." 
 
 "It was very good of Uncle John to make me 
 that," said Ross, feeling that he must say something. 
 
 "It was to be expected, since you were his nearest 
 and dearest relative, and his ward since the death
 
 A Matter of Business 13 
 
 of your parents. Roughly speaking, the value of 
 the property left you is between seventy-five and 
 one hundred thousand dollars. A portion of this is 
 tied up by a bond given to guarantee the completion 
 of the work on the Jackson's Point outlet sewer. 
 But I am assured by Lawrence Cole, his, foreman, 
 that this work is about done, and in first-class shape, 
 so this money will soon be released." 
 
 Ross bowed, for there seemed to be nothing to 
 say: 
 
 "Your uncle was a hard-working man, and took 
 great pride in his business," went on the lawyer. 
 "He hated to think that some day that business 
 might fall to decay. He left a letter on the subject 
 for you. Here it is. I think it will be worth your 
 while to read it carefully." 
 
 The communication, in a thick, sealed envelope, 
 was handed to Ross, and Mr. Garton excused him- 
 self for a short while. 
 
 With deep interest the young man broke open the 
 envelope, and read the letter, which was in his 
 uncle's crude, heavy hand and almost as brief as was 
 anything John Goodwin had felt himself compelled 
 to write. 
 
 MY DEAR Ross: The doctor says I can't last 
 much longer, so, in case I don't pull through, I'll 
 leave this for you. By my will you'll see that I
 
 14 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 have left you most everything, and I think you de- 
 serve it, for you have always been a good boy. 
 
 What I want to let you know in particular is 
 this : You know I think a whole lot of the contract- 
 ing business. I've slaved day in and day out to 
 make it a big business. I don't want to influence 
 you too much, for a fellow can't be a preacher if 
 he isn't cut out for it, but I hate very much to see 
 the business go to pieces, and hate worse still to see 
 the contracts go to Mike Breen or to Ike Shacker, 
 both having done their best to down me of late years 
 and ruin me. 
 
 If you continue the contract business, beware of 
 both Breen and Shacker, for they are foxy. I think 
 you can trust Larry Cole, my foreman, for I always 
 found him square. O'Mara is a pretty good man, 
 too, although I don't know so much about him as I 
 do about Cole. The Rocky Hill Railroad is going 
 to give out a fine contract soon, and I know Breen 
 and Shacker will do their best to get it, and if they 
 think I'm out of it they'll put in big figures, too. 
 I'd like to see you go in and win from them. 
 
 But have your own way. The money is yours to 
 do with as you please, and I'd rather see you not 
 take a contract than take it and then fall down on 
 the job. 
 
 Your loving uncle, 
 
 JOHN GOODWIN.
 
 A Matter of Business 15 
 
 Ross had time to read this communication twice 
 before the lawyer returned. His face grew thought- 
 ful and tender as he thought of his uncle and of 
 how John Goodwin had struggled to rise. And all 
 that money was now his own, to do with as he 
 pleased. 
 
 "Of course you know the contents of this letter, 
 Mr. Garton?" he said, in a low voice. 
 
 "Exactly, Mr. Goodwin your late uncle spoke 
 of it when he passed it over on the same day he 
 had me call to make sure that his will was safe." 
 
 "He was anxious to have me take up his busi- 
 ness just where he left off." 
 
 "He was very anxious to have the business go on, 
 yes. But he was afraid you wouldn't take to the 
 idea, being a college man. Had a notion you would 
 want to go into law or some other profession." 
 
 "But he wanted me to take up the business?" 
 Ross insisted. 
 
 "Well, that is what it amounted to. But you 
 were to make your own choice." 
 
 "And in case I did go in, did he leave any other 
 directions?" 
 
 "He left several special account books, sealed up. 
 If you gave up the business the account books were 
 to be burned up without being opened." 
 
 "Otherwise I was to have them?" 
 
 "Exactly."
 
 16 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 Ross drew a long breath, and resting his elbow 
 on the desk sank his chin in his palm. His eyes had 
 a far-away look, but he was not thinking of the 
 sealed-up account books. His mind had drifted 
 to the original of the photograph in his breast 
 pocket. 
 
 "Of course, you haven't got to decide this at 
 once," went on Mr. Garton. "Take your own time 
 and think it over." 
 
 "I'll think it over this week," was the answer. 
 "And I'll reach some sort of a decision by next 
 Monday."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 ROSS COMES TO A DECISION 
 
 IF Ross had been thoughtful on his way to Phila- 
 delphia, he was doubly so as his train sped westward 
 over the hills and through the mountains in the di- 
 rection of Durham. 
 
 "She'll be surprised," he murmured to him- 
 self, more than once. "She can't help but be sur- 
 prised. But when I put the matter to her in the 
 
 proper light " And here he dropped into a 
 
 vague speculation of just what Margaret Poole 
 would say. 
 
 They had been friends for many years, ever since 
 he had paid his Uncle John visits when a boy, and 
 the friendship had become a very close one after 
 his parents had passed away and he took up his 
 residence in Durham. Margaret and her widowed 
 mother lived on the valley road, and his uncle's 
 place was not half a mile away. 
 
 "She's a fine bird, Ross," his uncle had said one 
 day. "But she's bound to fly high, you can see 
 that. Don't you go to getting false notions in your 
 head about her." 
 
 But this had not stopped his visits to her, and, 
 17
 
 18 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 almost unconsciously, Margaret Poole had become 
 more to the young collegian than he was willing 
 to admit. 
 
 While he was at Yale, she had attended Wellesley 
 College and had taken special lessons in singing. 
 More than once she had sung in local concerts, and 
 it was rumored that she had offers to go with a 
 touring concert company, and that one manager 
 had offered to place her in an opera company. But 
 she would not leave her parent and besides, her 
 mother, who was of old Puritan stock, did not 
 approve of the publicity. 
 
 Ross knew that Margaret took a great interest 
 in his welfare. More than once they had spoken 
 of his future, and in a half-playful, half-serious 
 manner, she had painted fancy sketches of him as 
 a great lawyer, or a doctor, or holding a valued 
 chair in some large college. He knew that she 
 wanted him to make something of himself and do it 
 in a professional way. 
 
 It was dark when he reached Durham, and only 
 a few lanterns and lamps lit up the scene around 
 the station. 
 
 Jerry, the Goodwin man of all work, was at hand 
 with the automobile, and welcomed him warmly. 
 But the drive to the house was a silent one, and 
 the housekeeper was not surprised when he told her
 
 Ross Comes to a Decision 19 
 
 that he had dined on the train, and did not want the 
 hot supper she had prepared. 
 
 "Can't git over the loss of his uncle," she said to 
 the man of all work. "An' I can't blame him such 
 a good soul as Mr. Goodwin was." 
 
 "Mr. Ross is a good soul, too," answered Jerry. 
 "But he ain't the business man his uncle was. 
 Reckon that contractin' ain't a-goin' on like it did 
 no more." 
 
 "No, 'tain't likely 'twill," answered Mrs. Blake. 
 "But you can't blame Mr. Ross. He's a collige man, 
 an' his uncle wasn't that. Collige men ain't cut out 
 fer no work on sewers an' railroads." 
 
 "I see Larry Cole to-day," went on the man of 
 all work. "He's anxious to know what's goin' to 
 be did. That outlet sewer work comes to an end 
 soon, an' then, unless the business keeps on, he'll 
 be out of a job." 
 
 "A likely man like him needn't be out o' work 
 long. He was Mr. Goodwin's right-hand man, an' 
 always was." And then Mrs. Blake brought the 
 conversation to a close by beginning to remove the 
 untouched supper. 
 
 It was not until ten o'clock in the morning that 
 Ross summoned up sufficient courage to pay the 
 proposed visit to Margaret. Any other time he 
 would have gone over at eight on horseback and in-
 
 20 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 vited her to ride with him, for despite the use of 
 automobiles both loved horseback riding. 
 
 He met her on the road, sitting her nut-brown 
 steed with that grace which he had so often ad- 
 mired. She looked the picture of health and loveli- 
 ness, and he caught his breath as he drew close to 
 her. 
 
 "I was going to ride past, to find out if you had 
 arrived," she said, frankly, as she shook hands. 
 
 "I came in last night, Margy; bag and baggage, 
 books and all. College is now truly a thing of the 
 past." 
 
 "And Sir Ross hath the whole world before 
 him!" she returned, grandiloquently. "What a 
 pleasure it must be, Ross, to think you're not to be 
 tied down to just one thing, but can choose your 
 future for yourself. I was thinking of it last night." 
 
 He flushed it was so nice to have her think of 
 him. But almost immediately he breathed a little 
 sigh. 
 
 "I don't know as I've got the whole world before 
 me, Margy." 
 
 "Oh, yes; you have. I've heard it all. Nearly 
 every dollar of your uncle's money went to you, 
 which was perfectly right. Now, you'll have every 
 opportunity in the world of becoming just anything 
 that you wish. It's grand! and I'm so glad, for
 
 Ross Comes to a Decision 21 
 
 your sake/ 7 And her face beamed with honest 
 gratification. 
 
 "Yes, Uncle John treated me handsomely. And 
 that is just where it comes in, Margy." 
 
 "It? What?" she questioned, quickly. 
 
 "I don't feel that I can do as I'd like to or, I 
 mean, just as I thought I'd like to before this 
 this before he was taken away." 
 
 "I don't understand, Ross." She wheeled her 
 horse, and both rode slowly down a side road under 
 the willows bordering the creek. This path was 
 but little used, and here they would be safe from 
 interruption. 
 
 "It's this way, Margy," he plunged in, very 
 much like one taking an open-air bath in winter. 
 "Uncle John sent me to college, and said I could 
 make of myself anything I pleased. But when he 
 did that he didn't expect to be taken away so sud- 
 denly. Just before he died he wrote a letter, telling 
 me of his work, and of his contracts, and of how 
 other contractors had tried to get in on him, and of 
 how he hated to see the business go to pieces, after 
 he had worked so hard to build it up. He 
 wanted " 
 
 "You don't mean to tell me he wanted you to 
 continue the business?" she interrupted, with wide- 
 open eyes.
 
 22 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "He didn't put it in so many words, but that was 
 the one desire of his heart." 
 
 "Why, it's ridiculous, Ross ! The idea of you be- 
 ing a contractor, and building sewers and such 
 things!" 
 
 "Perhaps I wouldn't be equal to it, Margy, but I 
 could try " 
 
 "Oh, you don't understand! You weren't cut 
 out for such low work. You must be a lawyer, or 
 a doctor, or professor, or something like that. It's 
 the only thing that will really fit you." She gazed 
 at him half proudly as she uttered the words. 
 
 "It's not low work," he returned, half irritatedly. 
 "To build a first-class sewer, or water line, or rail- 
 road, is a skillful feat of engineering. Uncle John 
 was a smart man, in his field." 
 
 "Yes, but that isn't your field. Fancy you in a 
 trench giving directions to a lot of those dirty 
 Italians, with yourself all covered with mud! Oh, 
 Ross, you know you can't do it!" 
 
 "You paint the worst side of the picture, Margy. 
 I wouldn't have to do much trench work. I could 
 leave that to Larry Cole. But, of course, I'd go 
 down to the very bottom of the trench if it was 
 necessary. In fact, I'd do anything rather than fail, 
 after I had once taken hold." 
 
 "So you are really going to do it?" Her face
 
 Ross Comes to a Decision 23 
 
 took on something of a shocked look. "To put 
 yourself on a level with that ignorant Irishman, 
 Mike Breen, and that intolerable skinflint of a 
 Shacker?" 
 
 "No, I'll never put myself on a level with those 
 men. I'll do honest, upright work, as my Uncle 
 John did. And I'll come out on top, too," he added, 
 with a sudden inspiration. "I owe it to the memory 
 of Uncle John to do my level best and knock out 
 Breen and Shacker." 
 
 "Then it's all decided? I don't see why you 
 came to me about it." She straightened in the 
 saddle. "But, of course, you have a right to do as 
 you please." She gave a slight upward tilt to her 
 head. "I think I'll go back." 
 
 "Margy!" 
 
 "Yes, I think I'll go back. I've got several new 
 songs which I wish to practise for the concert next 
 week." 
 
 She was speaking without looking at him. 
 
 "Yes, but listen to me " 
 
 "All the nicest people will be there. Doctor 
 Moore and his wife, and Judge Lathrop, and Mr. 
 Cambian, the lawyer, and that new professor of 
 literature from the preparatory school, and I 
 shouldn't wish to make a miss of it before such a 
 distinguished audience."
 
 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "I don't suppose you expect any railroad con- 
 tractors there?" he flashed back, bitterly. 
 
 "I don't think they'd appreciate an operatic con- 
 cert; do you?" she retorted. 
 
 "They might, if the singing was really good. 
 They know the value of honest work, and they 
 wouldn't stand for anything in the way of a pre- 
 tense." 
 
 "Thank you for the compliment." Her head went 
 higher than before. "I must really go after that. 
 Good-morning." 
 
 Like a flash she turned her horse's head, and 
 before he could stop her she was riding in the direc- 
 tion whence they had come. He went after her a 
 few rods, then slackened the pace of his steed. His 
 heart dropped like a lump of lead, but a grim smile 
 played around his tightly closed lips. 
 
 "I was afraid she'd look at it in that light." He 
 spoke half aloud, as if arguing with a companion. 
 "But it wasn't fair! To her there is no dignity in 
 laboring with one's hands. But I'll show her her 
 
 mistake! She'll find out Oh, why can't she 
 
 look at it as I do !" And he ground his teeth in use- 
 less heartburning. 
 
 But that brief talk had decided him. He would 
 take up the work, be the consequence what it might. 
 He would show the whole world, and Margaret,
 
 Ross Comes to a Decision 25 
 
 too, that a man could labor and still be a gentleman. 
 And he would show them, too, that his years at col- 
 lege had not been wasted years. 
 
 He would take hold the very next day, and 
 finish that outlet sewer contract just as his Uncle 
 John had expected to do before him. He was glad 
 there was work to do, and he hoped it would re- 
 quire all of his attention for then it would help 
 him to forget the girl who had just snubbed him. 
 
 "But it wasn't fair of Margy to talk that way," 
 he reasoned to himself. "It wasn't fair and it 
 wasn't what I expected." 
 
 He plunged into the work sooner than expected. 
 On arriving at home he found his uncle's foreman, 
 Larry Cole, awaiting him. 
 
 Cole was a man of forty, tall and sinewy, with 
 black eyes that seemed to read one through and 
 through. He had very little book education, but a 
 thorough knowledge of men, and had worked with 
 John Goodwin for six years and more. 
 
 "Glad to see you, Cole," said Ross, shaking hands. 
 "I was coming down to the work to-morrow morn- 
 ing." 
 
 The foreman nodded. "We need you," he an- 
 swered. "That is, somebody has got to say what's 
 to be done. That lawyer in Philadelphia wrote he'd 
 give word next week, but that's too late."
 
 26 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "He was waiting to hear from me, Cole." Ross 
 paused for a moment. "I suppose you know exactly 
 what ought to be done?" 
 
 "If I didn't your uncle wouldn't have placed me 
 in charge." 
 
 "I believe that. Well, go ahead as you think 
 best, and it will be all right." 
 
 The foreman looked relieved, and something like 
 a smile showed on his wrinkled, leathery face. 
 
 "Then you are going to take hold?" 
 
 "I am, at least for the present." 
 
 "Oh ! You mean until this job at Jackson's Point 
 is done." 
 
 "No, I don't. I am going to take other contracts 
 if I can get them. That is why I was coming 
 down to-morrow. I've heard something of a rail- 
 road contract that is floating around Cressing. Do 
 you know anything about it?" 
 
 "I know all about it." 
 
 "Then give me the particulars."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE RAILROAD CONTRACT. 
 
 IN less than an hour Ross had the particulars of 
 the railroad contract so far as Cole knew them. The 
 foreman had been shrewd enough to learn many 
 details, but there were, of course, others at which he 
 could only guess. 
 
 Briefly stated, the Rocky Hill Railroad wanted to 
 build a side line from Durham to Cressing, a dis- 
 tance of ten miles. The main line passed through 
 Durham, and Cressing was an important point on 
 the Cedar Lake division. The railroad had wanted 
 this side line for many years, but the old manage- 
 ment had hesitated about spending the necessary 
 money. The railroad was now under new manage- 
 ment, and the improvement was to be made as soon 
 as possible. 
 
 Cole had driven over the route half a dozen times, 
 and knew every foot of the ground. 
 
 The line had been staked out by the engineers, 
 and he had seen the blueprints of the maps. There 
 were two hills to be cut away and a rocky cliff to 
 be blasted out. The dirt from one of the hills was 
 to be hauled to a pond two miles away, also on the 
 line of the road, and some grading was to be done at 
 
 27
 
 28 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 Black Rock Creek, over which the railroad intended 
 to put a fine bridge. 
 
 "We won't have anything to do with the bridge," 
 said the foreman. "That contract has already been 
 given to the Pittsburgh Bridge Company. And we 
 won't have anything to do with putting down the 
 track. All they want of the outside contractor is 
 to bring the roadbed to a grade, according to the 
 plans and specifications." 
 
 "Who will do the track laying?" 
 
 "The regular railroad gang. You see they can't 
 do the grading, because they are working elsewhere 
 at present." 
 
 "I suppose this Mike Breen and Ike Shacker are 
 after the contract?" 
 
 "Yes. I heard Breen put in his bid yesterday. 
 Shacker put in his bid last week." 
 
 "Do you know anything about the figures?" 
 
 Cole shook his head. "I wanted to get 'em, but 
 they were as mum as oysters." 
 
 "Well, you can't blame them for that. If we put 
 in a figure we'll keep mum, too." 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 "How long before the time for putting in bids 
 comes to an end?" 
 
 "A week from to-day. You see, the thing has 
 been out almost a month already."
 
 The Railroad Contract 29 
 
 "Then we'll have to get at it right away, Cole. 
 You've got to be my right-hand man in this, just 
 as you've been my uncle's right-hand man. I shall 
 depend upon you." 
 
 Ross had read the man before him aright. Cole 
 was honest to the core, and he wanted others to ap- 
 preciate that honesty. His black eyes showed pleas- 
 ure, and he impulsively placed a hand on the young 
 college man's shoulder. 
 
 "It's a go, Mr. Goodwin," he answered. "Give 
 me the chance to go ahead, and I'll stick by you 
 through thick and thin. You see" his voice 
 dropped a little "John wanted me to do it if you 
 continued the business." 
 
 Ross caught the brawny hand, and gave it a 
 tight squeeze. 
 
 "Then that is settled, and I am glad of it. I 
 don't hesitate to admit to you that I am as green as 
 they make 'em in this. Of course, I know some- 
 thing, but lately I've given all my attention to my 
 college work." 
 
 "They tell me you passed with flying colors." 
 
 "I came out pretty well, considering the trouble 
 I had at the start of the examinations." 
 
 "Didn't expect to take up this work so quick, 
 did you?" 
 
 "No. But I'm going to take it up for my uncle's
 
 30 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 sake, and knock out Breen and Shacker, if I can." 
 
 "We can do it, Mr. Goodwin. I'm not sure of 
 it, but I think they have a deal between them." 
 
 "In what way?" 
 
 "They didn't expect you to step in with a bid. 
 They thought that as soon as your uncle died they'd 
 have things all their own way. Shacker thinks you 
 are nothing but a college dude, as he puts it." 
 
 Ross shut his teeth hard. "My thanks to Mr. 
 Shacker for his compliment. I presume his idea is 
 indorsed by Breen?" 
 
 "If you must know, Breen says he isn't afraid of 
 any young fellow with nothing but book learning 
 in his head." 
 
 "But he doesn't know I have nothing but book 
 learning in my head." Ross grew more resolute 
 than ever. "I'll prove to him that the same blood 
 that flowed in my uncle's veins flows in mine. I'll 
 beat him at his own game." 
 
 The young man's fist came down on the table 
 with a bang, and his whole face lit up with a light 
 that was new to Cole; indeed, that was new to 
 everybody, even himself. All in an instant he had 
 found a purpose in life, and he was aglow with en- 
 thusiasm. He jumped up, and began to pace the 
 floor. 
 
 "Cole, we must get that contract!" he cried.
 
 The Railroad Contract 31 
 
 "We'll go at it to-morrow just as soon as you can 
 arrange matters at the outlet sewer. I'll get the 
 papers, and we can go over them together, and go 
 over the route, too. Is there anybody you can 
 leave in charge of the sewer work?" 
 
 "I can leave O'Mara." 
 
 "Is he all right?" 
 
 "He may be, after I've told him that you are 
 going ahead with the business. He's been snuffing 
 around Breen for a job, thinking this would soon 
 peter out." 
 
 "I see. What about the others?" 
 
 "Oh, the Dagoes and Poles will work as long as 
 there is anything to do. They don't know but what 
 we have other contracts on hand." 
 
 "Well, you fix it with O'Mara, and if you can get 
 through, you meet me in Cressing at the hotel, be- 
 tween three and four o'clock to-morrow." 
 
 The next day was a busy one for Ross. There 
 were a number of things to do at home, and it was 
 nearly noon before he started for Cressing. He 
 went over the route of the new road, so as to get a 
 general idea of what would be required in the way 
 of grading and blasting and filling in. This took 
 time, and when the ten miles were covered, he 
 found himself tremendously hungry. 
 
 "I guess I am going to earn my bread by the
 
 32 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 sweat of my brow now," he told himself, grimly, 
 as he entered the hotel and ordered dinner. On a 
 slip of paper he had jotted down some figures as he 
 came along, and these he now looked over while 
 waiting to be served. 
 
 The dining room was next to the barroom, and 
 glancing into the other apartment he saw two men 
 drinking there. One was Michael Breen and the 
 other was a stranger. Presently the stranger 
 left, and Breen came into the dining room and 
 sauntered slowly up to the young college grad- 
 uate. 
 
 "How do you do, Mr. Goodwin," he said, in a 
 broad, Irish accent, and held out a thick, heavy 
 hand. 
 
 "I am very well, thank you," answered Ross, and 
 shook hands politely. "How are you?" 
 
 "Middling well, Mr. Goodwin. I'm troubled a 
 bit wid rheumatism. I'm glad we met." The Irish- 
 man dropped into a chair. "Perhaps it's too early 
 to say anything, but I've heard your late uncle left 
 you about everything he had." 
 
 "He left me nearly everything." 
 
 "Just so ! And that being the fact, I thought per- 
 haps you'd be wantin' to sell some things before 
 long drills, and carts, and picks, and shovels, and 
 the like."
 
 The Railroad Contract 33 
 
 "Oh !" Ross paused. "So you take it for granted 
 that I won't keep up the contracting business." 
 
 "It's hardly the business that would be after 
 suitin' a college man." 
 
 "That depends on the man, Mr. Breen." 
 
 "Then you are going to keep on?" said Michael 
 Breen, quickly. His surprise was evident. 
 
 "For the present, yes. You know we have that 
 outlet sewer to complete." 
 
 "And after that you'll sell out?" 
 
 "Perhaps if I can't get the work I want." 
 
 "Take my advice, and keep out of the business, 
 Mr. Goodwin. There's no money in it any more. 
 Anybody who can git a lot of Dagoes together 
 calls himself a contractor. They don't make any 
 money themselves, and they don't give anybody else 
 a chance to make anything." 
 
 "Then perhaps you feel like selling out," an- 
 swered Ross, dryly. 
 
 "I do, Mr. Goodwin. But who will give me an 
 honest price for my stuff? I've got thousands of 
 dollars locked up in drills, and horses and carts, 
 and hoisting machinery, and I've got to make it 
 bring in something." 
 
 "Well, if business was so poor I shouldn't wish 
 to buy more stuff, if I were you." 
 
 "Oh, well, to tell the truth, I liked your uncle
 
 34 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 a fine man and I thought I might help you out, in 
 case you didn't know what to do with the stuff." 
 
 "Thanks, but I don't need any help. I might 
 use it to set Larry Cole up in business." 
 
 "Him! Don't waste your money on such a 
 fellow, Mr. Goodwin. He did your uncle more 
 harm than good." 
 
 "Oh, I can't believe that. He is a very straight- 
 forward, honest foreman." 
 
 "Is he?" Mike Breen arose and leaned forward. 
 His voice sank to a whisper. "Don't you believe it. 
 If you'll promise not to tell, I'll tell you what he 
 tried to do." 
 
 There was an odd smile on Ross' face as he made 
 reply : 
 
 "Well, what did he do?" 
 
 "He came to me when that outlet sewer contract 
 came up. If I had promised him a thousand dollars 
 he would have sold out your uncle, and the con- 
 tract would have gone to me or to Shacker. But 
 I was honest Oh, what's this?" 
 
 For a hand had suddenly grasped Mike Breen by 
 the shoulder and whirled him around. As he 
 turned, his gaze met the wrathful eyes of Larry 
 Cole, and the next instant he measured his length 
 on the dining room floor with a dull thud. 
 
 "You dirty hound!" cried the foreman, standing
 
 The Railroad Contract 35 
 
 over him with clinched fists. "You miserable, lying 
 dog! Take back what you said, or I'll I'll " 
 
 "Don't hit him again, Cole!" put in Ross, catch- 
 ing the foreman by the hand. "I don't believe a 
 word of what he said." 
 
 "He ought to be hung!" muttered Cole, but his 
 hands fell to his sides. 
 
 With a face full of conflicting emotions, Mike 
 Breen arose slowly to his feet. He wanted to say 
 something, but collecting his senses was not easy. 
 He glanced around the dining room, and was re- 
 lieved to see that no outsider had witnessed the 
 attack. 
 
 "I I know what I'm sayin'," he began. "Of 
 course I can't prove " 
 
 "Do you take it back?" demanded Cole, and ad- 
 vanced again, despite Ross' attempt to hold him 
 back. 
 
 "No!" roared Breen. "I'll take back nuthin'!" 
 
 "Then I'll choke the lie down your miserable 
 throat!" yelled Cole, and caught the Irish con- 
 tractor by the windpipe. He backed Breen against 
 the wall, and banged his head into a bill of fare 
 tacked there. 
 
 "Le let up!" was all Breen could gasp. 
 "Le " And then came nothing but a gurgle. 
 
 "Do you take it back?"
 
 36 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Ye yes." 
 
 "Then go!" And now Cole flung the man back 
 half across one of the tables. 
 
 Staggering like a drunken man, Mike Breen 
 picked himself up, and left the dining room almost 
 on a run. Following to the door, Ross saw him 
 hurry to the corner, leap into his Ford runabout, 
 and speed away.
 
 "I'M afraid you've piled up trouble for yourself, 
 Cole," remarked Ross, on turning back into the 
 dining room. "Breen will never forgive you for 
 knocking him down." 
 
 The tall foreman shrugged his shoulders. "I'm 
 not afraid of the cur. What else could I do ? Stand 
 there and listen to his lies?" 
 
 "I suppose he made the yarn out of the whole 
 cloth." 
 
 "That's the exact truth, Mr. Goodwin. I never 
 went near him of my own account. Just before 
 the outlet sewer contract was given out he sent for 
 me to come and see him. I went, and he began to 
 pump me about what your uncle was doing, and 
 hinted about giving me big money to sell him out. 
 I let him talk and led him on, just to see what he 
 would do. Afterwards I told your uncle everything 
 and that's one reason he had no use for Breen." 
 
 "We'll have to watch him closely." 
 
 "I'm glad I chanced along at just the right time. 
 He would have pumped you full of his lies " 
 
 "Don't you worry about that, Cole. My uncle 
 37
 
 38 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 trusted you, and I said I'd do the same." Ross 
 paused for a moment. "Let's forget it and come to 
 business." 
 
 Quarter of an hour later the pair had left the 
 hotel and were making their way over to the rail- 
 road offices located in Cressing. The giving out 
 of the contract was in the hands of a Mr. Appleby 
 Sanderson, a thin, nervous, jerky man of business. 
 
 "Want to try for the contract, eh?" he said. 
 "All right, Mr. Goodwin; you shall have your 
 chance. Your uncle was all right at this sort of 
 
 thing, and if you've got his blood " And then 
 
 he dropped off and brought forth the plans and 
 specifications. 
 
 "May I ask how many bids are in?" Ross ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 "No questions of that sort answered," was the 
 prompt reply. "This is a strict business deal. The 
 lowest contractor gets the work, providing he can 
 file the necessary bond." 
 
 "How large a bond?" 
 
 "Twenty thousand dollars." 
 
 "I can do that if I happen to be the lowest 
 bidder." 
 
 A busy hour followed, in which Appleby Sander- 
 son, Ross and Cole went over the plans and speci- 
 fications in detail. Everything was clear enough,
 
 "It's Make or Break!" 39 
 
 and Ross could see that all he had to do was to 
 figure on the job and put in his bid. 
 
 "And now for some real figuring," said Ross, 
 after they had said good-day to Appleby Sanderson. 
 "Cole, here is where you must give me a lot of 
 help. I know the theoretical side of the business, 
 but you've been right in the work for years " 
 
 "I'll tell you everything I know," answered the 
 foreman. He had thought at the start that he could 
 not like a college man for a boss, but he was begin- 
 ning to fairly love Ross. The young man was 
 willing to acknowledge his greenness, and in Cole's 
 eyes this was his most redeeming trait. 
 
 Once more Ross went over the proposed route, 
 and he and Cole did a good deal of measuring on 
 their own account. They inspected the rocky cliff 
 to be blasted away, and Cole explained how the 
 work could be accomplished in the least expensive 
 way. 
 
 "Shacker is a handy man at rocks," he said. 
 "And he is the fellow to put in a low figure on this 
 sort of work." 
 
 "Well, we don't want to put in such a low figure 
 that we come out of the little end of the horn, pro- 
 viding we get the job," returned Ross. 
 
 The next day the pair got down to the real figur- 
 ing in the case. Here Ross showed the advantages
 
 40 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 of education by doing sums in a manner that 
 amazed the foreman. 
 
 "You can handle the arithmetic end all O. K.," 
 said Cole, admiringly. "It would take your uncle 
 hours to do the sums you've done in so many min- 
 utes." 
 
 To figure on the plain dirt work was easy enough, 
 but with the rock to be blasted it was different. 
 
 "You'll need a new steam drill for that," said 
 Cole. "Our old one is played out, and, besides, 
 it's behind the times. I heard it told in Durham 
 that Shacker had ordered one of the latest drills." 
 
 "Well, we'll get a new drill if we get the con- 
 tract," returned Ross. 
 
 He was warming up more and more to the work, 
 and he sincerely hoped that the contract would be 
 given to him just to show Breen and Shacker that 
 if John Goodwin was dead, his successor still lived. 
 He began to understand something of the spirit of 
 rivalry among all the contractors. 
 
 One day, while he was out alone tramping along 
 the proposed route, he saw a figure on horseback 
 some distance ahead of him. 
 
 "I bet that's Margy," he said to himself, and 
 started forward quickly. 
 
 The person on horseback had halted and seemed 
 to be sitting in the saddle viewing the distant land- 
 scape. As he drew nearer he recognized the girl
 
 "It's Make or Break!" 41 
 
 and waved his hand toward her. She did not wave 
 in return, but brought her horse around until she 
 was looking down the road in his direction. Then, 
 of a sudden, she whipped up her horse; and girl 
 and steed went tearing along the hillside trail and 
 were soon lost in the distance. 
 
 As he saw her disappearing, the young man came 
 to a sudden halt, and a flush that was not altogether 
 from his exertions mounted swiftly to his face. 
 
 "She saw me she must have seen me !" he mut- 
 tered to himself. 
 
 The thought filled him with bitterness, and for 
 fully five minutes he rambled over the rocks unable 
 to bind himself once more down to the work at 
 hand. He tried to catch another sight of her, but 
 the girl did not reappear. 
 
 Ross thought of the concert Margaret had men- 
 tioned. It was a charitable affair, and was to come 
 off on the evening of the next day. It was to be 
 the occasion Durham had seen for many a day, 
 and he did not doubt but what the finest people for 
 miles around would attend. The committee had 
 sent him five tickets, and in the goodness of his 
 heart he had kept and paid for them all. 
 
 He felt that Margaret would look for him at that 
 concert, in spite of what she had said and intimated. 
 Should he go, or had he best stay away ? 
 
 He asked himself that question, not once, but
 
 42 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 many times, without reaching a satisfactory answer. 
 He felt he was in a good deal of a muddle. 
 
 "If I go, she'll think I am crawling," was the 
 way he put it to himself. "And if I don't go she'll 
 be cut to the quick." 
 
 Then his pride arose to the surface, and he told 
 himself that it would be utterly impossible for him 
 to attend. 
 
 The next day was the one he had selected for put- 
 ting in the bid. From early morning until noon he 
 went over the figures once more, making certain that 
 there were no mistakes. Then in a firm hand he 
 wrote out his bid in detail and signed it, "Ross Good- 
 win, successor to John Goodwin." The world should 
 know that he intended to follow in his uncle's foot- 
 steps, regardless of the fact of his college training. 
 
 "It's make or break!" he muttered to himself, 
 after his bid had been safely delivered. "What a 
 lot of hustling I'll have to do if the work really does 
 come my way!" 
 
 Only one person had thrown cold water on his 
 enthusiasm. This was Pat O'Mara, the fellow his 
 uncle had known little about, and the one Cole had 
 said had applied to Breen for a situation. 
 
 "It's a risky bit o' business, I can tell ye that," 
 O'Mara had said, when Ross met him at Jackson's 
 Point. "The dirt is easy enough, but that rock is as
 
 "It's Make or Break!" 43 
 
 hard as flint. You'll lose money trying to blast it 
 out and cart it away." 
 
 "Can't we get the rock out as easily as Breen or 
 Shacker can?" Ross had questioned. 
 
 "I'm not after thinkin' so, Mr. Goodwin. They 
 have good drills and foin hoistin' machinery, while 
 our outfit is out o' date." 
 
 "Well, we'll have to get new tools to work with 
 if we get the contract." 
 
 O'Mara was anxious to learn if Ross really put 
 in a bid, and when told yes by Cole wanted to know 
 something of the figures. 
 
 "You'll have to ask Mr. Goodwin about that," 
 answered the tall foreman. "And you might as well 
 save your breath, for he won't tell you," he added. 
 
 But O'Mara was more anxious than he cared to 
 acknowledge to Cole, and late in the afternoon he 
 called on Ross, under pretext of asking about some- 
 thing to be done on the outlet sewer. 
 
 "Cole tells me you've put in a bid for the rail- 
 road work," he said, during the course of the con- 
 versation. 
 
 "I have, O'Mara, and I suppose you'll be glad if I 
 get the job," answered Ross, with a smile, and at 
 the same time studying the face before him. 
 
 "If you don't lose money, sir. I hope you made 
 your bid high enough to clear yourself."
 
 44 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "If we get the work Cole and I have calculated 
 that we'll make a fair profit." 
 
 "Your uncle knew how to figure, but I, don't 
 know as Cole ever did." O'Mara shifted uneasily. 
 "If it's any of my business, about what is the job 
 worth?" 
 
 "Oh, it's worth something in the neighborhood 
 of a hundred thousand dollars," and Ross gave a 
 light laugh. "You mustn't bother me about figures 
 now. I've been over them so often that I am sick 
 of them," he continued, pointedly. 
 
 O'Mara was rather thick-headed, but the hint 
 was sufficient, and he said no more on the subject. 
 He returned again to the subject of the outlet sewer; 
 and a few minutes later took his departure. 
 
 While eating supper Ross found himself looking 
 at the clock more than once. He had imagined that 
 the bid would claim all of his thoughts, but he was 
 sadly mistaken. 
 
 His mind reverted continually to Margaret and 
 the concert. After all, why shouldn't he go? It 
 was a local affair in which many others were inter- 
 ested besides Margaret. 
 
 If he did not go folks might begin to ask ques- 
 tions, for they all knew what intimate friends he 
 and the girl had been in the past. He certainly didn't 
 want to cause any gossip.
 
 "It's Make or Break!" 45 
 
 "I'll go, but I shan't make any fuss over her," 
 he told himself, and flew upstairs to get into his 
 dress suit. But then he thought of his late uncle 
 and the funeral not so many weeks past. Perhaps 
 he had better not go, after all. 
 
 While he sat on the edge of the bed, the house- 
 keeper knocked on his door. 
 
 "A telephone message for you, sir," she said. 
 
 "Maybe Margy is sending me some word," he told 
 himself, and hurried to the telephone. 
 
 "Is this Mr. Ross Goodwin?" came in a heavy, 
 masculine voice over the wire. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well, this is one of your workmen at Jackson's 
 Point. There's been a bad cave-in down here, and 
 we don't know what to do about it." 
 
 "A cave-in, eh?" returned Ross. "Anybody 
 hurt?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. Two of the Poles." 
 
 "Badly?" 
 
 "I can't say as to that, sir. One of 'em has a 
 leg hurted, and the other got struck on the head 
 and is unconscious." 
 
 "Isn't O'Mara there?" 
 
 "No, sir. He left about ten minutes before the 
 accident happened." 
 
 "And what about Cole?"
 
 46 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "He ain't here either." 
 
 "Well, who are you?" 
 
 "I'm Jimmy McGuire. I'm in charge when 
 O'Mara is away." 
 
 "Have you sent for a doctor, McGuire?" 
 
 "I have that, sir." 
 
 "Well, have him do what he can for the men, 
 and have them taken either to the hospital or to 
 their shacks, just as the doctor thinks best. I'll 
 be over there just as soon as I can make it in my 
 auto;" and after a few words more Ross hung up 
 the receiver. 
 
 With this unexpected cave-in on his mind, the 
 concert was well-nigh forgotten. Telling the 
 housekeeper that he might not be back until the next 
 day, he dashed downstairs and out to the garage. 
 He found Jerry sitting near by, smoking his pipe. 
 
 "I've got to get down to Jackson's Point just as 
 quick as we can make it, Jerry," he called out. 
 "There has been a cave-in, and some of the men are 
 hurt. Get out the runabout and see that everything 
 is in order to make the distance in record time." 
 
 "Yes, sir," was the quick reply, and in a few 
 minutes more Ross and the man were on the way. 
 
 It was a wild, uncertain ride, for the roads in 
 that district were in anything but a good condition. 
 Frequently the old chauffeur brought the speedom-
 
 "It's Make or Break!" 47 
 
 eter up to where it registered forty miles an hour. 
 
 "Take care that you don't break the springs or 
 an axle," warned Ross, after they had gone over 
 some rough rocks which had all but bounced him 
 out on the roadway. "This isn't any boulevard." 
 
 "Well, you said you wanted to get there as soon 
 as you could," returned the man of all work, grimly. 
 
 "Right you are, Jerry but I don't want to break 
 my neck doing it," answered the young man. 
 
 They covered several miles where the only lights 
 on the road were those of the automobile. Then 
 they made several dangerous turns, sweeping in 
 under some overhanging trees where they both had 
 to duck to escape being struck. Then they made 
 another turn, and presently came out to where they 
 saw the light of a number of lanterns in the dis- 
 tance. 
 
 "I guess that is where the cave-in happened," 
 was Ross' comment, and he was right. 
 
 They soon drew up in the midst of a crowd of 
 Poles, all talking wildly. 
 
 "I'm glad you've arrived," remarked Jimmy Mc- 
 Guire, as he pushed his way to the front through 
 the crowd. "Those Poles couldn't have been any 
 more excited if there' d been an earthquake " 
 
 "What about the men who were hurt?" inquired 
 the young man quickly.
 
 48 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "The doctor's just got here, and he's takin' care 
 of 'em now. You might ask him." 
 
 "All right, McGuire. And what about this cave- 
 in?" 
 
 "Oh, I think we can fix that up, although it may 
 take the best part of a night to do it." 
 
 "It wouldn't be best to leave it till morning, 
 would it?" 
 
 "No, sir. We've got to do some shoring up at 
 once or else another section may give way." 
 
 "All right, then, get the men to work at once. 
 But be careful, I don't want any more of them to 
 get hurt." 
 
 "We'll be careful, Mr. Goodwin, don't worry 
 about that," answered McGuire dryly. "The men 
 have got their eyes wide open, believe me." 
 
 Ross pushed his way forward, and finally reached 
 a spot in front of one of the shacks where the two 
 injured men were lying on two piles of horse- 
 blankets. Two Poles with lanterns were standing 
 near by, and a doctor in his shirtsleeves was work- 
 ing over the poor fellow who had been knocked un- 
 conscious. 
 
 "The other fellow has his ankle twisted," said the 
 doctor. "I don't think it's very serious. But this 
 poor chap caught it pretty badly. I think, Mr. Good- 
 win, we had better take him over to the hospital."
 
 "It's Make or Break!" 49 
 
 "All right, Doctor. The question is, How can 
 we get him over? I don't think I can carry him in 
 my runabout. I should have brought the seven- 
 passenger car." 
 
 "I've got my old five-passenger car here; we 
 can utilize that," answered the physician. And a 
 few minutes later both of the injured men were 
 placed in the touring car and the doctor and one of 
 the workmen went off with them toward the near- 
 est hospital, which was six miles away. 
 
 As soon as the injured men had been carried off, 
 Ross turned his attention once more to the cave-in. 
 He went over the big trench and consulted with 
 McGuire, who had already set the men to work. 
 
 "You have that shoring put up good and strong 
 this time, McGuire," ordered Ross. "I don't want 
 to take any more chances." 
 
 "I suppose hurting those men will cost you quite 
 a penny," remarked the foreman. 
 
 "Perhaps. I rather think, though, we have all 
 these men insured." 
 
 Ross remained at Jackson's Point until four 
 o'clock in the morning, then he and Jerry rode home. 
 
 It was not till the next day that the young con- 
 tractor learned, through the medium of the Durham 
 Daily Press, what a grand success the concert had 
 been and of how Margaret had carried off the best
 
 50 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 of the honors. There was a quarter of a column 
 devoted to her singing, which was pronounced 
 superb, and her dress, which was described as ex- 
 quisite. The article ran: 
 
 Miss Poole undoubtedly has a great future 
 before her. We certainly expect to see her at 
 no distant day on the grand opera stage, or 
 singing in one of the finest of metropolitan 
 churches. 
 
 "She certainly must have made a hit," he mused. 
 "Wonder what she thought when she found I 
 wasn't present? Perhaps she didn't think anything 
 about it." 
 
 He heaved a long sigh. It was not such a far 
 cry from business to sentiment, after all.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 AWARDING THE CONTRACT 
 
 To sing at such a concert, even before the elite of 
 Durham and vicinity, was no ordeal for such a girl 
 as Margaret Poole. Strong-willed and self-reliant, 
 she scarcely knew the meaning of "nerves," and 
 after her practising was at an end she scarcely gave 
 the concert a second thought. She would sing her 
 best, and Durhamites might think what they pleased 
 about it. 
 
 Consequently, when she was dressing, her mind 
 was on other things. She remembered her last talk 
 with Ross. She had not seen him at the rocky cliff 
 as he had believed. But she had heard through 
 others that he was preparing to go to work. This 
 made her sigh. Well, he must know best. But, 
 oh, she had hoped for so much from him ! 
 
 "I don't see why he can't become a doctor or a 
 lawyer or a professor, or something like that," she 
 murmured, as she stood before her mirror survey- 
 ing herself. "He would make a fine lawyer I am 
 sure of it ! And who knows but what some day he 
 might become the judge in one of those big courts. 
 And to think he chooses to be just a common con- 
 Si
 
 52 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 tractor! Oh dear, I never did think he would be 
 so headstrong." 
 
 As it grew later the leading florist of Durham 
 sent his boy around with a bouquet. But it was one 
 her mother had ordered, and not one from Ross, 
 and this gave her heart another pang. In the past 
 he had never forgotten to send flowers, no matter 
 how trifling the occasion. 
 
 "I suppose he's thinking so much of his contract- 
 ing he can't stop to think of me!" she told herself. 
 "Well, I don't care! If he isn't going to make 
 
 something of himself " And then a curious 
 
 lump arose in her throat which she swallowed with 
 difficulty. 
 
 To let her in at the stage door to the concert 
 hall the chauffeur had to drive around the corner 
 of a side street. On the far corner was a saloon, 
 and as the turnout came closer she saw two men 
 come out of the drinking place and walk along the 
 pavement. She recognized one as Michael Breen, 
 the contractor. 
 
 "And to think that Ross wants to put himself on 
 
 a level " she began to herself. "But no, no 
 
 matter what Ross does he'll never get to be like that 
 horrid man." 
 
 The automobile had to wait for another car to 
 get out of the way, and when Margaret alighted
 
 Awarding the Contract 53 
 
 she found Breen and the stranger standing in a 
 dark corner near the doorway, talking earnestly. 
 
 "So you couldn't find out Goodwin's figures?" 
 she heard Breen say. "It's too bad, O'Mara." 
 
 "I done me best, Mr. Breen. But he ain't givin' 
 nuthin' away. I'm after thinkin' Cole set him up 
 to it." 
 
 Margaret paused, for she could not help but feel 
 interested. They were talking of Ross and, most 
 likely, of that railroad contract. She bent down as 
 if to do something to her shoe. 
 
 "We mustn't let him swipe the job from under 
 our noses," Breen continued. "Didn't you tell 
 him there was no money in it?" 
 
 "I did that; and I'll bet his figures is high 
 enough." 
 
 "Yes, but so are ours. Shacker and me both 
 thought we had competition out of the way." 
 
 "If ye made a deal fer a rake-off," began O'Mara, 
 "you had best put in a new bid. Say the old wan 
 was a mistake, or somethin' like that." 
 
 "It's easy enough to talk," retorted Breen, an- 
 grily. "We have a deal I don't deny it. But to 
 cut under now " 
 
 This was all Margaret heard. Another car 
 came up, with more singers, and there was a babble 
 of voices, in the midst of which Breen and O'Mara
 
 54 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 sauntered off. Then the girl was surrounded by 
 friends and swept away to the tiny greenroom be- 
 hind the stage of the only public hall of which 
 Durham boasted. 
 
 Even here she looked for Ross to visit her, and 
 she determined to tell him all she had heard, without 
 delay. It might not mean much, and then, again, 
 it might mean a great deal he would know about 
 that. She would let him feel that she had his suc- 
 cess at heart, no matter what he attempted to do. 
 
 As already told, the concert was a great success, 
 but all the applause she received did not compensate 
 for the bitterness that filled her heart when she at 
 last admitted to herself that he had not come. Her 
 hope held out until the second part of the concert, 
 and until her last song was sung, and she looked 
 around for him even at the final encore. 
 
 "He doesn't care, after all," she told herself, for 
 the fiftieth time. "Or else it is possible that he 
 stayed home on his uncle's account," and with this 
 last thought she tried to comfort herself. 
 
 Should she write him a letter, telling of what she 
 had heard the night before? Such was the ques- 
 tion she asked herself in the morning. She wanted 
 to be his friend. But he might not understand that 
 letter, and might think that she was merely trying to 
 draw him back to her. At this her cheeks flamed.
 
 Awarding the Contract 55 
 
 "I couldn't do that I really couldn't," she mur- 
 mured, and began to pace the floor. Then an in- 
 spiration seized her. In a disguised hand she wrote 
 a letter, telling the particulars of the talk, and 
 signing the communication "A Friend." This she 
 posted herself, on the sly, at the local office. 
 
 The letter was brought to Ross, with several 
 others, by Jerry that evening. The bids for the 
 railroad work were to be opened at noon of the 
 following day. and it must be confessed that the 
 young college graduate was a trifle nervous. In- 
 side of the next twenty-four hours he would either 
 have a very large contract on hand, or he would be, 
 practically, out of business. 
 
 He opened the communications quickly. One was 
 a bill, another an application for work, a third a 
 "library" offer of Balzac's works at the low price 
 of a dollar down and a dollar a month until paid for, 
 satisfaction guaranteed. These he thrust aside 
 impatiently. Then he read the letter signed "A 
 Friend" slowly and critically. 
 
 "Unless this is a fake somebody is trying to do 
 me a good turn," he said to himself. "Wonder 
 who wrote it? I'll be hanged if I can recognize 
 the handwriting. It looks like a man's hand in 
 some spots and like a woman's in others." He 
 caught his breath. "Could Margaret pshaw! she
 
 56 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 wouldn't be any place she could hear Breen and 
 O'Mara talk." 
 
 After deliberation he determined to say nothing 
 about the letter. It was too late now to do anything 
 more concerning the contract. The bid was as low 
 as he cared to make it, and if Breen really felt able 
 to cut under the price why the work would have to 
 go to the Irishman. In that case O'Mara would be 
 out of work, so far as Ross was concerned. 
 
 On the other hand, if the contract came his way 
 the young college graduate determined to watch 
 O'Mara closely, and give him no more leeway than 
 was necessary. 
 
 He would not discharge the fellow until he was 
 certain the man deserved it. 
 
 Early in the morning Cole came in, and the fore- 
 man showed plainly that he was worried. 
 
 "The cave-in was O'Mara's fault," he said, com- 
 ing to business at once. "He didn't shore up the 
 trench as I told him. He used the weakest planks 
 we had when I told him to use the heaviest." 
 
 "We'll see about this later," answer Ross. "To- 
 day tells the tale for all of us." 
 
 "I've got news," went on Cole. "Shacker and 
 Breen are getting together. Your putting in a bid 
 has scared 'em." 
 
 "Can they drop below us, do you think?"
 
 Awarding the Contract 57 
 
 "Will they, you mean? They can do anything 
 they please." 
 
 "But they've got to give a bond, the same as 
 myself." 
 
 "Yes, that is where the railroad company will 
 have 'em where the hair is good and long." Cole 
 stretched his long, loose-hung frame. "Hang me 
 if I don't wish the thing was over. It's like waiting 
 for a jury to come out and say guilty or not 
 guilty." 
 
 Ross had to laugh at the apt simile. "Well, the 
 agony will be over in a very few hours now," he 
 said. 
 
 "Are you going over to Cressing?" 
 
 "Yes, and you might as well go along. I know 
 you'll be on pins and needles until you hear from the 
 thing." 
 
 Cole was willing enough, and they started so as 
 to reach the railroad offices shortly before noon. 
 
 The opening of the bids was to be a public affair 
 so far as those interested were concerned, and over 
 a score of men w,ere crowded into the place, some 
 sitting on chairs and the others on a railing, and 
 on a box somebody had brought in from the depot 
 platform. 
 
 The air was thick with tobacco smoke, and every- 
 body appeared to be talking at once. To appear
 
 58 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 at ease Ross filled the "bulldog" he had brought 
 along from Yale, and puffed away with the rest. 
 
 "Has anybody any other bid to hand in?" was 
 the question put presently by Appleby Sanderson. 
 
 "I have," came from Breen. 'I've gone over 
 the ground again and want to make a new bid. 
 Can I withdraw the old?" 
 
 "Certainly; the time isn't up yet." 
 
 "Then give me the old one back, and here's the 
 new one," went on the Irish contractor, and an ex- 
 change of documents was made on the spot. 
 
 "Ike, Mike is going to cut you sure," said one 
 man in the crowd. "Haven't you got a new bid, 
 too?" 
 
 Ike Shacker, a small, shrewd- faced individual, 
 who was smoking a Pittsburgh stogy, shook his 
 head. 
 
 "I've made my bid and I'll stick to it. If I can't 
 make a little honest money I don't want the job." 
 
 At this one of the men turned to Ross. 
 
 "I suppose you are in this? Somebody told me 
 you had stepped into your uncle's shoes." 
 
 "We'll see if I am in it when the bids are opened," 
 Ross answered, briefly. 
 
 This was the first time Cole and Breen had met 
 since the quarrel. The Irishman avoided the fore- 
 man, and Cole also kept away from his enemy.
 
 Awarding the Contract 59 
 
 "Got to do it, or I might pitch into him," whis- 
 pered Cole to Ross. 
 
 "Don't make a scene here, Cole," the young man 
 answered. 
 
 The clock struck and the time for putting in more 
 bids came to an end. Ross as well as the others 
 were surprised to see that Appleby Sanderson held 
 five documents in his hands. 
 
 "We have five bids here," he said. "One from 
 Michael Breen, one from Isaac Shacker and one 
 from Ross Goodwin, all from this neighborhood, 
 and one each from the Pittsburgh Contracting Com- 
 pany and the Alton & Carr Company, of Buffalo. 
 As announced before, this contract is to go to the 
 lowest bidder, providing he can file the necessary 
 bond, otherwise it goes to the next lowest. We will 
 now open the bids and read the figures. We will 
 start on the bid of the Pittsburgh Contracting Com- 
 pany." 
 
 The envelope was torn open and the document 
 inside examined. 
 
 "Total amount for all work, $160,000," an- 
 nounced the railroad clerk in a clear voice. "Takes 
 all or none." 
 
 "We can beat that," whispered one of the men 
 to Shacker. 
 
 "The next bid is that of Alton & Carr, who also
 
 60 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 bid for all the work or none. Their figure is 
 $172,000." 
 
 "They must want a profit," said one man, and 
 several laughed, while the representative of the 
 firm backed to a far corner of the office. 
 
 "The next bid is that of Isaac Shacker," went 
 on the clerk. "His bid is for all or none of the 
 work, the same as the others. His figure is $147,- 
 ooo." 
 
 There was a good-natured laugh at this announce- 
 ment. 
 
 "Say, Ike, you did want to make a little honest 
 money, didn't you?" said one in the crowd. For 
 reply Shacker merely scowled. 
 
 "The next bid we have in hand is that of Ross 
 Goodwin, successor to John Goodwin," went on the 
 clerk. "The bid is in two parts $65,000 for the 
 work from Durham to Grass Creek, and $75,500 
 for the work from Grass Creek to Cressing, or else 
 the whole work for $139,000." 
 
 "The divil!" burst from Michael Breen's lips. 
 He pushed forward. "Give me that last bid o' 
 mine?" he demanded. 
 
 But it was already open, and the clerk had 
 glanced at the figures. 
 
 "The last bid here is from Michael Breen," he 
 announced. "He wants $66,000 for the work from
 
 Awarding the Contract 61 
 
 Durham to Grass Creek, and $76,500 for the work 
 from Grass Creek to Cressing, or else $141,000 
 for the whole job." 
 
 Cole slapped Ross on the shoulder. "The con- 
 tract is ours. You are $2,000 below any of 'em," 
 he cried. And Ross realized that he spoke the 
 truth, and that he himself was truly in business at 
 last.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 'TWIXT BUSINESS AND SOMETHING ELSE 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after the last announcement had 
 been made there was a hum of conversation all over 
 the room. Several came forward to congratulate 
 Ross on his success. 
 
 "Going to follow in the footsteps of your uncle, 
 I see," said one man. "Well, I hope you come out 
 all right on it." But his face showed some doubt 
 of the young college graduate's ability to cope with 
 the work he had undertaken. 
 
 Breen's face was filled with disappointment and 
 anger. A keen, understanding look passed between 
 him and Ike Shacker, and then the Irishman glared 
 at Ross. 
 
 "You've got the job," he almost hissed, "but ye 
 ain't carried it through yet. The railroad will soon 
 see how a dude of a college boy can bite off more 
 than he can chew, be gob!" And then he hurried 
 from the office, followed by several others, including 
 Shacker. 
 
 It was not long after this that Ross found himself 
 alone with three of the railroad officials. Appleby 
 Sanderson shook him by the hand. 
 
 62
 
 'Twixt Business and Something Else 63 
 
 "Goodwin, I'm glad you've got it, and I sincerely 
 trust you make a success of it," he said. "Your 
 uncle and I were old friends. It would have been 
 a shame to have let the splendid business he built 
 up go to pieces." 
 
 "When do you expect to start in?" questioned 
 another official. 
 
 "I'll file my bond to-morrow, and I think we can 
 start work by Monday. Don't you think so, Cole?" 
 
 "Not later than Wednesday," answered the fore- 
 man. "That cave-in at Jackson's Point has put us 
 back a bit, you'll remember." 
 
 "We must have one thing clearly understood," 
 put in the third railroad official, who for reasons of 
 his own had favored Ike Shacker. "This contract 
 has got to be put through on time. There is to be 
 no begging for an extension of time when it comes 
 to finishing up; isn't that right, Morton?" 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 "We'll put it through on time, unless an earth- 
 quake or something as bad stops us," said Ross. 
 
 There was not much else to say after that, and 
 presently Ross and Cole took their departure. 
 Cole's face was beaming, and as they walked across 
 the depot platform he gave Ross' shoulder a tight 
 squeeze. 
 
 "I feel like dancing a jig!" he exclaimed, in a low
 
 64 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 voice. "Did you see Breen's face, and the look he 
 gave Shacker? Both of 'em were about half willing 
 to murder you." 
 
 "I saw the look that passed between them," an- 
 swered Ross. "I think there is some sort of a deal 
 there. Did you notice the figures of Shacker's bid? 
 Most likely Breen's first bid was about as high. 
 They thought they had it all to themselves." 
 
 "Well, I was surprised myself to see those out- 
 side bids. Those outsiders must have looked over 
 the ground and suspected Breen and Shacker of a 
 combination to hold up the price. Perhaps the 
 railroad suspected it too and invited the outsiders 
 to come in. But no matter, you have it, and at a 
 fair price. Now it is up to us to show all hands 
 what we can do," concluded Larry Cole. 
 
 On reaching home Ross found it impossible to 
 settle down for some time. There were a hundred 
 and one things to do and what to go at first was a 
 serious question. He did not wish to make any 
 mistakes, and he now realized as never before what 
 a contract of this sort really meant. Like every 
 other piece of business, the thing looked easy enough 
 at a distance, but when one drew closer the details, 
 which had before seemed of small account, now 
 became the essentials. 
 
 When putting in his bid he had been afraid that
 
 'Twixt Business and Something Else 65 
 
 the price was too low, for he had placed the figures 
 down "to the limit" in order to obtain the contract. 
 But the bids of the others assured him that his own 
 was only fair, and that if he went to work properly 
 he could make a handsome profit on the job. 
 
 "Breen was only two thousand higher," he rea- 
 soned. "And he must have calculated to make ten 
 or fifteen thousand clear, on the job, if not more. 
 If I can't put it through and clear ten thousand or 
 more I'd better give up the business." Cole had 
 told him he ought to clear at least fifteen thousand 
 dollars. 
 
 Ross had already communicated with the lawyers 
 in Philadelphia, and now he telegraphed that he 
 had secured the contract. In reply to this he re- 
 ceived a visit from Mr. Carton, who brought with 
 him the two sealed-up account books. 
 
 "I must congratulate you, Mr. Goodwin," said the 
 lawyer. "If we can be of any use to you do not 
 fail to call upon us." 
 
 Ross found the account books of great interest, 
 for they showed how John Goodwin had worked 
 out more than one large contract, and what he had 
 paid various employees from time to time. The 
 pages of the books were filled with notes, some in 
 ink and some in pencil, suggestions of great prac- 
 tical value, as the young contractor discovered later.
 
 66 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 All told, the volumes represented nearly a lifetime 
 of experience. 
 
 "Poor Uncle John!" he murmured, as he placed 
 the books in a safe place. "It's a pity he couldn't 
 have lived to enjoy the fruits of his labors." 
 
 The bond was duly filed and the signed contract 
 given to Ross, and on the same day he ran down to 
 Jackson's Point to see how the work was progress- 
 ing. He found Cole in charge, while O'Mara was 
 at a distance sullenly directing another portion of 
 the work. 
 
 "How are those two fellows who were hurt get- 
 ting along?" he asked Cole. 
 
 "They're doing much better than expected," was 
 the foreman's reply. "The fellow who twisted his 
 ankle will be out in a day or two, and they hope the 
 other fellow will be out inside a week or ten days." 
 
 "Well, I'm glad it wasn't any more serious," an- 
 swered Ross. "I'll have to go up to the hospital 
 and see them." 
 
 "Had another row with O'Mara," announced the 
 foreman. "When I got here he wasn't pushing 
 things at all. Any old time is good enough for 
 him." 
 
 "I'll have a talk with him," answered Ross, 
 briefly. 
 
 He found the Irishman among a gang of Italians
 
 'Twixt Business and Something Else 67 
 
 who were piling up the timbers that had been used 
 in shoring up the sewer trench. He was sucking 
 away on a short clay pipe, and his face was far 
 from cheerful. 
 
 "Well, how does it go, O'Mara?" he questioned, 
 brightly. 
 
 "Oh, it's goin' all right, Mr. Goodwin," was the 
 answer. "But I can't see how we are going to get 
 out of here by Tuesday. There's a week's work 
 ahead, an' more, 
 
 "We've got to get out," answered Ross, firmly. 
 
 O'Mara shrugged his shoulders. "It's easy 
 enough to say so, Mr. Goodwin, but the Dagoes will 
 do just so much work an' no more. Besides that, 
 I'm pushin' thim to the limit now." 
 
 "Cole doesn't think so." 
 
 "Humph! Larry Cole ain't after knowin' every- 
 thing " 
 
 "He knows a good deal, O'Mara, and you must 
 remember that he is the head foreman." 
 
 "That means, I suppose, that I've got to take 
 orders from him." 
 
 "You have, when I am not around, and so has 
 everybody else who works for me." 
 
 "All right, Mr. Goodwin. You're the boss. But 
 it wasn't that way when your uncle was aloive." 
 O'Mara puffed away harder than ever. "If ye
 
 68 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 push thim Dagoes too hard they'll all be after 
 leavin', mark me wurruds!" 
 
 "I'll risk that. One thing is settled this job 
 has got to be finished up by Tuesday night." 
 
 Ross walked away and rejoined Cole once more. 
 The foreman was directing the loading of some 
 heavy trucks with the machinery that had been used 
 on the job, and the young contractor watched him 
 with interest. 
 
 "Lay to it now, boys !" he heard Cole call sharply. 
 "Step up lively with those jacks. Now then, Gorgi, 
 tell the men to haul around. Steady now, all of 
 you! Now up with 'em! Up, I say, up!" 
 
 The men were in a bunch and working hard, for 
 they knew that the eyes of the new boss were on 
 them. Sometimes they were awkward, but their 
 willingness made up for this, and even Cole smiled 
 to see the work going on at such a lively rate. 
 
 "Your gang here is worth two of O'Mara's gang," 
 observed Ross, when the tall foreman had a breath- 
 ing spell. 
 
 "Not at all," came sharply from Cole. "I'll 
 take that other crowd and get just as much work 
 out of 'em. I tell you it's O'Mara. He don't seem 
 to know how to put any life into 'em." 
 
 "Perhaps he doesn't want to know," answered 
 Ross, dryly. "But I've been talking to him, and
 
 'Twixt Business and Something Else 69 
 
 maybe he'll do better in the future. I told him he'd 
 have to take orders from you, and that the job must 
 be finished up by Tuesday night." 
 
 At this news Cole squinted one eye suggestively. 
 
 "I'll bet he liked that a whole lot." 
 
 "I don't care if he did or not. I meant what I 
 said." 
 
 "Supposing he won't take orders from me?" 
 
 "Then I'll discharge him, and you can tell him 
 so. I'm willing to give him a chance, but I don't 
 intend to take too much from him." 
 
 Ross had come down to gain a few points as to 
 how the work was really done, and he remained in 
 the vicinity the best part of two hours. While there 
 Larry Cole gave him a list of the things needed for 
 the opening up of the work on the railroad, and 
 these the young man said he would order without 
 delay. 
 
 Monday found Ross in Harrisburg, whither he 
 had gone to make purchases of certain pieces of 
 machinery, to be used in connection with some 
 cinder cars the railroad company were to furnish 
 for the hauling of dirt. 
 
 He wanted a new hoisting engine, and also some 
 cable and an overhead traveler, as well as several 
 dozen new picks and shovels. A new drill was also 
 needed, but he resolved to order that later, when
 
 70 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 he had made certain which was the best kind to pur- 
 chase. He was willing to buy everything that was 
 necessary, but he resolved to be cautious and not 
 throw money away. 
 
 "I'll show them that I can put this through on 
 time and make money on it too," he told himself. 
 
 Chance made him pass one of the concert halls 
 of the city during the middle of the afternoon, and 
 happening to glance at a bill posted on one of the 
 boards, his eye caught the name of Margaret Poole. 
 He at once stopped to read the bill in detail. 
 
 It was another charity concert, given under the 
 auspices of one of the leading charitable organiza- 
 tions of the city. A dozen artists were to appear, 
 giving both vocal and instrumental selections, and 
 a well-known humorist was also to assist. The 
 general admission was a dollar, with reserved seats 
 considerably higher, and the whole indications were 
 that it would be a very swell affair. He glanced 
 at the date. 
 
 "The seventh! Why that is tonight!" he mur- 
 mured to himself. "Tonight! I wonder if I had 
 better oh, pshaw, what's the use? She wouldn't 
 care if I was there or not." 
 
 Nevertheless, after that Ross found it very hard 
 to buckle his mind down to the remaining business 
 on hand. This took him until after six o'clock, and
 
 'Twixt Business and Something Else 71 
 
 then he discovered that he was tremendously hun- 
 gry and needed dinner. 
 
 He entered a restaurant, and while waiting for 
 his order to appear, consulted a time-table of trains 
 to Durham. There was one at seven-thirty, one at 
 eight-forty and another at eleven-fifteen. 
 
 "It's all foolishness; I had better take the seven- 
 thirty and get to bed to-night," he told himself. 
 "The concert won't amount to much. Besides, I'm 
 not dressed to attend such an affair." 
 
 But the more he tried to persuade himself that 
 he should go home the more he hesitated. He could 
 get a clean shave, and a new collar and tie, and have 
 his shoes blackened, and his black suit would slip 
 through in a crowd. He could remain at the rear 
 of the auditorium where nobody would notice him. 
 He just wanted to see her appear and sing one song, 
 that was all. 
 
 And thus he surrendered, and went to face fate.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 O'MARA SHOWS HIS HAND 
 
 THE concert hall was a blaze of light when Ross 
 entered. The place was filling up fast, and the scent 
 of flowers and perfumes filled the air. Around the 
 front of the stage stood a row of beautiful palms. 
 
 The majority of ladies and gentlemen were in 
 full dress, and for once in his life the young col- 
 lege graduate felt strangely out of place. He took 
 a seat in a far corner and was rather glad when 
 several ordinary looking folks came and took chairs 
 beside and in front of him, thus hiding him still 
 further from view. 
 
 The ushers were members of the charitable or- 
 ganization. Ross had met several of them on social 
 occasions some years back. None of them recog- 
 nized him, for which he was thankful. They were 
 what Cole would have called "society dudes," and 
 he smiled grimly to himself as he thought of them 
 and then of himself and of the work on the outlet 
 sewer and the railroad. 
 
 "Some of those fellows will think the gulf be- 
 tween us as wide as the Mississippi," he reasoned. 
 
 Presently a dapper young fellow, dressed in the 
 72
 
 O'Mara Shows His Hand 73 
 
 height of style, came in the door just behind him. 
 At once the usher standing near greeted the new- 
 comer. 
 
 "How d'ye do, Parmalee!" he exclaimed. 
 "Thought I'd see you. You're late." 
 
 "Just left Miss Poole at the stage door," replied 
 Parmalee. "You see, she came over from Durham 
 with me." 
 
 "Lucky dog." 
 
 "Thanks." 
 
 "You haven't set any date yet, have you?" in a 
 lower voice. 
 
 "Oh, come now, Devere, that's going too far. 
 But she's a charming girl, I tell you, charming." 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 "And her singing but you'll hear it later. Where 
 is this seat ? I might as well settle down before the 
 concert starts." And then the pair passed out of 
 Ross' hearing. 
 
 Ross looked at Parmalee curiously. At first he 
 had been unable to place the dapper young man, but 
 now he remembered him. 
 
 Paul Parmalee was the son of a Harrisburg 
 physician, and had himself studied medicine. He 
 had graduated from college a year before, and after 
 a brief trip abroad had come to Durham and opened 
 an office in the fashionable portion of the town.
 
 74 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 Since the death of his uncle Ross had not met 
 the young doctor, but he had heard of him, and 
 knew that he moved in the highest of local society. 
 
 There was just a trace of jealousy shot through 
 his heart as Parmalee disappeared from view and 
 the concert began, with a solo by a well-known 
 violinist. 
 
 Ross remembered that other concert and how he 
 might have accompanied Margaret had he chosen 
 to do so. Now she had come with the doctor. 
 
 "I wonder if Parmalee is trying to shine up to 
 her?" he asked himself. "It would be just like 
 him to try to do it," and he gritted his teeth and 
 heaved a sigh. 
 
 He looked at the program and saw there were 
 three numbers before Margaret would appear. The 
 time dragged heavily through those numbers and, if 
 the truth must be told, he paid little or no attention 
 to them, although he clapped mechanically when he 
 saw those around him applauding. 
 
 When she finally did appear and came sweeping 
 to the front of the stage with a graceful bow he 
 drew a deep breath and his heart almost stopped 
 beating. 
 
 She was dressed in white, with a string of pearls 
 around her neck, and a white rose in her soft, fluffy 
 hair. There was a faint tinge of color in her
 
 O'Mara Shows His Hand 75 
 
 cheeks, and never had she looked more winsome 
 or more beautiful. 
 
 "She's the finest looking girl in the world!" was 
 his opinion. "The very finest!" 
 
 The song was a classic, rather difficult, but she 
 appeared to have no trouble in singing it to the en- 
 tire satisfaction of the audience, and the applause 
 was so great that an encore was necessary, and 
 then she gave them a simple ballad that seemed to 
 fairly sink into Ross' soul as he hung on every note 
 that poured forth from her snowy throat. He 
 stared like one in a dream, with no thought of 
 clapping, and it was not until she had disappeared 
 from view that he aroused himself. 
 
 Then he felt he must have air, and left the con- 
 cert hall, forgetting to ask for a return check. 
 
 "What a face! What a voice! Oh, Margaret!" 
 The words sprang to his lips unconsciously. 
 
 He walked several blocks before he fairly knew 
 what he was doing. What had he lost by displeas- 
 ing her? How could he hope for anything from 
 one who could sing like that, look like that? And 
 he only a contractor, a maker of roadbeds for rail- 
 roads? Had he not better give up that job, after 
 all; give it up and put his college training to higher 
 use? 
 
 His thoughts became a torture to him, and it was
 
 76 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 in the full height of his bitterness that he all at once 
 found himself standing in front of the window of 
 a fashionable florist. In that window were dis- 
 played a great bunch of white carnations. He 
 gazed at them and thought of how he had once 
 given her a similar bunch, when they were going 
 to a fashionable harvest home at the Durham 
 church. 
 
 A sudden idea struck him, and almost before 
 he knew it he had purchased the white carnations 
 and a ribbon to go around them, and had obtained 
 a blank card from the florist. On this he wrote, 
 after a moment's thought, "From an old friend," 
 putting it below her name. 
 
 "This is to go around to the concert hall," he 
 said, to the man behind the counter. "Send it at 
 once, and tell the ushers to present it when Miss 
 Poole sings. If they ask who sent it say you don't 
 know." And the florist agreed to everything. 
 
 Ross had fully made up his mind not to go back, 
 but half an hour later found him in his old seat, 
 having purchased another ticket of admission. 
 
 From the talk around him he discovered that 
 Margaret had made the hit of the evening, and when 
 she came out to sing again the applause was tremen- 
 dous. Then his bunch of white carnations was 
 handed up, along with another bouquet and a bas-
 
 O'Mara Shows His Hand 77 
 
 ket of flowers, the latter he felt sure coming from 
 Doctor Parmalee. 
 
 The song was another classic and the encore an- 
 other ballad, and once more Ross was entranced, 
 both by the face and the voice. To him this vision 
 was almost supernatural. Margaret was not as she 
 had been, but something more ethereal, more lovable 
 than ever before. 
 
 He left the hall as soon as the song was over and 
 she had bowed herself out of sight. 
 
 He went straight to the depot, to discover that 
 he must wait half an hour for the train. Dropping 
 in a seat in the smoking room, he drew out his bull- 
 dog, filled and lit it, and gave himself up to his 
 reflections. 
 
 They were of a kaleidoscopic character, impos- 
 sible to analyze. 
 
 At one moment he felt he must turn over the rail- 
 road contract to Cole, and go in for something else, 
 or perhaps go abroad; at the next he set his teeth 
 hard on the pipe stem and determined to stick to 
 what he was doing, regardless of what she might 
 think of him. And then a vision of his late uncle 
 crossed his mind, and he determined to go ahead 
 as he had begun, and she might like it or not, as 
 she pleased. But oh! if only he might make sure 
 of winning her in the end!
 
 78 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 From the smoking room of the station he drifted 
 out on the platform and was walking up and down 
 in deep meditation when a round, hearty, but girl- 
 ish, voice hailed him. 
 
 "A penny for your thoughts, Ross Goodwin. 
 It's a wonder you wouldn't speak to an old friend." 
 
 He looked up somewhat startled, to find himself 
 confronted by a heavy-set, good-natured looking 
 girl about his own age. She wore a smart tailor- 
 made suit and carried a black Gladstone in her 
 hand. 
 
 "Why, hello, Jennie! Glad to see you," he re- 
 turned pleasantly, and shook hands. "I was won- 
 dering only the other day what had become of my 
 school chum of former days." 
 
 "Oh, yes! A heap you've been thinking about 
 me !" scoffed Jennie Martinson. "With your hands 
 full of this contracting business your uncle left you, 
 not to say anything about his fortune, I rather had 
 an idea you wouldn't look at common people after 
 this," and the girl laughed good-naturedly. 
 
 "Common people! Why, Jennie, don't I belong 
 to the common people running this contracting 
 business?" 
 
 "Oh, you're a capitalist, and that makes a big 
 difference. But really, Ross," went on the girl, 
 "now you got that contract, I hope you'll make a
 
 O'Mara Shows His Hand 79 
 
 barrel of money out of it. But doesn't it seem 
 awfully different from being a student at Yale?" 
 
 "It sure does, Jennie. But on the other hand, 
 doesn't it seem different to you to be a regular 
 registered trained nurse instead of just a jolly, care- 
 free high-school girl?" 
 
 "Well, I should say!" burst out the young trained 
 nurse. "If I had ever known when I went into 
 this nursing game what I was going to be up against, 
 I don't know that I would have tackled it. Of 
 course, ordinary nursing isn't so bad; but once in 
 a while I get a case that nearly drives me 
 wild." 
 
 "I suppose you won't object to nursing me if ever 
 I get sick?" Ross went on lightly. He had known 
 Jennie Martinson ever since childhood, and had 
 always considered her a good chum. 
 
 "I'd nurse you if you'd trust me not to put you 
 in the cemetery," returned Jennie gayly. And 
 then, after both had laughed over this, she added: 
 "I understand some of those other contractors are 
 terribly angry because you got that railroad con- 
 tract away from them." 
 
 "Oh, well, that's part of the game, and I'm not 
 complaining." 
 
 "My dad was pleased over it. He hasn't any 
 use for that Mike Breen and that Ike Shacker."
 
 80 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Well, they're not men that I would choose for 
 my friends." 
 
 "I understand that Breen went around say- 
 ing " Jennie Martinson broke off short. "Oh, 
 
 see who's here! Say, Ross, do you think that pair 
 are going to hit it off together?" she questioned, in 
 a lower tone. 
 
 Her eyes were directed to where a taxicab had 
 rolled up to the depot platform. From this Doctor 
 Parmalee sprang, and then assisted Margaret Poole 
 to alight. The doctor caught sight of Ross, and, 
 bowing stiffly, hurried Margaret up the platform 
 and into the station. The doctor carried the basket 
 of flowers and one of the bouquets, but not the 
 bunch of white carnations which Ross had pur- 
 chased. That was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 "Oh, I thought they might stop and speak to us," 
 remarked Jennie Martinson in a disappointed tone 
 of voice. 
 
 She, too, had gone to school with Margaret, and 
 through her vocation as a trained nurse was fairly 
 well acquainted with the young physician. 
 
 "I don't think Margaret saw us," answered the 
 young contractor. "And I rather imagine Parmalee 
 doesn't care very much for me." 
 
 "I don't think he cares for anybody but himself," 
 was the young nurse's flat reply. "I don't like to
 
 O'Mara Shows His Hand 81 
 
 work under him at all. The other doctors are all 
 very pleasant, but Doctor Parmalee acts just as if 
 the nurses were slaves." 
 
 Presently the train rolled in, and as Jennie was 
 going to her home in Durham there was nothing 
 for Ross to do but to assist her up the car steps and 
 find a seat for both of them. There was quite a 
 crowd getting on board, and, in the midst of these 
 people, along came the doctor and Margaret, also 
 looking for seats. When she saw the others, Mar- 
 garet looked somewhat surprised, but she bowed 
 pleasantly and then passed on; and she and her 
 companion found a seat at the far end of the 
 car. 
 
 "He's going to see her home, and she didn't 
 think enough of my flowers to bring them along," 
 thought Ross bitterly. "All right, let them go 
 their pace and I'll go mine," and then lie did his 
 best to make himself pleasant to Jennie. 
 
 "I guess the doctor has got his eye on Margaret 
 all right enough," was the blunt comment of the 
 trained nurse. "Well, I don't know as he could 
 find a better girl anywhere. Margaret Poole is 
 as good as they make 'em." 
 
 "She sure is," returned Ross quickly. And his 
 reply was so earnest that his companion looked at 
 him rather quizzically.
 
 82 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "I used to think, Ross, that you were rather 
 struck on her yourself," she continued, with a frank- 
 ness that took away any suggestion of impudence. 
 
 "I've got to tend to my business affairs, Jennie. 
 I haven't got time to think of the girls," he replied 
 almost roughly. 
 
 "Oh, you'll get caught some day, when the right 
 girl comes along," she scoffed. 
 
 "How about you and the right young man?" he 
 returned quickly. 
 
 "The right young man has got to have a barrel 
 of money, or I shan't look at him," returned the 
 nurse. "Love in a cottage may do for some people, 
 but it won't do for me not as long as I can earn 
 my twenty per," and she smiled broadly. 
 
 When the train arrived at Durham, Ross saw the 
 doctor escort Margaret to where his auto was in 
 waiting, and the two rode off together. Jerry was 
 on hand with the Goodwin runabout. 
 
 "I'll take you up to your house, Jennie, if you 
 won't mind crowding in on the seat," said Ross. 
 
 "Anything is better than walking, and if I have 
 to, I can sit on your, lap," was the ready response. 
 And then the two squeezed in beside Jerry and 
 started off. 
 
 Although he went to bed at one o'clock, it was 
 nearly four o'clock before the young contractor
 
 O'Mara Shows His Hand 83 
 
 dropped into a troubled doze. While he slept he 
 dreamt that he was at the bottom of a muddy 
 trench, in workingman's garb, and Margaret was 
 at the stop, singing a classic song, and pointing a 
 finger of derision at him. 
 
 It had been decided, upon the advice of Cole, to 
 begin the work on the railroad at Durham rather 
 than at Cressing, although, later on, two gangs of 
 men might be employed, each working toward the 
 other. 
 
 Some material had already been sent up from 
 Jackson's Point, and directly after breakfast the next 
 morning the young contractor rode over to the 
 spot, to see that everything was going along 
 smoothly. 
 
 Gorgi, the Italian, was in charge, with a gang 
 of twenty-two, known only to Ross by their num- 
 bers. 
 
 Matters were progressing slowly, and it was evi- 
 dent to the young boss that something was amiss. 
 
 "Da men worka hard, for da little mon," said 
 Gorgi, in reply to a question from Ross. "Notta 
 worka so hard for da Boss Yon." 
 
 "I don't know about that," answered the young 
 contractor. "They always worked hard when I 
 was around and they didn't get a cent more than 
 I am paying them."
 
 84 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Worka verra hard, gitta little mon," went on 
 Gorgi, and drew a long sigh. 
 
 At that moment a middle-aged man stepped up to 
 Ross and touched him on the arm. "Mr. Goodwin, 
 I believe?" 
 
 "Yes, sir," answered Ross, cheerily. 
 
 "My name is Lovel I'm from the Pittsburg 
 Construction Company. Perhaps you remember 
 me." 
 
 "Oh, yes, we met when this contract was given 
 out," and Ross shook hands. 
 
 "I'm glad you got the contract," went on Lovel 
 in a low voice. "I mean I'd rather see you get it 
 than that dirty Breen and that miser of a Shacker. 
 We put in a bid because the railroad asked us to 
 thought Breen and Shacker would squeeze 'em, now 
 Mr. Goodwin, your uncle, was gone." Lovel paused 
 and Ross nodded. "But that isn't what I am here 
 for. I want to know something about a man you've 
 got fellow named Pat O'Mara. Is he O. K. ?" 
 
 The young contractor was interested and gazed 
 sharply at his questioner. 
 
 "What do you want to know for? Has O'Mara 
 applied to you for a situation?" 
 
 "I reckon that's the size of it. The boss told me 
 to look him up." 
 
 "I can't say much about him."
 
 O'Mara Shows His Hand 85 
 
 "Are he and his gang going to help you on this 
 job?" 
 
 "His gang? He hasn't any gang. I placed him 
 in charge of some men, that's all." 
 
 "Then there must be some mistake. He said he 
 had a gang of about twenty men." 
 
 "Oh, he did? And did he say he could take 
 those men with him if he left here?" 
 
 "I er that's a delicate question to ask, Mr. 
 Goodwin. Of course, if you've had trouble with 
 him and the men under him " 
 
 "I haven't had any trouble with the men, but I've 
 had trouble with O'Mara, and I don't propose to 
 have any more." Ross was growing angry. "He's 
 a two-faced fellow, and I believe he tried to play in 
 with Breen against me. He shall have his walking 
 papers next pay day." 
 
 "Then you won't recommend him?" 
 
 "How can I? He understands the work, and he 
 doesn't drink any more than the most of them. 
 That's all I can say in his favor." 
 
 "If he's an underhanded rascal we shan't want 
 him." 
 
 "Well, that is your lookout, Mr. Lovel, not 
 mine." 
 
 "And you are sure about those men?" 
 
 "I think I am. I'll find out mighty quick, I can
 
 86 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 tell you that. If he has been tampering with my 
 hired help there will be music in the air." 
 
 Ross' eyes flashed fire as he spoke. He was 
 thoroughly aroused and his indignation fairly 
 boiled over as he remembered how indifferent 
 O'Mara had appeared when he had ordered him to 
 put through the work on the outlet sewer on time. 
 
 "I reckon we had best let the matter drop for 
 the present," said Lovel, and shaking hands again, 
 he moved off and disappeared.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ROSS AND HIS ENEMIES 
 
 WHEN left alone Ross remembered that Gorgi 
 and his men had worked under O'Mara, and that 
 Gorgi had seemed to be much dissatisfied over the 
 present situation. With a view of taking the bull by 
 the horns without delay, and especially before 
 O'Mara appeared on the scene, the young contractor 
 called the Italian from the work. 
 
 "See here, Gorgi, I want to talk to you," he said, 
 pleasantly. 
 
 "All right, boss." 
 
 "I want to know if you think you are working 
 for me or for Pat O'Mara." 
 
 At this the Italian looked perplexed for a mo- 
 ment. 
 
 "You paya da mon, but Pat O'Mara he say he da 
 boss." 
 
 "Is that what he told you and those fellows over 
 there?" And Ross jerked his thumb in the direc- 
 tion. 
 
 "Ye-as, boss. He say he da boss he no letta 
 you cut da pay down, not much ! He say you cutta 
 da pay ten centa da day nex' week, if he not stop 
 
 you." 
 
 87
 
 88 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "O'Mara told you a lie, Gorgi. I have never 
 said a word about cutting down wages, and he 
 knows it. I expect to pay the present wages as long 
 as this job lasts." 
 
 The Italian looked suspicious. He started to 
 speak, hesitated, and then broke out : 
 
 "Dat not all, boss. He saya you losa da mon on 
 da contrak, you bust up, da poor devil Dago he got 
 no worka." 
 
 "And he told you he would get you another job 
 in Pittsburg?" 
 
 "He says som'thing like dat, ye-as." 
 
 "He said that to make trouble for me, Gorgi. 
 I shall not lose money on this contract, if you and 
 the other men stick to me. If you won't stick I'll 
 get men, elsewhere. I don't intend to lower your 
 pay. Tell that to the other men, will you?" 
 
 "All right, boss. You saya you put da job 
 f rough sure?" 
 
 "Yes. And Gorgi, how much do you get now?" 
 
 "Two dol twenty-fiva da day." 
 
 "After this I'll give you two dollars and a half 
 a day. But you must keep those other men from 
 leaving me, do you understand? Tell them that I 
 will promise to give them work so long as this job 
 lasts and at the same pay they are now getting." 
 
 Gorgi's eyes glistened. The quarter dollar extra
 
 Ross and His Enemies 89 
 
 a day looked very large in his eyes. He was at 
 heart a good fellow, and he promised faithfully to 
 do all he could for the new boss. 
 
 "No can maka all da mans stay," he said. "Two 
 or three go, maybe, but da udders da stay sure, 
 now." 
 
 "All right; and get them to work a little faster 
 if you can," answered Ross, and this Gorgi prom- 
 ised likewise. 
 
 Ross had not expected to see O'Mara again that 
 day, but his indignation over the way this under 
 foreman had acted would not let him wait, and he 
 leaped on the first train going down to Jackson's 
 Point, and rode over to the works on one of the 
 construction wagons. Cole saw him coming and 
 surmised at once that something was wrong. 
 
 "I was afraid of it," said Cole, after hearing 
 the news. "The skunk! He ought to be kicked 
 full of holes!" 
 
 "Is he here?" 
 
 "He was half an hour ago. I think he has gone 
 up to the saloon at the crossroads." 
 
 "All right, I'll go up after him. Such a rascal 
 as that, Cole, can't stay in my employ another 
 hour." 
 
 "You'd better go slow. He may have more of a 
 hold on those Italians than you imagine. We can't
 
 90 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 talk to the Dagoes, and he can tell them anything 
 through one of his mouthpieces." 
 
 "I don't care I'll not put up with him," re- 
 turned Ross, firmly. 
 
 The saloon Cole had mentioned was a quarter of 
 a mile away, located where two of the country 
 roads crossed each other. It did not take him long 
 to reach the place, and without hesitation he en- 
 tered the long, low barroom, with its dirty tables 
 and sanded floor, and looked around. 
 
 The sight that met his gaze surprised him not a 
 little. At a table in a far corner sat O'Mara, Breen 
 and Shacker, talking earnestly. All had been drink- 
 ing, and the empty whisky glasses rested before 
 them. 
 
 "We've simply got to do it," Shacker was saying. 
 
 "The railroad will give the job " And then he 
 
 caught sight of Ross, and his mouth closed as 
 tightly as a mousetrap. 
 
 Both O'Mara and Breen followed the direction 
 of Shacker's eyes, and both gazed at Ross in con- 
 sternation. O'Mara was much disconcerted, but 
 tried to put on a bold front. 
 
 "Did you want me, Mr. Goodwin?" he asked, 
 rising. "I just stepped in to get a glass. Work at 
 the point is dry and dusty." 
 
 "Yes, I did want you," answered the young con-
 
 Ross and His Enemies 91 
 
 tractor, steadily. He noticed that Shacker had 
 been doing some figuring on a sheet of paper, and 
 now thrust the paper hastily in his pocket. 
 
 Ross moved toward the door of the barroom, 
 and O'Mara followed, with a back wink at the 
 others. Breen jumped up and came forward. 
 
 "Have a drink with us before you go, Mr. Good- 
 win!" he cried. 
 
 "That's it !" put in Shacker. "What shall it be ?" 
 
 "Thank you, gentlemen, but I don't care for it 
 just now." 
 
 "Oh, just one, to show there is no ill-will," in- 
 sisted Breen. 
 
 "We don't bear any grudge," put in Shacker. 
 "You won out fair and square enough. What shall 
 it be, whisky, or do you prefer beer?" 
 
 "I prefer nothing," answered Ross as coldly as 
 before. "Come, O'Mara, I want to talk to you." 
 And he led the way outside, while the barkeeper 
 grumbled openly at a man who would come in so 
 unceremoniously and then not help trade along. 
 
 "Is it about the work?" asked O'Mara, when 
 they were in the road. 
 
 "No, it's about you, O'Mara. What I've got to 
 say won't take long. You can consider yourself 
 discharged from this moment I don't want you 
 around the work any more."
 
 92 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Yes, but see here, my time " 
 
 "Your time is up this instant. I wouldn't have 
 you around longer if you paid me to stay. On 
 Saturday you can draw your pay for the week. I 
 could cut you short, but I won't go to the bother 
 of it." 
 
 The Irishman's face grew dark and sour. 
 
 "So that's what a man gets for only taking a 
 sociable glass with a couple of friends, who would 
 be friends to you, too, if you'd let thim," he 
 growled. 
 
 "I wasn't thinking about that, O'Mara, although 
 you had no right to be loafing in time that belongs 
 to me. I know what you've been up to how you 
 tried to help Breen get that contract, and how you 
 were going to try to get the men to desert and go 
 with you to the Pittsburg Construction Company." 
 
 "It ain't so. I didn't help Mike Breen !" roared 
 the other, but his face showed that he was much dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 "You did, and perhaps I can prove it if I'm put 
 to it. O'Mara, you're a snake in the grass." 
 
 "Oh, ye needn't be after throwin' compliments at 
 me. If I'm discharged I reckon I can stand it. 
 I lived before I ever knew you, or your uncle 
 either!" 
 
 "I presume you did, but you won't occupy any
 
 Ross and His Enemies 93 
 
 position of importance in the future if you are 
 going to act in this manner." 
 
 "That means that you won't give me a recom- 
 mendation?" with a sneer. "All right, Mr. Good- 
 win, I'm after thinkin' I can get along without it 
 from such a person as you. What do you know 
 about contract work, anyhow? Nothing at all, 
 with all av your book wurruk." When O'Mara 
 grew excited his accent was stronger than ever. 
 "Yez can go to the divil wid yer job!" 
 
 "One word more, O'Mara," went on Ross, trying 
 to remain calm. "If you know when you are well 
 off, you'll leave my workmen alone." 
 
 "Phat are yez after meanin' by that?" 
 
 "I mean that I won't allow you to hang around 
 and try to get them to quit for another job. If 
 you do come around I'll have you placed under 
 arrest." 
 
 "Yez can't arrist me fer talkin' to a man." 
 
 "That's according to how you look at it. Any- 
 way, I can swear out a warrant, and then we'll see 
 what comes of it. I think I can make a pretty good 
 showing in court if I'm put to it." 
 
 "Wid yer money, I suppose," sneered the dis- 
 charged one. "Well, don't git worried, I won't 
 hurt ye. But the contract is goin' to ruin ye right 
 enough. Don't fergit that, an' remember Pat
 
 94 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 O'Mara told ye!" And with a swagger he turned 
 on his heel and re-entered the road house. 
 
 From behind one of the partly drawn shades 
 Breen, Shacker and the discharged foreman 
 watched Ross depart as rapidly as he had come. 
 As his business-like figure disappeared around a 
 bend of the road O'Mara muttered an imprecation 
 under his breath. 
 
 "So he has thrown you down, eh?" said Shacker. 
 
 "Did yez hear the talk?" demanded O'Mara. 
 
 "Yes, we heard it all," answered Breen. "Why 
 not? Both of you talked loud enough." 
 
 "He's a high-flyer," sneered the ex-foreman. 
 
 "Not at all, Pat," came calmly from Shacker. 
 "He did exactly what Breen, or I, or yourself 
 would do under similar circumstances. You got 
 found out, that's all, and you had to take your 
 dose of medicine," and the contractor laughed 
 harshly. 
 
 "It's a shame Pat didn't get out and take the 
 gang of men with him," came from Breen. "Hi, 
 Dave, give us another round of whisky. I'll put a 
 shingle on the roof even if that dude of a Goodwin 
 won't." 
 
 "I ain't sayin' that I can't git the men yit," said 
 O'Mara, as he cooled down a little. 
 
 "Did Gorgi say he'd stick by you?"
 
 Ross and His Enemies 95 
 
 "He said he'd see about it, and talk it over wid 
 the rest o' the Dagoes." 
 
 "This takes another spoke out of your wheel," 
 said Shacker, as the liquor was brought. "But we 
 have got to do something; eh, Breen?" 
 
 "To be sure." The liquor was downed at a single 
 toss. "And we can't be after waitin' too long 
 either." 
 
 "What was this you was sayin' about another 
 railroad contract, just before he came in?" asked 
 O'Mara. 
 
 "I got word of it yesterday," answered Shacker. 
 "It came out through Sam Flood, the freight agent, 
 who is a particular friend of mine. He says he 
 heard Sanderson and the others talking it over. 
 They are going to make some big improvements 
 next year and the year after, and they as much as 
 settled to give Goodwin the jobs, if he puts this 
 contract through and in good shape." 
 
 "At that rate he'll be gettin' everything an' our 
 business will be ruined," observed Breen. 
 
 "That's the way I look at it, and that's why I 
 said we must prevent him from putting this con- 
 tract through on time. If he loses his twenty thou- 
 sand forfeit he'll feel sore all over, and most likely 
 he'll go out of business." 
 
 "Then we must make him lose it," came solemnly
 
 96 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 from Breen. "I've got no use for a college dude 
 that won't even drink wid me." 
 
 "If you can plan anything to make him lose, I'll 
 help ye to put it through," put in O'Mara. "I 
 don't care what it is either. I'll show him that he 
 can't trample on me f er nuthin' ! And he brought 
 his fist down on the table so that the glasses rattled. 
 
 Shacker closed one eye suggestively and looked 
 around to make sure that the barkeeper was not 
 listening. Then he leaned forward. 
 
 "I've got a plan," he whispered. "Both of you 
 stand by me, and I'll put Goodwin in such a hole 
 that he'll never get out of it!"
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 A BLOW IN THE DARK 
 
 FOR over a week everything on the railroad con- 
 tract went along swimmingly. Ross settled down 
 to the work with a will, and was here, there and 
 elsewhere, whenever occasion required. The days 
 spent at Yale seemed to fade from view rapidly, 
 and, though the learning remained, to prove exceed- 
 ingly useful to him, the college atmosphere became 
 a thing of the past. He was "in business," in the 
 strict meaning of that expression, and he stuck 
 to his post with a faithfulness that was astonishing 
 when one considered his past and how he had 
 pleased only himself in most of the things he had 
 done. 
 
 "I feel as if I was just waking up," he said to 
 Larry Cole one day, in a burst of confidence. "I 
 was a dreamer before. I hadn't a real, definite idea 
 in my head." 
 
 "Take my advice and don't overwork yourself 
 at the start," answered the foreman. "You've been 
 driving like an engine the past few days." 
 
 "I want to see this contract started, Cole. It 
 looks to me as if we had but just begun." 
 
 97
 
 98 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Don't get worried, Mr. Goodwin; it's that way 
 at first on every big job. A fellow has to kind of 
 feel his way. Just remember, a minister can't sit 
 down and write a sermon until he's walked the 
 floor and thought over what he wants to put down." 
 And this caused Ross to smile broadly, knowing 
 that sermons were entirely out of Cole's line, 
 although the man attended church regularly. 
 
 There was more behind Ross' activity than he 
 cared to acknowledge to himself. He had not for- 
 gotten the concert at Harrisburg, nor how beautiful 
 Margaret had looked and how superbly she had 
 sung. Nor had he forgotten Doctor Parmalee and 
 the trip on the train. 
 
 "Hang it all," he murmured to himself. "Why 
 can't she look at this contracting business as I do ?" 
 
 One day business took Ross to the village of 
 Clankerton about fifteen miles away. As Jerry was 
 away on another errand at the time, he ran the 
 runabout himself. He had to stop at a drugstore 
 before leaving town, and there he ran into Jennie 
 Martinson and also another girl, Ethel Bywith by 
 name. 
 
 Miss Bywith was comparatively a newcomer in 
 Durham, having lived there but six months; but 
 Ross had met her twice, and found her almost as 
 pleasant as Jennie. Both girls had attended the
 
 A Blow in the Dark 99 
 
 same classes in nursing, and had graduated from 
 the same hospital. 
 
 "Oh, dear, I just wish I were a rich contractor, 
 to do nothing but ride around," remarked Jennie, 
 after the greetings were over. "Here I've got to 
 go down to old Mrs. Pell's and listen to the story 
 of all her aches and pains for at least the tenth 
 time, while you go riding around the country in this 
 beautiful weather." 
 
 "I'm going down past the Pell place, and I'll take 
 you along if you want me to," returned Ross. "I'm 
 on my way to Clankerton." 
 
 "Oh! are you really going to Clankerton?" burst 
 out Ethel Bywith eagerly. 
 
 "Yes. Why?" 
 
 "Oh, I thought But never mind, most likely 
 
 you are in a hurry." 
 
 "She was going to Clankerton this afternoon to 
 visit her aunt," explained Jennie. 
 
 "I see." Ross hesitated for a moment. "I can't 
 wait very well until afternoon, but if you would 
 like to go this morning I would be pleased to take 
 you," he went on. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know," hesitated the young trained 
 nurse. 
 
 "Oh, go ahead, Ethel! It will be a splendid 
 ride," burst out Jennie.
 
 100 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Well, if I won't be putting you out, Mr. Good- 
 win," went on the other girl. She was not nearly as 
 free-spoken as her companion, and, besides, she 
 felt as though she hardly knew the young contrac- 
 tor. 
 
 "Why, you won't put me out at all. I'd like first- 
 rate to have your company. How soon can you get 
 ready?" Ross consulted his watch. "It's half past 
 nine now." 
 
 "Oh, I can be ready by ten o'clock or maybe 
 before that if you won't mind taking me around 
 to my boarding place," was the reply. 
 
 The upshot of the matter was that ten o'clock 
 found Ross and his fair companion riding out of 
 Durham on the shady and somewhat hilly road run- 
 ning to Clankerton. As Jenie Martinson had said, 
 it was a beautiful day, with a clear, blue sky over 
 head and just enough breeze blowing to take away 
 the effects of the summer sun. 
 
 Now that she was on the way with Ross, Ethel 
 Bywith thought it no more than fair to do her best 
 to entertain the young man who was giving her 
 this ride. Although somewhat shy at first, she soon 
 warmed up and proved herself to be quite witty, 
 and more than one of her remarks caused Ross to 
 laugh heartily, and, for the time being, he forgot 
 his business cares.
 
 A Blow in the Dark 101 
 
 "I wish I were an artist. I would like to sketch 
 some of these beautiful views," remarked the young 
 trained nurse, as they swept around a bend in the 
 road and crossed a bridge over a brook. 
 
 "I've often thought I'd like to paint some of 
 these scenes myself," returned Ross. "They are 
 beautiful at this time of year, but doubly so in the 
 Fall after a sharp frost has touched the leaves and 
 turned them to red and gold. Just at the top of the 
 next hill there is a particularly fine view. I'll 
 point it out to you when we get there." 
 
 The runabout chugged slowly up the hill, the 
 young contractor being in no particular hurry to 
 bring such a pleasant outing to an end. Once or 
 twice he caught himself looking rather closely at 
 Ethel Bywith. She was certainly a striking girl, 
 with a beautiful, fair complexion and jet black eyes, 
 with hair to match. 
 
 "She'll certainly be a catch for some fellow some 
 day," he thought. "She's evidently much more in- 
 telligent than Jennie, although she couldn't be any 
 better hearted. It's queer those two girls are such 
 chums when they are so different." 
 
 The top of the hill gained, he brought the run- 
 about to a standstill that they might have a better 
 view of the landscape. Off to the right the hill 
 sloped down to a broad green valley, backed up by
 
 102 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 other hills and the distant mountains. Down 
 through the center of the valley ran the brook, 
 bordered on either side by well-kept farms. In 
 the distance could be seen the buildings which made 
 up the town of Durham. 
 
 "Oh, this is certainly beautiful," murmured Ethel 
 Bywith, as her dark eyes took in first one portion 
 of the scene and then another. "What a place this 
 would be for a bungalow!" 
 
 "Right you are," he answered. 
 
 They sat there in the runabout for a few minutes 
 more while he pointed out various spots of inter- 
 est. During this time they heard the chugging of a 
 distant automobile, and now this hove into sight, 
 coming up the hill from the direction opposite to 
 that which they were going. 
 
 "I'll have to draw off to one side to let that fel- 
 low pass," observed Ross, and turned on the power 
 once more. 
 
 As he did this the other automobile came close to 
 the top of the hill, and then Ross recognized the 
 driver as Doctor Parmalee. 
 
 "Hi there, you! give me room to pass!" yelled 
 the young physician, as his machine came almost to 
 a standstill just below the top of the hill. 
 
 "All right, I'll give you all the room you want," 
 sang out the young contractor, and drew over to
 
 A Blow in the Dark 103 
 
 one side so far that his right wheels were in the 
 bushes. 
 
 The doctor looked glumly at Ross and nodded 
 rather stiffly to Ethel Bywith, and then went on his 
 way. 
 
 "He isn't very pleasant, is he?" remarked the 
 girl, when Ross had turned once again into the 
 roadway and resumed the journey. 
 
 "No, I can't say that I like him," he replied. 
 
 The young contractor was rather put out over 
 the meeting, not only because of the way Parmalee 
 had addressed him, but because he felt almost cer- 
 tain that the young physician would in the near 
 future acquaint Margaret with the fact that he had 
 Ethel Bywith out riding. 
 
 "And you can bet he'll make the most of it," was 
 Ross' bitter thought. 
 
 "I see Miss Poole goes out with the doctor quite 
 a good deal," remarked the trained nurse a little 
 later. "I saw them out riding along the river road 
 only day before yesterday." 
 
 "Is that so?" Ross tried to appear indifferent, 
 but he was eager to have her go on. 
 
 "Yes. He seems to be very attentive to her. I've 
 heard some people say they thought it might be a 
 match. Jennie Martinson thinks so." 
 
 "Perhaps it will be. But I don't think Doctor
 
 104 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 Parmalee is half good enough for Margaret Poole," 
 answered the young man. 
 
 "I don't know much about her, but I've been told 
 the Poole family are very nice people," returned 
 the trained nurse, and there the conversation, for 
 the time being, came to an end, and Ross put on a 
 burst of speed that ere long carried them into 
 Clankerton, where he left his companion at her 
 uncle's home. 
 
 "Well, if Margaret is going to keep company 
 with Parmalee, I suppose it's no use for me to keep 
 thinking about her," he muttered to himself when 
 he was on his way home after attending to his 
 errand. "I guess I am left out in the cold." And 
 then, on his arrival in Durham, he plunged into 
 work deeper than ever. But he could not forget 
 the girl, and he refused to believe his own state- 
 ment of the condition of affairs. 
 
 Since his discharge, O'Mara had shown himself 
 but once, and that was when he appeared for the 
 pay due him. He had had but little to say to Ross ; 
 but had not hesitated to pitch into Cole, and the 
 pair had almost come to blows before the Irishman 
 took himself off. 
 
 "To fire him was the best day's work you ever 
 did," said the foreman to Ross, after O'Mara had 
 disappeared. "I never liked him from the start.
 
 A Blow in the Dark 105 
 
 Why your uncle took him on was always a mystery 
 to me, excepting that he had a certain knack of get- 
 ting along with the Dagoes and Poles." 
 
 "His getting along with the men is what is 
 worrying me," answered the young contractor. 
 "Have you seen him talking to Gorgi since I gave 
 him his walking papers?" 
 
 "No; but I saw him around Vamelli's saloon, 
 and that is a hang-out for lots of the Dagoes and 
 Poles." 
 
 "Well, all we can do is to be on our guard." 
 
 "I've been thinking that it might have been a 
 mistake to raise Gorgi's wages," went on Cole, hesi- 
 tatingly. 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 "He'll get the notion that he's of some impor- 
 tance, and that he can dictate to you after he gets 
 the men well in hand." 
 
 "I think you are mistaken, Cole. I studied him 
 pretty well before I said a word. He hasn't half 
 as much influence as you imagine." 
 
 "In that case, how can he stop O'Mara ?" 
 
 "He can't, altogether. It's going to be a fight, 
 and we'll have to hold up our end as best we can," 
 concluded Ross. 
 
 The work on the outlet sewer had come to an 
 end, and been accepted by the authorities. A final
 
 106 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 payment of four thousand dollars was due the es- 
 tate of John Goodwin, and this money, after some 
 formalities, was handed over to Ross. The pay- 
 ment was made at Cressing, half in cash and half 
 in a check on one of the county banks. 
 
 Since beginning the work on the new line, Ross 
 had made it a point to go over the route on horse- 
 back whenever business called him that way. There 
 was generally something to be inspected, and he 
 never grew tired of studying the rocky cliff that 
 was to be blasted away. He remembered what had 
 been said about this cliff, and he wondered how 
 much labor and how many pounds of dynamite 
 would be required to level it to the necessary road- 
 bed. 
 
 The payment on the sewer outlet was not made 
 until five o'clock in the afternoon, and after that 
 he had to attend to other matters, which took him 
 a good hour and over. Then he found himself 
 hungry, and invited Cole to a restaurant to dine 
 with him before starting for home. 
 
 "You must feel rich to-night,'" said Cole, jok- 
 ingly. "Reckon I'll have to order quail on toast 
 and some other high-priced things." 
 
 "I do feel a little richer than I did," answered 
 Ross, good-naturedly. "And, by the way, Cole, 
 what sort of a bonus would my uncle have given 
 you on that job if he had lived?"
 
 A Blow in the Dark 107 
 
 The foreman flushed slightly. 
 
 "I didn't say what I did for that," he answered, 
 half roughly. 
 
 "I know you didn't, and I don't want to hurt 
 your feelings. But I know he gave you something 
 extra on the other contracts." 
 
 "That was his affair." 
 
 "And this is mine and yours. Come, now, out 
 with it. I want to do the fair thing. I know you'll 
 tell me the truth." 
 
 "You think I'm a George Washington, eh ?" The 
 foreman laughed shortly. "All right; some day 
 you may get left." 
 
 "I'll risk it. Now, how much did you think to 
 get? Out with it!" 
 
 "Well, if you must have it, he gave me four 
 hundred dollars on the day he got his last payment 
 on the Hamlet-Jones contract, and his private ac- 
 count books ought to show it. That contract was 
 about the size of the outlet sewer contract, and took 
 about as long to finish." 
 
 "Didn't he promise you something for the outlet 
 sewer work?" 
 
 "Yes; but he didn't mention any amount." 
 
 "Well, how will five hundred dollars strike you?" 
 
 "It will strike me very nicely. But I don't want 
 to rob you, with you just going into business," 
 added Cole, earnestly.
 
 108 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 They were seated at the table, and, drawing out 
 the cash he had received, Ross counted out five one- 
 hundred-dollar bills and shoved them toward his 
 companion. 
 
 "There you are, Cole; and let me say I think 
 you've earned every cent of it. Stick by me to the 
 end of this new contract and you'll fare equally 
 well, and maybe better." 
 
 The foreman took the bills slowly, and his eyes 
 shone with satisfaction. 
 
 "Thanks, very much, Mr. Goodwin; you're as 
 kind as your uncle was before you, and I couldn't 
 say more if I tried. I'll accept, on one condition." 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 "That you have that quail on toast on me. I feel 
 like a millionaire." 
 
 "Not accepted, Cole ; you dine with me to-night." 
 
 "All right, then, if I must. Just the same, I 
 shan't take quail on toast. I'm going to disgrace 
 you by ordering corned beef and cabbage and a pot 
 of strong coffee." 
 
 "You can't disgrace me that way," laughed Ross. 
 "I can eat corned beef and cabbage myself these 
 days. But to-night I'm going to treat myself to a 
 porterhouse steak." And he did. 
 
 The supper lasted an hour, and, as a consequence, 
 it was almost dark when the young contractor
 
 A Blow in the Dark 109 
 
 started on horseback for Durham. It was a warm 
 Summer night, with only a few stars shining over- 
 head. A faint breeze was blowing from the south- 
 west, and to Ross it seemed to betoken a storm. 
 
 He had left Cole at the corner on which the res- 
 taurant was located, and was alone with only 
 Nancy, his favorite mare, for company. But he 
 had often gone over this route before when alone, 
 and so did not mind it. Since journeying back and 
 forth he had become accustomed to carrying a re- 
 volver in his hip pocket, and the six-shooter was 
 now there, ready for use should an emergency arise. 
 But tramps and bad characters were almost un- 
 known in that neighborhood, and he anticipated 
 no trouble. 
 
 As he rode along he thought of several things 
 Cole had told him. The foreman was a young mar- 
 ried man, with a pleasing wife and three small 
 children. He had worked his way up from nothing, 
 and had had more than one setback. At one time 
 fire had wiped out his little home, and at another 
 a flood had carried off the lumber in which he had, 
 for speculation's sake, put nearly all of his sav- 
 ings. But the man was as dauntless as ever, even 
 if not as daring. 
 
 "He has roughed it and made a true man of him- 
 self," thought Ross. "If I can't do as much, with
 
 110 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 my education and advantages, I'm not fit to live. 
 He doesn't put on any airs, but he is one man in a 
 thousand for real worth." 
 
 From his personal affairs, Cole had switched 
 around to the doings of Breen and Shacker. He 
 had learned that Shacker had obtained a contract 
 to grade a public road twenty miles to the north 
 of Cressing. This work was to be put through as 
 quickly as possible, and a large number of men 
 would be needed for the job. Shacker had already 
 engaged many of the men that usually worked for 
 Breen, and there was a rumor in the air that Breen 
 had a share in the contract, but had thought best 
 not to appear as one of the responsible parties. 
 
 "If Shacker already has all of his own men and 
 those of Breen, his next move will be to get my 
 men from me," thought the young contractor. 
 "And he'll undertake that dirty work through 
 O'Mara or Gorgi. It's going to be a nip-and-tuck 
 race from start to finish. As Cole says, I had bet- 
 ter look around and see if I can't hire or buy a sec- 
 ond-hand steam shovel. On the heavy grading 
 such a shovel will be worth as much as a dozen la- 
 borers, at least. And I had better advertise in the 
 city papers for more men, too; especially in the 
 Italian and in the Polish papers. I must beat them 
 somehow."
 
 A Blow in the Dark 1 1 1 
 
 Thus musing, he rode on and on along the lonely 
 trail until several miles had been covered. He saw 
 it was growing darker rapidly, and presently a few 
 scattering drops of rain began to fall. Thinking 
 how unpleasant it would be to be caught in a storm 
 so far from shelter, he urged the mare forward at 
 her best speed. 
 
 It was not long before he came to a straight 
 stretch of the trail leading to the rocky cliff which 
 had caused him so much speculation. As he came 
 out in the open air, he fancied he heard sounds 
 ahead of him. He peered forward sharply and 
 thought he saw the movement of some person, 
 either on foot or on horseback. But nothing could 
 be seen distinctly, and a moment later a heavy 
 downpour caused him to pay attention to nothing 
 but his comfort, or discomfort. 
 
 "This is going to be a soaker, and no mistake," 
 he muttered, in dismay. "If I don't get to shelter 
 soon I'll be wet to the skin. Wonder if I can't find 
 some sort of place under that cliff? If it's only a 
 shower it won't last long." 
 
 Two minutes of hard riding brought him to the 
 beginning of the cliff, and here he paused, to find 
 some such shelter as he had in mind. The rocks 
 stood out boldly, and he had to pick his way, fear- 
 ing Nancy might otherwise fall or break a leg.
 
 112 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 Then he heard a sound on the edge of the cliff over 
 his head and looked up. 
 
 "Hullo!" he cried, loudly. "Who's up there?" 
 There was no reply, but the sound was repeated. 
 Somehow it made Ross nervous, and he pulled out 
 his revolver. 
 
 As he did this a form appeared out of the gloom 
 above. Ross saw a large stone hurled at him. He 
 tried to dodge, but it was too late. The stone 
 came down on his hat, crushing the head covering 
 over his eyes and ears. Then he felt a dull pain, 
 which quickly spread all over him. He clutched at 
 his saddle, failed to steady himself, and fell to the 
 ground unconscious.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 UNDER ARREST 
 
 FOR fully a minute after the young contractor fell 
 over unconscious there was no movement anywhere 
 around him. Then, however, the bushes above 
 parted, and the form of a man came close to the 
 edge of the cliff. The man peered down on the un- 
 conscious form, and then began to move along 
 the edge of the cliff to where a series of rough 
 rocks led downward. He was soon on the road- 
 way, and walked quickly to where Ross lay. In 
 the meanwhile, the horse had clattered off in the 
 gloom and disappeared. 
 
 "I don't think anybody saw this happening," mur- 
 mured the man to himself, as he gazed sharply up 
 and down the road. Not a soul was in sight, and 
 the sound of the horse's hoofs had long since died 
 away in the distance. 
 
 The man who had made the attack was well 
 bundled up, with a raincoat buttoned up tightly 
 around his throat and a storm hat pulled well down 
 over his forehead. Making certain that he was 
 not observed, the fellow who had committed this 
 dastardly attack drew a small flashlight from his 
 pocket and turned the rays on to the form sprawled 
 
 113
 
 114 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 out in the highway. Then he kneeled down and 
 made a brief examination of his victim. He found 
 Ross breathing heavily, while the blood was flowing 
 from a cut on the top of the head. 
 
 "He isn't dead, and he'll come around presently," 
 muttered the assailant. "Now to see what I can 
 find. I might as well make a clean job of it while 
 I'm at it." 
 
 The diamond scarf-pin which the young contrac- 
 tor wore and his watch-chain were in plain evi- 
 dence, and it took the rascal but a minute or two 
 to gain possession both of the scarf-pin and the 
 gold watch and chain. Then the fellow felt in 
 Ross' vest pocket, bringing out several loose bank 
 bills, and finally thrust his hand into the inside 
 pocket of the young contractor's coat. He brought 
 out the flat pocketbook, and gave a glance at the 
 quantity of bank bills it contained. 
 
 "I'm in luck all right enough," he muttered to 
 himself with great satisfaction. "Now, to make 
 my get-away before anybody sees me!" Then, with 
 his ill-gotten gains in his possession, he darted 
 across the roadway and took to a path leading away 
 from the cliff. 
 
 The rain continued to descend in a steady down- 
 pour, but even this did not revive the young con- 
 tractor, who lay stretched out on the muddy road-
 
 The man peered down on the unconscious form. 
 
 (See page 113.)
 
 Under Arrest 115 
 
 way as if in death. Thus the best part of half an 
 hour went by when a rattling wagon came along 
 the road, a smoky lantern dangling over the dash- 
 board. 
 
 "Hi there! what's this?" exclaimed a voice, as 
 the horses came to a sudden halt. Then the farmer 
 who was driving saw the form lying in the road- 
 way, and, catching up his lantern, he leaped to the 
 ground. "By gum! it looks as if somebody had 
 been killed or else it's a suicide," he added, noting 
 the pistol beside the body. 
 
 Setting down his lantern, John Peabody lost no 
 time in making an examination of the sufferer. He 
 found Ross breathing heavily and the blood still 
 flowing from the wound in his head. Going back 
 to his wagon, the farmer rummaged around for a 
 few minutes and then brought forth a flour bag 
 which he hastily cut into strips and bound around 
 the sufferer's head. 
 
 "I suppose I got to git him to town, or some- 
 where," he murmured. "If I leave him here he'll 
 die sure. He's lost a lot of blood already." 
 
 The farmer was middle-aged and strong, and it 
 was comparatively an easy task for him to raise 
 up the body and carry it back to his farm wagon. 
 Here he placed it upon a number of empty bags 
 which he was carrying, and covered it with a horse-
 
 116 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 blanket, leaving the upper end open so that Ross 
 might get a little air. Then he set off as rapidly as 
 possible in the direction of his farmhouse, a mile 
 and a half away. 
 
 The young contractor was still unconscious when 
 John Peabody drove into his dooryard and called 
 loudly for his son and his wife to come and help 
 him. Matters were quickly explained, and Mrs. 
 Peabody lost no time in preparing a couch in the 
 living-room on which, a few minutes later, her hus- 
 band and her son disposed the sufferer. 
 
 "We got to have a doctor for him," announced 
 the farmer. "Bill, you take the auto and git down 
 to town just as fast as you kin." 
 
 As luck would have it, the farmer had been in 
 the habit of having Doctor Shepard for a family 
 physician the same man who attended the Good- 
 win household. The doctor was at home, and lost 
 no time in going to the farm. 
 
 "Why, it's Ross Goodwin!" exclaimed the phy- 
 sician, as soon as he beheld the unconscious form on 
 the couch. 
 
 "Ross Goodwin!" ejaculated John Peabody. "Do 
 you mean the nephew of old John Goodwin?" 
 
 "That's it." 
 
 "Then he's the one that's taken on the new rail- 
 road contract." 
 
 "Yes. Where did you find him?"
 
 Under Arrest 117 
 
 The farmer explained, and while he was doing 
 so Doctor Shepard made a thorough examination 
 of his patient. 
 
 "He's in a bad way," he remarked, shaking his 
 head slowly. "How do you suppose he got hit?" 
 
 "I dunno, I'm sure. Maybe one o' them rocks 
 from the cliff fell on him. They come down now 
 and then, you know; especially when there's a 
 storm." 
 
 "But how could it strike him on the head like 
 that?" 
 
 "It couldn't do it," burst out the farmer's son. 
 "Somebody must have hit him in the head." 
 
 "I see his watch is gone," remarked the physician. 
 "He didn't have it on him when you picked him up, 
 did he?" 
 
 "Not that I saw," answered John Peabody 
 quickly. "I didn't touch a thing. I just brung him 
 in here and sent for you." 
 
 "I'd rather have him at his own house than 
 here," went on Doctor Shepard, "but I don't see 
 how I can move him just yet. I think you'll have 
 to keep him at least for a few days." 
 
 "He can stay here and welcome," put in Mrs. 
 Peabody. "Of course, our accommodations here 
 aren't as nice as what they have at the Goodwin 
 home, but I guess we can take care of him." 
 
 "We'll move him just as soon as it is possible to
 
 118 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 do so," announced the doctor. "And in the mean- 
 time I think I had better send down a trained nurse 
 to take charge." 
 
 "I'm willin' to do all I can," said the woman of 
 the house quickly. 
 
 "I know that, Mrs. Peabody. But I might as 
 well tell you this is a very serious case, and I would 
 prefer to have a regular trained nurse take charge, 
 if you can accommodate her." 
 
 "Oh, sure, Doctor. But can you get a nurse 
 right on the jump?" 
 
 "I think so. Miss Martinson was speaking about 
 being at liberty only yesterday. If I can get her, 
 she will do first-rate. And she knows Mr. Good- 
 win, so that will make it so much better." 
 
 The doctor remained with Ross for over an 
 hour, and then had the farmer's son take him back 
 to town and around to where Jennie Martinson 
 lived. 
 
 "Seriously hurt! Why, isn't that dreadful!" 
 cried the trained nurse, when made acquainted with 
 the situation. "Why, yes, Doctor Shepard, I'll be 
 glad to take care of him. I promised him I'd do it, 
 if he ever needed me. I only hope he comes out 
 of it all right." 
 
 "I can't say yet how matters are going to turn 
 out, Miss Martinson. He got a pretty bad crack
 
 Under Arrest 119 
 
 on the head, and, as you know, those things some- 
 times lead to complications." 
 
 "Are you going to notify the police ?" 
 
 "I think I had better. It looks to me as if he had 
 been waylaid and robbed." 
 
 "Oh, who would be wicked enough to do such 
 a thing as that ?" 
 
 "Plenty of fellows, if they thought Goodwin had 
 been carrying any considerable amount of money." 
 
 "He used to wear a fine diamond scarf-pin, and I 
 know he had a fine gold watch," remarked the 
 trained nurse. 
 
 "Well, the watch is gone, and so is the scarf-pin, 
 if he was wearing it. About what money he car- 
 ried, I have no knowledge." And then Jennie hur- 
 ried away to get ready to go to the Peabody farm. 
 An hour later she was on the way, the farmer's 
 son driving her over. 
 
 From the Martinson home, Doctor Shepard 
 walked around to the police station and there ac- 
 quainted the sergeant in charge with what had 
 occurred so far as he knew the particulars. The 
 news soon spread throughout the community, and 
 long before daylight a number of persons had 
 visited the scene of the attack and were trying to 
 learn more concerning the details. 
 
 It was known by a number of people that Ross
 
 120 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 had visited Cressing to get a final payment on the 
 Outlet Sewer contract. Inquiries were made from 
 the people having this payment in charge, and it 
 was soon learned that Ross had received a payment 
 of four thousand dollars, half in cash and half in a 
 check on one of the county banks. 
 
 "Well, that money is gone, and so is the check, 
 as well as his watch and anything else he had of 
 value in his pockets," said the police chief of Dur- 
 ham after a visit to Cressing. "Now the question 
 is, if he was robbed, who did the deed?" and he 
 looked around expectantly at the half dozen men 
 present. 
 
 "Must have been a regular highwayman, Tobin," 
 was one man's comment. 
 
 "Highwaymen don't hit fellers in the head with 
 a rock," announced another. "A highwayman 
 would have held him up at the point of a couple 
 o' pistols." 
 
 "I'll get to the bottom of this sooner or later," 
 announced Chief Tobin pompously. "Just you give 
 me time enough to make a few more investiga- 
 tions." He was a great man for investigating a 
 crime, but it cannot be said to his credit that he 
 very often caught the criminal. 
 
 The chief's sleuthing around finally brought him 
 to the restaurant where Larry Cole and Ross had
 
 Under Arrest 121 
 
 dined. Here he had quite an interesting conversa- 
 tion with the restaurant keeper. 
 
 "Yes, he was here with that foreman of his, Cole, 
 and they sat right at yonder table," said the restau- 
 rant man. "Goodwin had a lot of money with 
 him." 
 
 "How do you know that?" questioned the chief 
 eagerly. 
 
 "Because I saw it, Chief. He and his foreman 
 talked over some business matters in a very earnest 
 manner, and then I saw Goodwin pull a flat pocket- 
 book from the inside pocket of his coat and bring 
 out a big pile of bills. He counted out a few of 
 'em, and passed 'em over to Cole, and then put the 
 others back in his pocket." 
 
 "Probably paying Cole his week's wages," ven- 
 tured the chief. 
 
 "I don't know anything about that. But I do 
 know that Goodwin had a big wad of money in that 
 pocketbook. Why, the stack of bills were about 
 that thick!" and the restaurant man held his flat 
 hand two inches above his cigar counter. 
 
 "Yes, it was the money he got for that outlet 
 sewer." The chief paused for a moment to pull his 
 moustache meditatively. "Was there any one else 
 around when Goodwin paid his foreman that 
 money?"
 
 122 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Oh, there were half a dozen people here getting 
 something to eat; but they sat over in that corner, 
 and I don't believe anybody saw the money except 
 me and Mary, one of the waitresses." 
 
 "And where did Cole and Goodwin go after 
 they were through eating?" 
 
 "They went outside, and then Cole hurried away 
 I don't know to where. Goodwin went across 
 the street to the stationery store, and was in there 
 probably ten minutes. Then he came back here, 
 got on his horse, and rode out of town." 
 
 "Then Cole had time to get out of town ahead of 
 him?" 
 
 "Why yes; I should say he did." The hotel 
 keeper looked at the chief of police curiously. "Say, 
 do you suppose that foreman had anything to do 
 with this?" 
 
 "That remains to be found out," was the reply. 
 
 From Cressing the chief of police lost no time in 
 getting back to Durham, and then he inquired his 
 way to Larry Cole's home. Here he met the fore- 
 man's wife. 
 
 "Oh, dear! did you come to tell us about what 
 has happened to poor Mr. Goodwin?" cried the 
 woman, when she saw the police official. 
 
 "So you've heard about it, have you?" he re- 
 turned.
 
 Under Arrest 123 
 
 "Why, yes. The news is all over town. Isn't 
 it a dreadful happening?" 
 
 "Where is your husband, Mrs. Cole?" 
 
 "I don't know, sir. He didn't come home last 
 night. He said yesterday when he went away that 
 he might be away for several days. He has so 
 many outside things to attend to, now that O'Mara 
 is no longer with Mr. Goodwin." 
 
 "And you haven't any idea where your husband 
 is just now?" 
 
 "No, sir, although he must be either down to 
 where they're working on the new railroad, or 
 otherwise he has heard what has happened to Mr. 
 Goodwin and has gone over to the Peabody farm 
 to see him." 
 
 "Well, I'll have to find him. I want him to give 
 me some information," returned the chief of police, 
 and hurried away. 
 
 From the Cole homestead he made his way back 
 to his office, and there, from one of his lieutenants 
 who had just come from the Peabody homestead, 
 learned that nothing had been seen there of the fore- 
 man. Then he and one of his men walked down 
 to where the gangs were working along the pro- 
 posed line of the railroad. 
 
 "No, Cole hasn't been here so far to-day, but 
 I'm expecting him at any minute," answered Jimmy
 
 124 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 McGuire, who was in charge of the gangs. He had 
 just heard of Ross' trouble, and was much upset. 
 
 "I'll hang around a bit and see if Cole shows up," 
 announced Chief Tobin. 
 
 He had not long to wait, for less than five min- 
 utes later Larry Cole came riding up on a horse he 
 had borrowed from somewhere. 
 
 "The deuce is to pay!" he cried to McGuire. 
 "Have you heard what happened to Mr. Goodwin ?" 
 
 "I sure did. And I'm all upset over it," answered 
 the other. 
 
 "See here, Cole, I want to talk to you. Come on 
 over here a minute," said the chief of police, and 
 he motioned the foreman to one side. 
 
 A number of the workmen looked on curiously, 
 and McGuire followed the officer and Cole to find 
 out what was doing. 
 
 "What is it you want of me?" demanded Cole. 
 "Have you found out anything about this? I just 
 heard of it a few hours ago, and I came over here 
 to see how things were going and then I was going 
 to ride over to that farmhouse where they say they 
 have Mr. Goodwin." 
 
 "You were with Mr. Goodwin when he was paid 
 off for that outlet sewer, weren't you?" demanded 
 the chief of police. 
 
 "Sure."
 
 Under Arrest 125 
 
 "You went to the restaurant with him after that, 
 didn't you?" 
 
 "I did." 
 
 "He paid you your wages there, didn't he?" 
 
 "He paid me " Cole stopped short. "What 
 
 the devil are you driving at, Chief?" 
 
 "I'm driving to get at the bottom of this affair, 
 Cole," was the cold reply. "You were with Good- 
 win, and you knew he was carrying a lot of money 
 with him, didn't you?" 
 
 The foreman stared hardly at the chief of police 
 for a moment. Then, of a sudden, his clenched fist 
 came up. 
 
 "Do you mean to intimate that I had anything to 
 do with this robbery?" he cried angrily. 
 
 "I ain't intimating anything. I want to get at 
 the bottom of it. You was the last man seen with 
 Mr. Goodwin, and you knew he was carrying a 
 whole lot of money. Now, that looks suspicious. 
 You may be perfectly innocent, but I'm the chief of 
 police and I've got to do my duty. Now then, Cole, 
 out with it, are you willing to be searched or 
 not?" 
 
 "Me searched!" the foreman grew purple with 
 rage. "Why, you low-down skunk, you " 
 
 "See here now, you take it easy," broke in the 
 policeman who had accompanied the chief.
 
 126 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Are you willing to be searched or not?" de- 
 manded Chief Tobin. 
 
 "I won't be searched !" cried the foreman in high 
 indignation. 
 
 "All right then, Cole, you can consider yourself 
 under arrest"
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 MARGARET MAKES A MOVE 
 
 FOR a moment after Chief Tobin made his an- 
 nouncement, Larry Cole stared at him as if he had 
 not heard aright. 
 
 "You are going to place me under arrest?" he 
 cried finally. "Me?" 
 
 "That's it, Cole." 
 
 "But, see here !" broke out the foreman, and then 
 raised his clenched fist as if to hit the chief. 
 
 The policeman standing alongside caught him by 
 the arm. 
 
 "See here ! None of that, unless you want to get 
 your head broke," he admonished sternly. 
 
 "What right has he got to accuse me of this 
 crime? I haven't done anything wrong. Why, 
 I'd as soon think of robbing my own mother as of 
 robbing Mr. Goodwin!" 
 
 "We'll thrash this out at the station house," an- 
 swered Chief Tobin, in anything but a pleasant 
 tone. For one instant he had imagined Cole was 
 going to strike him, and he had not been prepared 
 for the attack. 
 
 "See here, haven't we got trouble enough with- 
 127
 
 128 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 out you adding to it?" stormed the foreman. "With 
 Mr. Goodwin knocked out, I 've got to take charge 
 of everything " 
 
 "You can do your talking later on," interrupted 
 the chief. "Come on now. And no fancy work, 
 or you'll go to the hospital." 
 
 More words followed; and it was all Larry Cole 
 could do to control his temper. In the end, how- 
 ever, he consented to go to the police station, ac- 
 companied by one of his men, who was sent along 
 so that he might bring word back to Jimmy Mc- 
 Guire of what had happened. 
 
 In a town like Durham, as we have already 
 learned, news of any kind spreads rapidly, and the 
 foreman and those who had placed him under arrest 
 were followed by a motley crowd to the police 
 station. 
 
 "Now, then, I guess we'll search you," said 
 Chief Tobin harshly, and he motioned for a couple 
 of his men to go ahead. 
 
 "See here, Chief, you are going to get yourself 
 in hot water," said Cole. "I'm an innocent man, 
 and you've no right to treat me in this way." 
 
 "I'll take my chances on your being innocent. 
 There has been a foul crime committed for all I 
 know Mr. Goodwin may die and it's up to me as 
 chief of police of this town to find out who did the
 
 Margaret Makes a Move 129 
 
 deed. As far as we can learn, you were about the 
 last man who had anything to do with Goodwin 
 before he was attacked." 
 
 The searching of Larry Cole did not take long. 
 A pocketknife, a bunch of keys, and some loose 
 change were brought forth, followed by a notebook, 
 some papers, and then a flat pocketbook. 
 
 "What's in the pocketbook?" demanded the chief 
 of one of his men, and the pocketbook was opened 
 in the presence of the crowd. 
 
 A number of those present, including the chief, 
 gave a gasp when they saw that the pocketbook 
 contained five one-hundred-dollar bills, a ten-dollar 
 bill and two ones. 
 
 "Five hundred and twelve dollars/' announced 
 Chief Tobin in a loud voice. "Some money for a 
 man like you to be carrying around, Cole," he said 
 sarcastically. 
 
 "It's mine, fair and square," answered the fore- 
 man stubbornly. 
 
 "Where did you get it?" 
 
 "I got it " Larry Cole hesitated for an in- 
 stant. "Never mind about that just now. It's 
 mine fair and square, and if Mr. Goodwin was here 
 this minute, he'd say the same." 
 
 "If you got the money fairly, what is your ob- 
 jection to telling when and how?" demanded one of
 
 130 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 the men in the crowd a fellow who was a news- 
 paper reporter. 
 
 Larry Cole thought rapidly. Possibly Ross would 
 not care to make it public that he had given his 
 foreman five hundred dollars for his work in con- 
 nection with the outlet sewer. If the other men, 
 like Jimmy McGuire for instance, heard of it, they 
 might demand bonuses, and this might cause the 
 young contractor a good deal of trouble, and some 
 of his help might even leave him. 
 
 "Come now are you going to tell us where you 
 got this money?" demanded the chief, after a mo- 
 ment of intense silence. 
 
 "No at least, not now." 
 
 "Say, Cole, this will make matters look black for 
 you," put in the man who had accompanied him 
 from the gang. "Better tell a straight story." 
 
 "I can't say anything just now," burst out the 
 foreman. "That money is mine, and I want it," 
 and he reached out his hand for the pocketbook. 
 
 "I reckon I'll take charge of this until this matter 
 is cleared up," said Chief Tobin. "We'll put that 
 money in the safe here." And this was done. 
 
 "And what are you going to do with me?" de- 
 manded Cole. 
 
 "I'm going to hold you for this assault on Mr. 
 Goodwin. And I'm going to hold you without
 
 Margaret Makes a Move 131 
 
 bail, too, until the doctor says he is out of danger." 
 
 "Hold me and without bail?" gasped the fore- 
 man in dismay. "Why, see here, Chief, didn't I 
 tell you I've got a lot of work to do? This rail- 
 road contract has got to be looked after, even if 
 Mr. Goodwin goes to the hospital. He's under a 
 bond of twenty thousand dollars to get that con- 
 tract through on time, and if he don't get it through 
 on time he'll lose his money." 
 
 "The law has nothing to do with that, Cole. And 
 from now on you'd better keep your mouth shut 
 until we find out how badly Mr. Goodwin has been 
 hurt." 
 
 This practically closed the hearing, and a little 
 while later Cole was conducted to a cell in the 
 police station. The foreman was, of course, much 
 disturbed in mind, and hardly knew where to turn. 
 
 "This will break my wife all up," he said to the 
 workman who was to go back to report to Jimmy 
 McGuire. "You send McGuire around to my 
 house, and tell him to break the news as gently as 
 possible. And then tell McGuire to come here as 
 soon as he gets a chance, and find out if he can get 
 the name of some good lawyer who will take hold 
 of this case for me. I don't know anything about 
 the law, and I don't want to get in any deeper than 
 I am now," Cole added rather helplessly. He was
 
 132 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 a splendid worker, but never had had any use for 
 law courts and lawyers. 
 
 As was but natural, Mrs. Cole was completely 
 upset by the news concerning her husband. She 
 left her children in the charge of a neighbor and 
 lost no time in hurrying to the jail, where she in- 
 sisted upon seeing her husband. 
 
 "Oh, Larry! surely you didn't have anything to 
 do with this awful crime!" she cried, as she clung 
 to him convulsively. 
 
 "You're right I didn't, Mary. I know no more 
 about it than you do." 
 
 "But, Larry they say Mr. Goodwin may die!" 
 she sobbed. 
 
 "I don't think it's as bad as that at least I was 
 given to understand it wasn't." 
 
 "But sometimes people do die from such blows," 
 went on the wife. "And if that should happen, and 
 
 they found you guilty " she could not go on, 
 
 but buried her face on his shoulder. 
 
 "Come, come, Mary, brace up. I'm not guilty, 
 and I'll get out of this somehow," he answered 
 kindly, stroking her hair. Nevertheless, he felt 
 mighty blue, and wondered how the matter would 
 end. 
 
 The reporter for the local paper had made good 
 use of his time, and the next issue came out with
 
 Margaret Makes a Move 133 
 
 staring headlines concerning the crime that had 
 been committed, and telling of how Cole was sus- 
 pected and had been placed under arrest. 
 
 Two men in that community read this account 
 with keen interest, commingled with great satisfac- 
 tion. Those two men were Mike Breen and Ike 
 Shacker, and they met in a saloon often frequented 
 by them to talk the matter over. 
 
 "This will place Goodwin in a hole, even if it 
 don't put him in the cemetery," was Mike Breen's 
 coarse remark. 
 
 "Right you are," answered Shacker. "If he 
 isn't on hand to manage things, and they put Cole 
 in jail for awhile, that railroad contract will be 
 sure to fall through and he'll lose his twenty 
 thousand dollars." 
 
 "And it'll serve him right for interferin' with 
 other men's business," came from Breen. 
 
 Several days went by, and then Doctor Shepard 
 decided to have an ambulance take Ross from the 
 Peabody farm to his own home, both he and the 
 trained nurse accompanying the sufferer, who was 
 still unconscious. 
 
 "It's going to prove quite a complicated case," 
 announced the physician, on the day after the ar- 
 rival at the Goodwin home. "But, thank God, I 
 think I can pull him through."
 
 134 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "But the fever, Doctor " began Jennie Mar- 
 tinson. 
 
 "Yes, he's going to have some fever I can see 
 that. We'll have to keep it down as much as we f 
 can." 
 
 They were right about the fever, which came on 
 somewhat rapidly, and a few days later Ross was 
 raging and doing his best to throw himself off his 
 bed, and Jennie and the housekeeper, occasionally 
 aided by Jerry, had all they could do at times to 
 manage him. 
 
 Of course Margaret had heard all about the at- 
 tack, and when Ross was brought home from the 
 Peabody place, she sent their man around to get 
 some particulars regarding him. The man re- 
 ported that Mr. Goodwin was in bad shape, and 
 thereupon, that evening, Margaret called on Doctor 
 Shepard. 
 
 "No, I don't think he's going to die, or anything 
 like that," said the physician kindly, in reply to her 
 question. "But he got a terrible blow on the head, 
 and now he is developing a fever; but after that 
 goes away, I think he will pull through all right." 
 
 "Oh, I'm glad to hear you say you think he'll 
 pull through," returned Margaret. "It would be 
 dreadful to have him die and just when he was 
 trying so hard to establish himself in business."
 
 Margaret Makes a Move 135 
 
 "The Goodwins come from good, sturdy stock, 
 and you can't kill them off so easily," remarked the 
 old family physician grimly. "He's a good deal 
 better stock than most yeung fellows I know," he 
 added significantly. In his kindly way he had noted 
 Ross' regard for Margaret, and he was not suited 
 at all to learn that the girl was so often seen in the 
 company of his young rival, Doctor Parmalee. 
 
 On the day after this interview with the doctor, 
 Margaret had occasion to call on her uncle, Thomas 
 Poole, who was a lawyer in Cressing. She went on 
 an errand for her mother, and found her uncle in 
 his office, deep in conversation with one of his 
 clients. Not wishing to disturb her relative at that 
 time, she seated herself in an anteroom and picked 
 up a newspaper lying there. 
 
 "Yes, it's tough on Goodwin in more ways than 
 one," she heard the strange man in the inner office 
 say. "He may recover, but, if he does, they tell 
 me it will take a long time. And in the meanwhile, 
 this contracting business of his may go to the dogs." 
 
 "Hasn't he got any good foreman to look after 
 his interests?" demanded Margaret's uncle. 
 
 "He did have two good men, so I understand. 
 But for some reason or other he discharged one of 
 the men only a short time ago, and now the other 
 man the best man old John Goodwin had, so I
 
 136 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 am told has been arrested for this attack, and as 
 a consequence the work on the contract is about at 
 a standstill, the other fellows not knowing how to 
 proceed." And then the speaker went on telling 
 Thomas Poole many things which neither he nor 
 Margaret had known concerning the railroad con- 
 tract, and of which so far the newspapers had said 
 nothing. 
 
 The girl, with strained ears, took in every word, 
 and when her uncle's client came out and went on 
 his way, the color in her cheeks and the glow in her 
 eyes showed how much she was interested. 
 
 "Hello, sweetheart!" cried her uncle affection- 
 ately, as he kissed her. "Come in to take your first 
 lesson as a young lawyer?" He had maintained 
 jokingly for years that if Margaret would only give 
 up singing, she might settle down and become a 
 good female lawyer. 
 
 "Yes, I've come in to take a first lesson in law, 
 Uncle Tom," she answered quickly. "But first I 
 have an errand to do for mother," and she ex- 
 plained what it was. 
 
 "And what's this lesson in law you want to 
 learn?" demanded the uncle, after the other matter 
 had been disposed of. 
 
 "It's about that railroad contract that Mr. Good- 
 win is interested in," she answered. "If he is
 
 Margaret Makes a Move 137 
 
 under a bond of twenty thousand dollars to fulfil 
 that contract, if he can't fulfil it, will he lose his 
 money?" 
 
 "He surely will unless he can make the courts 
 believe that he ought not to," and her uncle's eyes 
 twinkled. 
 
 "Now, Uncle Tom, do be serious, for this is a 
 serious matter. Ross Goodwin hasn't got so much 
 money that he can throw twenty thousand dollars 
 away." 
 
 "You and he are pretty good friends, aren't you, 
 Margy?" 
 
 "Yes, we were old schoolmates. And I would 
 like very much to see Ross get along, even though I 
 don't at all approve of his going into such a busi- 
 ness as that, when he might have been a doctor or 
 a college professor, or even a lawyer like you." 
 
 " 'Even' is good," laughed Thomas Poole. "How- 
 ever, about his business every man has a right to 
 go into what he pleases, so long as it is honest. I 
 never thought any the less of John Goodwin be- 
 cause he was a contractor. Fact is, he was a much 
 better man than a whole lot of rascally lawyers 
 and second-rate doctors and professors. But what 
 were you driving at?" 
 
 "I want you to find out something for me, Uncle 
 Tom," returned the girl quickly. "From what I can
 
 138 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 hear, Ross Goodwin depended a great deal on this 
 Larry Cole, his foreman. Now Cole is in jail ac- 
 cused of this crime, but he declares that he is inno- 
 cent. Can't you find out something about this? 
 And if he really is innocent, why can't he get out 
 on bail, or something like that, and take charge of 
 matters until Ross gets better?" 
 
 "Yes, but we don't know that he is innocent. 
 By the account in the paper it looks as if he was 
 guilty. They found five hundred and some odd 
 dollars on his person, and he has refused to tell 
 where and when he got the money. It was known 
 that Goodwin carried at least two thousand dollars 
 in cash with him. The police theory is that Cole, 
 aided possibly by some of his cronies, made the 
 attack and got the money and, possibly, Cole divided 
 the amount with the other fellows." 
 
 "But, Uncle Tom, won't you at least go and see 
 Cole and have a talk with him?" said the girl. "I 
 I want you to do this for my sake, and you 
 needn't say a word about it to anybody," and she 
 blushed deeply. 
 
 "All right, Margy. You know I never could re- 
 fuse you anything," he answered promptly. "I'll 
 look into the matter. But don't expect too much of 
 me." 
 
 "Of course, I am sorry to take up your time,
 
 Margaret Makes a Move 139 
 
 Uncle Tom, for I know you are a very busy man." 
 
 Her uncle looked at her quizzically. 
 
 "So very deeply interested in Ross Goodwin, 
 eh ?" he chuckled, placing his hand on her shoulder. 
 
 "Perhaps I'm not as deeply interested as you 
 think," she cried, somewhat defiantly. "I might 
 be if it wasn't for the fact that he has gone into 
 this contracting business and thrown away all his 
 other good chances for getting along in the world." 
 
 "But if he makes good, Margy " 
 
 "Oh, I've heard that before. I don't want to 
 hear it again," cried the girl. And then, after a 
 few words more, she left the lawyer's offices. 
 
 Forty-eight hours later, and through a process 
 known to less than half a dozen persons, Larry 
 Cole was released on bail.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 AS IN A DREAM 
 
 IT must not be imagined that Ross had an easy 
 time of it recovering from the dastardly attack 
 which had been made upon him. Dr. Shepard, 
 aided by the trained nurse and those in the house- 
 hold, had their hands full, taking care of him dur- 
 ing the time when his fever was at its worst. The 
 crisis was a day of keen anxiety for everybody, and 
 all breathed a sigh of relief when it was over and 
 the physician announced that the recovery would 
 be only a question of time. 
 
 The many days of his sickness was to Ross like 
 some terrible nightmare. Time and again he im- 
 agined himself riding through a furious storm, and 
 then he would find himself deep down in some 
 trench rapidly filling with water, and battling madly 
 to save himself from drowning. Occasionally he 
 would see Margaret looking at him, and he would 
 throw out his arms to her only to have the girl 
 turn her back upon him and fade from view. 
 
 When at last the worst was over and he opened 
 his eyes, he was in a room bright with sunshine 
 and sweet with the perfume of flowers that rested 
 
 140
 
 As in a Dream 141 
 
 in a vase on the table before a window. Some- 
 body was moving around the apartment, but he was 
 too weak to speak, or to recognize who it was. 
 
 Then followed another dream, in which he was 
 back on the edge of the rocky cliff and fighting 
 desperately against somebody who was trying to 
 hurl him to the bottom. The rain was again dash- 
 ing into his face, and somebody was bending over 
 him with one hand at his throat and the other hand 
 going through his pockets. 
 
 When his mind cleared once more, the room was 
 dark, with a shaded lamp resting on the table. In 
 a rocking-chair sat a young woman in hospital 
 white, a face and form that were somehow strangely 
 familiar. She was gazing at him sleepily, but 
 roused up immediately when she noted that his eyes 
 were open. 
 
 "See here ' began Ross, and tried to raise 
 himself up. Then he realized how weak he was, 
 and sank back again. 
 
 At once the trained nurse came to his side. 
 
 "You'll have to keep quiet, Ross," she said, in 
 a soothing voice. 
 
 "Why, hello, Jennie!" he cried in weak and 
 strangely unnatural tones. "What brought you 
 here ? Where am I ? What's happened ?" 
 
 "Keep quiet, Ross, that's a good boy. You must
 
 142 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 not excite yourself ;" and the nurse took hold of his 
 hand and placed her other hand upon his forehead. 
 
 Ross wanted to ask more questions, but his 
 strength seemed to leave him again, and he dozed 
 off into a troubled sleep. Then came morning, and 
 with the rising sun he gazed around in bewilder- 
 ment. 
 
 The nurse was gone, and in her place sat Jerry, 
 watching him with a face full of honest concern. 
 Each looked at the other for fully a minute before 
 Ross spoke. 
 
 "Jerry, is that you?" he asked, faintly. 
 
 "Yes, Mr. Ross," was the quick return. "Praise 
 God, you're in your right mind again." 
 
 "Right mind? What do you mean?" 
 
 "You've been sick a long spell; didn't you know 
 it? An' you was out o' your mind part o' the 
 time." 
 
 Ross drew a long breath. 
 
 "How long have I been sick?" 
 
 "It's most a month now, sir. But don't talk, sir. 
 The doctor said as how it wouldn't be good for you 
 to say too much when you fust come around." 
 
 "A month !" The young contractor repeated the 
 words to himself several times before he realized 
 their importance. "A month! Jerry, have I really 
 been here a month?"
 
 As in a Dream 143 
 
 "Sorry to say you have, Mr. Ross. But don't 
 worry; it's all right, sir." 
 
 "I know. But that railroad contract " 
 
 "It's going along swimmingly, sir; leastwise, that 
 is what Mr. Cole said, sir." 
 
 "Oh! so he has gone ahead? I'm glad of that." 
 And now Ross sank back again, exhausted, but much 
 relieved. 
 
 It astonished him to think that he had been sick 
 a month, and he was equally amazed on putting his 
 hand to his head, to find some of the hair shaved 
 off and a large plaster fastened to his skull. He 
 tried to think it out, but it made him feverish; and 
 in a blind, uncertain way he heard somebody scold- 
 ing Jerry for talking too much. Then the family 
 doctor bent over him and made him take a dose of 
 medicine that was very bitter. But it braced him 
 up and put him into a sleep that was very near 
 normal. 
 
 The next day he was surprised to find himself 
 confronted by Jennie Martinson, who assisted him 
 to sit up in bed. 
 
 "It's mighty good of you to come and take care 
 of me," he said warmly. "I'm sure I've had the 
 very best of nursing." 
 
 "Well, I won't deny, Ross, that I've done the 
 best I could," was the reply. "And now you've got
 
 144 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 to do your share by getting well just as quickly as 
 you can, so my work will count for something." 
 
 "Sure, I'm going to get well. I can't understand 
 it at all that I've been here a month or so. It seems 
 to me as if I was knocked out only yesterday. I 
 want to talk to Cole. Can you send for him?" 
 
 "You are not to see anybody to-day, Ross. It's 
 Doctor Shepard's orders. Perhaps, if you feel 
 strong enough, you can see Mr. Cole to-morrow." 
 
 "Oh, I'm well enough to see him to-day," returned 
 the young contractor. But the nurse was obdurate, 
 although she did her best to ease his mind and keep 
 him quiet. 
 
 The next morning found him much stronger, and 
 he insisted upon it that they must send for his fore- 
 man. He must know from Cole's lips that the 
 work on the railroad contract was not dragging. 
 Sick as he was, Ross gritted his teeth and registered 
 a vow that that contract must be fulfilled, in spite of 
 the wicked doings of his enemies. 
 
 For the past was now becoming clear to him. 
 He remembered the ride in the rain, the stop at the 
 cliff, and the shadowy outline of that form that had 
 hurled the big stone down upon his head. He did 
 not know what man had done this, but he felt that 
 it was an attempt to keep him from doing what he 
 had set out to accomplish. He did not remember 
 about the money he had carried.
 
 As in a Dream 145 
 
 Cole came late in the afternoon. The doctor 
 cautioned him not to talk too much. He was in 
 his working clothes, and washed up in the bath- 
 room before entering the bedchamber. 
 
 "Glad to see you've got around to yourself again," 
 said the foreman, somewhat awkwardly, as he took 
 Ross' hand. "You've had a tight squeeze of it." 
 
 "So they tell me, Cole," was the slow answer. 
 "How is the work getting on? They told me you 
 were hard at it." 
 
 "I'm doing as well as possible, Mr. Goodwin." 
 Cole cleared his throat. "You see, we had to lose 
 some time after you were hurt. Nobody that is 
 everything was upset." 
 
 "Oh, I can understand that. But it's all right 
 now, isn't it?" 
 
 "Just about. But you don't want to talk business 
 yet. Time to do that when you can get on your 
 legs." 
 
 "I suppose so." Ross heaved a deep sigh. "Did 
 they catch the rascal?" 
 
 "What rascal?" 
 
 "The rascal who threw the rock at me." 
 
 "Are you sure somebody threw a rock at you?" 
 Cole was all attention now. 
 
 "Am I sure? Certainly I am. I saw him, even 
 though it was very dark. I yelled to him, and then 
 he let drive."
 
 146 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Who was it?" 
 
 "I don't know. I've been trying to think, but it 
 only makes my head ache." 
 
 "Then you had better stop thinking." Cole took 
 Ross' hand again, "I'll come to-morrow, when you 
 feel stronger." 
 
 "What! you are not going yet? You mustn't! 
 I want to ask about the work." 
 
 "Not to-day, Mr. Goodwin," interposed Doctor 
 Shepard. "He can come to-morrow. You must 
 rest now, otherwise you'll be in a fever again." 
 
 And Ross was glad to rest, as he found out 
 when Cole had departed. His poor head was in a 
 whirl, and it kept in that state for several hours. 
 
 "You must keep quiet, Ross, otherwise you'll 
 be sure to have a relapse," admonished Jennie Mar- 
 tinson. 
 
 "Oh, don't worry about me," he returned; never- 
 theless, he was glad to rest, and for several hours 
 he had little to say. 
 
 The next day he sat up and his appetite returned, 
 so that he could eat a fairly good meal. Just after 
 lunch he heard the doorbell ring, and heard a voice 
 below that caused him to start. Margaret was 
 there, talking to the trained nurse, who had just 
 gone below to get something. 
 
 "How is he doing to-day?" the visitor asked of 
 the nurse.
 
 As in a Dream 147 
 
 "Oh, he's coming along pretty well," was the 
 reply. "You know I've made up my mind that I'm 
 going to pull him through. We can't afford to lose 
 any of our old schoolmates," and Jennnie Martin- 
 son smiled broadly. 
 
 "I suppose he has been a great care, Jennie?" 
 
 "Well, you'd think so especially when he had 
 that high fever. Once or twice I thought he would 
 jump out of bed and out of the window." 
 
 "Oh, dear, how dreadful!" exclaimed Margaret. 
 She looked at the trained nurse rather sharply. "I 
 suppose you expect to stay here quite a while yet?" 
 
 "That depends on what the doctor and Ross have 
 to say about it," answered the trained nurse. "I'll 
 stay just as long as they want me to. You see, 
 Ross and I have always been very good friends, 
 and I'd do this much for him even if I wasn't paid 
 for it." 
 
 "Do you you think he'd care to see me?" Mar- 
 garet went on, somewhat falteringly. 
 
 Ross, who was leaning over the side of his bed 
 listening, strained his ears to catch the reply, but 
 could not. 
 
 "Come up!" he called, as loudly as he could. 
 "Come up, Margy!" and soon he heard Margaret's 
 foot on the stairs. The next moment she entered 
 the room, but paused near the doorway, gazing at 
 him in an uncertain way.
 
 148 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "It's very good of you to come," he said, before 
 she could speak. "Very good, indeed." 
 
 "I'm so glad, Ross, to see you getting better," 
 said she, as she took his hand and pressed it tightly. 
 "I was so afraid " 
 
 "That I would cave in?" he finished, as she 
 paused. "Oh, you can't get rid of a bad cent as 
 easily as that." He laughed shortly at the old joke. 
 "I'm tougher than you think, Margy," he went on, 
 although it took almost all his strength to say it. 
 
 "How you have suffered, Ross ! At first we were 
 all afraid you were going to die." 
 
 He drank in the words eagerly, gazing earnestly 
 in her face in the meanwhile. Then she had taken 
 an interest from the start? Perhaps she had been 
 there before, when he was unable to recognize her. 
 
 "It's like a dream to me the storm, the ride, 
 the attack, and all," he said, after a pause. 
 
 "The attack?" she repeated, and her face paled 
 a little. "Are you sure you were attacked?" 
 
 "Why, certainly. What did you think?" 
 
 "I thought the rock came down on your head of 
 itself." 
 
 "Not a bit of it. Some rascal followed me up 
 and attacked me. I saw him, but it was too dark 
 to recognize him." 
 
 "And was it that man who robbed you?" 
 
 "Was I robbed? That's news to me. But, of
 
 As in a Dream 149 
 
 course, the rascal would rob me if he was wicked 
 enough to attempt my life." 
 
 "You were found with your money, your watch 
 and your diamond scarf-pin gone. But we that is, 
 some of us had an idea that somebody had come 
 along and found you unconscious " 
 
 Ross shook his head. "No; somebody attacked 
 me. I am as sure of that as I am that I am sitting 
 in this bed." 
 
 "It is certainly strange." 
 
 "I don't think so." 
 
 "You do not? Why, the country was searched 
 around for tramps and footpads, and the like, but 
 nobody was found." 
 
 "That deed was done by somebody who knew 
 me and who knew folks around here, Margy. I'm 
 not saying much yet, but I think I can lay my hand 
 on the rascal when the proper time comes." 
 
 She gave a sudden shiver. "You don't sus- 
 pect But, no; I can't say it, for it couldn't be 
 
 true not after what he has done lately." 
 
 "What are you talking about?" 
 
 "It doesn't matter." 
 
 "But you said something about suspecting some- 
 body. I do suspect somebody. I'll tell you in secret, 
 if you want to know." 
 
 "As you please, Ross." She was all curiosity 
 now.
 
 150 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "I suspect a fellow named Pat O'Mara. He used 
 to work for me, and I discharged him. He is thick 
 with Michael Breen and Isaac Shacker, my rivals 
 in the contracting business." He gazed at her 
 keenly as he uttered the last two words, and she 
 flushed up. "The three of them would do a good 
 deal to put me out of business." 
 
 "I believe you, Ross. I've heard in the town how 
 they fought you when the bids were being made." 
 
 "This O'Mara is a fellow who has little conscience 
 I saw that from the start. He was going to take 
 some of the Italians away from me if he could. I 
 may be mistaken, but I think he attacked me, and 
 for a twofold purpose. To get his hands on the 
 fifteen hundred dollars in cash that I carried, and to 
 knock me out, so that my contract with the railroad 
 company would go to pieces." 
 
 "It certainly seems reasonable enough," the girl 
 mused. She thought of the meeting between Breen 
 and O'Mara at the stage door to the concert hall, 
 and of the anonymous letter she had sent to Ross. 
 
 "The three of those fellows are hand-in-glove 
 against me," went on the young contractor. O'Mara 
 is the tool, and I fancy Breen and Shacker are 
 glad to use him for their dirty work. When I get 
 around again, I am going to set a private detective 
 on O'Mara's track. But don't say anything of this 
 to outsiders, Margy."
 
 "Your coming has made me feel like a new man." 
 
 (See page 151.)
 
 As in a Dream 151 
 
 "You may rest assured that I will not, Ross." 
 She stroked the thin hand that lay on the coverlet. 
 "But you must not worry or excite yourself. If 
 you do you'll never get strong. You have talked 
 far too much already." 
 
 "Don't you worry; I've got lots of backbone left 
 yet." His face brightened into something of the 
 old-time smile. "Your coming has made me feel 
 like a new man." 
 
 Another ring at the doorbell interrupted the 
 conversation at this point. It was Doctor Shepard, 
 and before the physician could enter the room Mar- 
 garet took her departure.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 IN HARNESS ONCE MORE 
 
 IT astonished everybody around him to see how 
 quickly Ross recovered after once he was able to 
 sit up. His fever was completely gone, and his 
 appetite became of the best. Doctor , Shepard, who 
 had attended the Goodwin family for years, was 
 outspoken in his surprise and delight. 
 
 "You've got a constitution worth having, young 
 man," he said. "Barring accidents, I shouldn't 
 wonder if you live to be a hundred." 
 
 As soon as he was able, Ross had Jerry drive him 
 out to look at the work on the railroad. Matters 
 were moving along in fairly good shape, but not 
 as much had been accomplished as he had hoped 
 for, or as much as those around his sick bed had 
 led him to believe. He now realized why Cole had 
 hesitated to go into details when questioned. 
 
 In looking over the Italians, he was surprised to 
 see that more than half of Gorgi's gang were miss- 
 ing, and that six of the other gang the one under 
 Cole himself had deserted. 
 
 "Where are your other men, Gorgi?" he de- 
 manded, after calling the Italian to him. 
 
 152
 
 In Harness Once More 153 
 
 "Udder men da no staya wid me," was the an- 
 swer, with a shrug of the shoulders. "Da say de 
 job busta up, wid Boss Ross Goodwin in da sicka 
 bed an' he Boss Cole in da jaila." 
 
 "Boss Cole in the jail?" ejaculated Ross. "What 
 are you talking about? Are you drunk?" 
 
 "Hava only one drinka da beer to-day, boss." 
 
 "But you just said Cole had been in jail?" 
 
 "Dat's right, boss. Yoii not knowa dat? He in 
 da jaila long time, yes." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 Again the Italian shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "Dat funny lika de dev, you not knowa him! 
 Da say he strika you down an' roba you." 
 
 "He? Cole? Who in thunder said that?" 
 
 "Da police." 
 
 "Well, of all crazy things ! Jerry, drive me over 
 to where Cole is working. I must know all about 
 this at once. Why didn't he say something at the 
 house of this?" 
 
 "Reckon he didn't want to excite you, Mr. Ross. 
 You had a hard enough time of it getting well." 
 
 "The police must be a lot of lunatics," was Ross' 
 comment, and then he said no more. 
 
 He found it hard work to pump the truth out of 
 Cole how the police had placed him under arrest, 
 charged with robbery and attempted murder, and
 
 154 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 how they had found the money Ross had given him. 
 
 "And how did you get out? Did they set you 
 free, or are you under bail?" the young contractor 
 asked. And then he went on impulsively : "Of 
 course, you know I believe in you, Cole. This 
 charge against you is the silliest thing that ever 
 happened." 
 
 "I felt you'd say that. If I hadn't felt it I 
 wouldn't be at work here." 
 
 "But how did you get out?" 
 
 "I'm on bail." 
 
 "I see." 
 
 "My being locked up and you knocked out played 
 the deuce with the job," went on the foreman, 
 hastily, for he was afraid Ross would question him 
 further about the bail. "Breen took some of the 
 men and Shacker took the others. Gorgi was going 
 to leave, but I got him to stick at the last minute. 
 Of course, everything was at a standstill those 
 days, and, as yet, we haven't been able to catch up, 
 although I've tried my best." 
 
 "Was O'Mara around?" 
 
 "No; he has disappeared completely." 
 
 "Humph!" 
 
 "You needn't suspect that fellow, Mr. Goodwin. 
 For, if you do, it won't do any good." 
 
 "Why not?"
 
 In Harness Once More 155 
 
 "He wasn't in either Durham or Cressing the 
 night you were struck down, and Breen swears that 
 he and O'Mara were in Philadelphia buying up a 
 lot of second-hand tools." 
 
 This announcement was a setback to the young 
 contractor. Perhaps, after all, his assailant had 
 been nobody more than an ordinary tramp or foot- 
 pad. 
 
 "Well, I shall think O'Mara guilty until I learn 
 otherwise," he said. "But don't whisper this to 
 anybody around here, Cole." And then the talk 
 was shifted to the question of getting more men, 
 and also obtaining the steam shovel for the deepest 
 of the cuts, and the drill with which to begin work 
 on the rocky cliff. 
 
 "I'll be glad to see that cliff go," said Ross, with 
 a sorry laugh. "I'd hate to pass that way, on an- 
 other dark night." 
 
 "Well, we can't get that drill too quick, nor the 
 steam shovel, either," returned the foreman. 
 "We've got to hump all around, if we want to put 
 this contract through on time." 
 
 "It's going through on time, if I have to get twice 
 the workmen we now have. Cole, you may think 
 as you please, but the attack on me was nothing but 
 a move of our common enemy. They want me to 
 fall down on this job. And I'm not going to fall
 
 156 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 down." All of Ross' former earnestness was as- 
 serting itself. 
 
 "I'd like to know where you are going to get the 
 men." 
 
 "I'll advertise for them." 
 
 "I've put out all those advertisements you men- 
 tioned." 
 
 "And the result?" 
 
 "Some men came to Durham and Cressing. I 
 didn't see them at once because I got a business note 
 calling me to Finchville. The note was a fake. 
 When I got back I found that the newcomers had 
 been scooped in by agents of Breen and Shacker. 
 I know I ought to be kicked full of holes for mak- 
 ing such a mess of it, but that's the truth of the 
 matter." 
 
 "Have any other men come since?" 
 
 "Three, and they are to work in Gorgi's gang. 
 "There is another thing we've got to fight," went 
 on Cole. "It's about the meanest thing I've struck 
 yet. I didn't want to mention it before, because I 
 knew it would make you mad and excited." 
 
 "Well, what is it? I reckon I can stand most 
 anything now." 
 
 "You know that the Italians are in one^set of 
 buildings, up near the creek, and the Poles are in 
 another. Well, Shacker had a Pole who got sick.
 
 In Harness Once More 157 
 
 I reckon he knew what was wrong, and he sent 
 the fellow to the Poles' headquarters, to his second 
 cousin, or somebody like that. The fellow developed 
 chicken-pox everybody thought it was smallpox 
 at first and we had to fumigate, and send the man 
 to the hospital, and all that. Now they've spread 
 the report that the house is full of smallpox germs, 
 and the Poles won't go near it." 
 
 "Did Shacker spread the report?" 
 
 "I'm pretty sure he did." 
 
 Ross clinched his fists. "The contemptible sneak ! 
 It's just like him! For two pins I'd sue him for 
 damages." 
 
 "He ought to be sued. But in court you've got 
 to prove your case, and that isn't always so easy. 
 I reckon I'll have my hands full trying to prove my 
 own innocence when I come to trial." 
 
 "I'll be a witness for the defense," laughed Ross. 
 "Don't you worry, Cole ; the prosecutor isn't a fool, 
 even if the conceited chief of police is. Besides, 
 I'm going to have O'Mara shadowed, alibi or no 
 alibi." 
 
 It was well for Ross that he had a constitution 
 of iron, or he would have surely broken down with 
 overwork during the two weeks that followed. 
 Against the advice of the family physician, he kept 
 going as if no such thing as a spell of fever had ever
 
 158 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 affected him. He inspected the work, and gave 
 orders to go ahead faster than ever, the present 
 gangs to work overtime, with extra pay. He visited 
 Pittsburg and other cities in quest of men, and he 
 ordered the steam shovel and the rock drill that 
 were so much needed. 
 
 The steam shovel came when ordered, but about 
 the drill there was some delay, and there was like- 
 wise delay in getting the dynamite and nitro- 
 glycerine that had been ordered. Of laborers, the 
 young contractor succeeded in drumming up twenty- 
 six; and, in order that they might not be coaxed 
 away by the agents of Breen, Shacker and other 
 contractors, he brought them to Durham in person. 
 
 The collection was a motley one, consisting of 
 Italians, Poles and Hungarians. They came through 
 on a smoking car, and Ross was heartily glad when 
 the train rolled into the Durham depot and he could 
 get out into the fresh air. 
 
 As he stepped from the train, with his business 
 suit somewhat rumpled and soiled, he came face to 
 face with Margaret, dressed in blue silk and wear- 
 ing a cluster of small roses on her breast. She 
 carried a music roll, and was evidently bound for 
 the city. 
 
 It was the first Ross had seen of her since the 
 visit to his bedside. He had wanted to call upon
 
 In Harness Once More 159 
 
 her, but business and other things had caused him 
 to put it off day after day. 
 
 She caught sight of him surrounded by the 
 awkward and chattering laborers, all of whom 
 wanted to know where to go next, and her face 
 took on something of a look of dismay. He, too, 
 was taken aback, and wished just then that the 
 laborers were anywhere but there. 
 
 But she did not hesitate more than an instant. 
 Then she nodded pleasantly, and held out her hand 
 to him from a distance. 
 
 "I am so glad to see you around once more," 
 she said, as he came up. 
 
 "Thank you, Margy; you are kind," he stam- 
 mered. "You see" he added, "I was coming 
 around. But I had so much to attend to I scarcely 
 knew what to do first. I wanted to congratulate 
 you on your success as a singer " 
 
 She looked just a trifle annoyed. "Oh, don't let 
 us speak of that, Ross. How is your work getting 
 on?" 
 
 "Rather slowly, although it will be better now I 
 have got these fellows." He waved his hand at 
 the men, who had stepped back and were staring 
 awkwardly at him. "You can't imagine what a job 
 I had drumming them up." 
 
 "They are an awfully rough-looking set."
 
 160 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "They all look rough, but after you get to know 
 them you'll find that they have hearts as well as any 
 of us. Of course, some are bad, but they are in the 
 minority." 
 
 "Do you think you are going to get through with 
 your contract on time?" she asked, kindly. "I heard 
 a report " 
 
 "Oh, they are saying all sorts of things, I know. 
 I shall do my best to get through, not only for the 
 honor of winning out, but in order to save my 
 twenty-thousand-dollar bond. We " 
 
 At this point Ross stopped short. The other 
 train had rolled in, and at the same time Doctor 
 Parmalee stepped from the ticket window and 
 came out on the platform. 
 
 "Here is our train, Margy," he said, pretending 
 not to see Ross. "It's rather crowded, so we'll have 
 to hurry if we want seats together.' 1 And then he 
 took her arm and hurried her toward the car steps. 
 
 Margaret flushed, and so did Ross. He raised 
 his hat gravely and bowed, and she bowed in re- 
 turn. Then she disappeared into the car, and he 
 returned to his gang of laborers.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 WHAT THE DOCTOR SAID 
 
 MARGARET was to sing at a private musicale that 
 day, given by a friend of hers, living some miles 
 away. In a manner known only to himself, Doctor 
 Parmalee had obtained an invitation to the affair, 
 and had asked for the privilege of accompanying 
 the girl. 
 
 The train which the pair boarded was far from 
 crowded, and the young physician soon made Mar- 
 garet comfortable in a double seat. 
 
 "Goodwin seems to enjoy the contracting busi- 
 ness," he remarked, as he settled himself beside 
 her. "Rather queer, isn't it?" 
 
 "Well, he has a right to do so," she answered a 
 trifle defiantly. 
 
 "Oh, sure. He's got a right to do anything that 
 is honest," answered the young doctor. But there 
 was something of a sneer on his lips as he spoke. 
 "I had an idea that he would become a lawyer or 
 a professor, or something like that," he pursued. 
 
 "Yet it's a grand thing to put through a piece of 
 work like this new railroad, or like that outlet 
 sewer." 
 
 161
 
 162 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "I agree that it is. Just the same, I'd rather work 
 at something that was a trifle more er elevating, 
 so to speak." 
 
 "On a skyscraper, for instance?" she questioned 
 slyly. 
 
 "Oh, you know what I mean, Margy. A fellow 
 like Ross Goodwin, with a college education behind 
 him and all that money his uncle left him, might 
 do quite something in this world instead of spend- 
 ing his time among those laboring men and in riding 
 all around the country with a couple of trained 
 nurses." 
 
 Margaret had been looking out of the window, 
 but at this last remark she turned quickly to face 
 the young physician. 
 
 "What do you mean, Paul?" she demanded. 
 
 "What do I mean? I don't understand." 
 
 "Yes, you do. I mean about what you said of 
 Mr. Goodwin riding around the country with a 
 couple of trained nurses." 
 
 "Perhaps I ought not to say anything about that," 
 the young physician answered quickly. "It might 
 not be altogether fair to Miss Martinson and Miss 
 Bywith." 
 
 "Has he been taking them out riding?" 
 
 "Oh, yes. I've met them on the road a number 
 of times."
 
 What the Doctor Said 163 
 
 "Well, that isn't to be wondered at so far as 
 Jennie Martinson is concerned. She and Mr. 
 Goodwin are old schoolmates." 
 
 "I see. But the Bywith girl is something of a 
 newcomer in this neighborhood." 
 
 "They are both very good nurses, are they not?" 
 
 "They would be if they would attend to business. 
 The trouble is that the Martinson girl is too giddy, 
 and likes to take things easy; and I rather imagine 
 the Bywith girl isn't much better, although I don't 
 know much about her." 
 
 "Have they ever worked under you?" 
 
 "Yes; but only on some cases that didn't amount 
 to much. When I have any very serious cases, I 
 want nurses of ample experience." 
 
 "Jennie Martinson seemed to do all right when 
 she nursed Mr. Goodwin." 
 
 "From what I have been able to learn, Goodwin 
 wasn't hurt near as much as some people pretended. 
 I hate to say anything against my colleagues, but 
 I am inclined to think that in this instance Doctor 
 Shepard made as much of an affair of it as he 
 could." 
 
 "Why, Paul!" 
 
 "Oh, I know the old doc!" laughed the young 
 physician harshly. "Whenever there is a chance to 
 make money, he is Johnny-on-the-spot every time."
 
 164 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Oh, I can't think so badly of Doctor Shepard; 
 I always thought he was a lovely old man!" cried 
 Margaret. 
 
 "Then you don't believe in giving us young doc- 
 tors a chance?'' was the somewhat ruffled return. 
 
 "Yes, I do, Paul. But you mustn't try to climb 
 up by pulling somebody else down." 
 
 "I'll let it be as you say, Margy. And it won't 
 be necessary for me to pull the old doctor down in 
 order to succeed. As it is, I've got about all the 
 business now that I wish to take care of. I'm so 
 busy at times that I can hardly get any time to spend 
 with you," and he looked admiringly at his com- 
 panion. 
 
 "If the doctors are busy, those trained nurses 
 must be busy too," went on Margaret, after a slight 
 pause. 
 
 She could not get out of her mind what Parmalee 
 had said concerning Jennie Martinson and Ethel 
 Bywith riding with Ross. 
 
 "Oh, they get quite a few jobs. Of course, in a 
 great many cases folks do their own nursing, or 
 have some friend come in to do it for them. You 
 went to school with Jennie Martinson, didn't you?" 
 
 "I did when we were in grammar school. After 
 that she went to one place and I went to another." 
 
 "Have you ever met the Bywith girl?"
 
 What the Doctor Said 165 
 
 "Yes, twice. But I must say I don't know her 
 very well." 
 
 "She's a peculiar sort." 
 
 "How peculiar ?" 
 
 "Oh, I can't explain exactly. She's one of the 
 kind who is extremely friendly on short acquaint- 
 ance, a girl who evidently is looking out for every 
 advantage. When I saw her out with Goodwin in 
 his auto, she was acting as if they had been good 
 friends for years." 
 
 "Where were they?" 
 
 "Along that road leading to Clankerton. They 
 had stopped on the top of the hill, to look at the 
 scenery, I suppose, and they hardly gave me room 
 to pass them. Then when I yelled to Goodwin to 
 draw off to one side, he was so interested in what 
 he was saying to the girl and what she was saying 
 to him that he paid no attention to me until I had 
 yelled several times. That is one of the reasons 
 why I don't treat him as cordially as I might. It's 
 all well enough for him to become interested in one 
 of those trained nurses, but, at the same time, that 
 doesn't give him the privilege of blocking the road 
 when a fellow wants to go by." 
 
 After that came a brief period of silence, and 
 then the subject was changed and the two spoke of 
 the coming musicale, and Margaret wondered
 
 166 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 whether she would be able to sing as good as usual. 
 
 "My throat is a little sore," she said. 
 
 "In that case, you ought to let me prescribe for 
 it," the young doctor answered quickly. 
 
 "Oh, it may be all right by the time I want to 
 sing." 
 
 Then followed another spell of silence, the doctor, 
 for some reason, finding it rather difficult to keep 
 up the conversation, he not being a particularly 
 good talker. On her part, Margaret was busy with 
 her thoughts. She wondered whether it was true 
 that Ross was spending a good portion of his time 
 riding around the country with the two trained 
 nurses, as Parmalee had said. 
 
 "Of course, I can't blame him for wanting some 
 recreation," she told herself. "And he has as 
 much right to go out with them as with anyone. 
 Jennie Martinson always was a nice girl, and I 
 don't believe she would make a chum of that other 
 nurse unless Miss Bywith was all right too. Oh, 
 dear, I don't see why he had to take up with that 
 old contracting business and spoil everything! I 
 really don't!" 
 
 The musicale proved to be quite a society event, 
 several hundred being present. It was held at a 
 large country home about a mile and a half from 
 the station, and Margaret and Doctor Parmalee
 
 What the Doctor Said 167 
 
 were driven to the place in one of the automobiles 
 attached to the establishment. 
 
 "So glad to have you sing for us, Miss Poole!" 
 exclaimed the hostess, as she came up to shake 
 hands. "It was lovely of you to promise to do it." 
 
 "I'm always ready to do what I can for charity," 
 answered the girl, with a smile. 
 
 "But some day we hope, Mrs. Barker, to see her 
 on the professional stage," broke in Doctor Parma- 
 lee. "I am sure she would make just as much of 
 a hit at Carnegie Hall, or even the Metropolitan 
 Opera House, as she has made here." 
 
 "I agree with you, Doctor," answered Mrs. 
 Barker. 
 
 "Oh, come now don't flatter me so," returned 
 Margaret, her face flushing. "Perhaps my singing 
 to-day will disappoint you my throat is not at its 
 best." 
 
 "Oh, that's the universal excuse of all singers," 
 came quickly from the hostess. "I am sure you'll 
 please everybody present." 
 
 As usual on such occasions, the audience was 
 somewhat slow in assembling, but presently the 
 spacious rooms of the country mansion were well 
 filled with those who had come to enjoy the musi- 
 cale. Margaret met many whom she knew, and 
 received words of praise from those who had heard
 
 168 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 her sing before. She heard various bits of conver- 
 sation, and once heard Ross' name mentioned. 
 
 "No, I don't think Mr. Goodwin is coming," she 
 heard one lady tell another. "He told my husband 
 that he was too busy with his railroad contract to 
 go anywhere." 
 
 "Isn't it strange that he should take up that line 
 of work?" returned the other lady. "My husband 
 never dreamed that he would do it." 
 
 "My husband thought the same. And he thinks 
 now that Mr. Goodwin will fall down on that con- 
 tract, as he puts it. What a shame it would be if 
 he should fall down, as the men say, and lose all 
 his money." 
 
 "Well, what else can you expect, if a man goes 
 into something of which he knows nothing? He 
 might rather have sold out that business to some- 
 body who understood it, and then placed his money 
 in good securities." And then the two ladies turned 
 away, and Margaret heard no more. 
 
 "Oh, dear, how they do love to pick people 
 apart!" the girl told herself. Then, as she thought 
 again of what Doctor Parmalee had said about 
 Ross and the two trained nurses, her cheeks began 
 to burn. 
 
 "It's about time for the concert to begin, Miss 
 Poole," said the husband of the hostess, coming up
 
 What the Doctor Said 169 
 
 to her a minute later. "If you will kindly come 
 with me, I would like to introduce you to some of 
 the others who are going to take part" ; and then 
 he led her into a side room. 
 
 Margaret had two numbers to sing, and each of 
 these was, of course, encored. She did her best, and 
 if her notes were not as clear as they might have 
 been, her songs were well received, the audience 
 applauding loudly. But she was glad when it was 
 all over and she was once more on her way home. 
 She was unusually silent, as Doctor Parmalee could 
 not help but notice. 
 
 "I guess that singing was too much for you to- 
 day," he remarked. "If your throat hurts you so 
 much, you should have sent your regrets." 
 
 "Oh, I couldn't disappoint Mrs. Barker," an- 
 swered Margaret. "If I had done that, she would 
 never have forgiven me." 
 
 "But you must take care of that throat of yours, 
 Margy. Why, do you know, I think you've got a 
 fortune in that voice of yours!" 
 
 "Oh, you're fooling," and now she smiled faintly. 
 
 "No, I'm not," he answered earnestly. "I mean 
 it. Your singing is the sweetest I ever heard in 
 my life. I am sure, with a little more training and 
 a little more experience, you could make a big hit in 
 grand opera."
 
 170 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "A hit in grand opera isn't as easy as you sur- 
 mise," she answered. Nevertheless, her face showed 
 that she appreciated the compliment. 
 
 "Oh, you'll be at the top of the ladder some day," 
 went on the doctor. "And then all of us poor fel- 
 lows will be on our knees, stretching out our hands 
 to you !" 
 
 "Nonsense!" 
 
 "Well, anyway, there'll be one fellow on his 
 knees !" 
 
 "Now, Paul, don't be silly," she answered; yet 
 her manner showed that she was not altogether 
 displeased.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 A FIRST VICTORY 
 
 Two weeks slipped by, and work on the railroad 
 contract was now hurrying forward as never before. 
 The gangs along the line were three in number 
 one under the direction of Cole, the second under 
 Gorgi, and the third under a Pole known as Lamp- 
 post, because his real name was unpronounceable 
 and because he was very tall and thin. The latter 
 could speak fairly good English, and Ross soon dis- 
 covered that he could control the Poles and Hun- 
 garians better than Gorgi could the Italians. More 
 than this, Lamp-post knew all about steam shovels, 
 and this was essential, for he and his men were 
 placed where the shovel was to be used. 
 
 The shovel, and the donkey engine to run it, 
 came at last, and in less than three days the men 
 had everything rigged up and in working order. 
 Ross had already hired an engineer, who was his 
 own fireman, and a fellow to see that the supply of 
 coal did not run short ; and on the following Monday 
 the steam shovel went into operation, with a speed 
 that kept the trainmen busy hauling out full cars 
 of dirt and backing in empties. 
 
 171
 
 172 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "That's what I call something like!" cried Cole, 
 enthusiastically. It's a pity there isn't another cut 
 where we could use another shovel." 
 
 "Wait till that rock drill comes along," answered 
 Ross. "Then we'll blow that cliff to pieces in jig 
 time." 
 
 "What's delaying it?" 
 
 "I really can't say. I'll write to-night and find 
 out." 
 
 On the following morning Ross heard a bit of 
 news that surprised him. O'Mara had returned to 
 Cressing and was openly demanding to know who 
 had dared to accuse him of attacking the young 
 contractor. 
 
 "He says he'll lick any man who says such a 
 thing," said the person who told Ross. "He says 
 he and you are not friends, but that he never raised 
 a hand to harm you, and you know it." 
 
 "We'll see about that later," answered Ross, and 
 would say nothing more to the outsider. But he 
 talked the affair over with Cole, and that night sent 
 a letter to Mr. Carton, asking the Philadelphia law- 
 yer to send a first-class private detective to Durham 
 without delay. 
 
 To his letter about the drill Ross received no 
 reply, and, after two days had passed, he took a 
 train down to Pittsburg to see what was wrong.
 
 A First Victory 173 
 
 "Can't make out your telegrams, or letters, 
 either," said the manufacturer. "First you order 
 a thing, and then you countermand the order, and 
 then you order again. What sort of business is 
 that?" 
 
 "I haven't countermanded any order." 
 
 "You haven't? Jake, where is that telegram we 
 got last week?" 
 
 The bookkeeper searched a file and brought forth 
 a yellow slip. True enough, it was a telegram, 
 signed Russ Goudmin, telling them to hold back 
 the rock drill until further orders. 
 
 "That's not my name, and I never sent the tele- 
 gram," said Ross. "But it was evidently sent in 
 order to deceive you, and Russ Goudmin is pretty 
 close to Ross Goodwin when you see it in writing. 
 It's another trick of my enemies to delay my work." 
 
 "What's the matter? Are you up against some 
 rival contractors?" 
 
 "That's the size of it." 
 
 "Then I pity you. I was young when I went 
 into business as a manufacturer, and the rivalries 
 I had to down would fill a book as big as an un- 
 abridged dictionary. You'll catch it right and left 
 until you have your eyeteeth cut." 
 
 "I guess I've got some of my eyeteeth cut al- 
 ready."
 
 174 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Not the half of 'em, young man; take my word 
 on it. After this, when you give an order, make a 
 deposit, and have it in writing that goods must be 
 delivered, no matter what other orders come along. 
 Then, if you want to change, go in person." 
 
 "Thanks for the advice ; I'll remember it. Now, 
 what will you do about this drill?" 
 
 "Ship it to you as soon as I can get the railroad 
 to back a car into the yard, and that will probably 
 be by eleven o'clock to-morrow morning. I'm sorry 
 to see you've had this delay, for I want to see the 
 nephew of John Goodwin get along. If you ever 
 find out who sent that fake telegram, let me know, 
 and I'll help you prosecute him." 
 
 "You will?" 
 
 "Yes, sir!" 
 
 "All right; I'll remember that," answered Ross. 
 
 The smallpox scare was not yet entirely over, 
 and fresh troubles arose on the day after Ross' 
 return from Pittsburg. The local board of health 
 had received a communication from a well-known 
 citizen named McNamara, urging that all the rail- 
 road and stone quarry laborers be vaccinated. Ross 
 knew that McNamara and Breen were close friends, 
 and felt certain that the letter had been written at 
 Breen's instigation. 
 
 The communication was passed on by the board,
 
 A First Victory 175 
 
 and, after a debate lasting over an hour, it was de- 
 cided to follow out the suggestion. Of course, 
 Ross could not object to such a health measure, 
 which was really excellent, according to Doctor 
 Shepard, who was backed up by Doctor Parmalee; 
 but he knew it would create trouble among the 
 men, who did not understand what vaccination 
 meant. 
 
 There was more to this health board move than 
 appeared on the surface. In Durham there was a 
 Doctor Walwick, a very intimate friend to Ike 
 Shacker. Walwick was a good deal of a quack, 
 who, in former years, had made a little money in 
 a so-called consumption cure money which he had 
 dissipated in more or less riotous drinking, and in 
 gambling. 
 
 "Here's a chance for you, Walwick;" Ike Shacker 
 said, when he met this doctor. 
 
 "A chance for what?" demanded Walwick. He 
 was a burly fellow, with a red face and red hair 
 and beard. 
 
 "A chance to make good money," went on 
 Shacker. "Wouldn't you like to do a lot of vaccin- 
 ating at so much per man ?" 
 
 "Sure! I'll do anything if there's money in it," 
 answered the doctor. "But who's going to be vac- 
 cinated?"
 
 176 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "All the laborers who are working for Ross 
 Goodwin, and also the men at Tooker's quarry," 
 and Shacker closed one eye suggestively. 
 
 "I heard something about what the health board 
 did. So they are going to compel 'em to have those 
 men scratched, eh?" 
 
 "That's it. And if you say the word, I'll see to 
 it that you get the job and at a good fat 
 price." 
 
 "Go to it, Shacker. And if you can land it at a 
 fair price, you get your rake-off," announced Wai- 
 wick, who was not one to mince his words. 
 
 "I think we had better keep this to ourselves for 
 the present," cautioned Shacker. "We'll spring it 
 on Goodwin and the other fellows when the health 
 board meets." 
 
 Walwick agreed to this, but less than twenty- 
 four hours later found him in the back room of a 
 saloon which he often visited, and there, while some- 
 what under the influence of liquor, he began to brag 
 about the work which was to be entrusted to his 
 care. Through a barkeeper, this word got around 
 to Jimmy McGuire, who instantly mentioned the 
 fact to Ross. 
 
 "So that's what's in the wind, eh?" cried the 
 young contractor, and his face showed his indigna- 
 tion. "They're not only going to try to put me in
 
 A First Victory 177 
 
 a hole, but also try to make money at it. Well, I'll 
 have to see what can be done about this." 
 
 Ross lost no time in calling upon Doctor Shepard 
 and explaining the situation. 
 
 "I think if anybody is to do this work, I'd like 
 to have you take hold, Doctor," he said. 
 
 "Thank you, my boy, but I've got too much 
 work to do in my regular practice," announced the 
 family physician. "Just the same, I'd not trust 
 that work to such a fellow as Walwick. That fel- 
 low is nothing but a quack, and ought to be run out 
 of town." 
 
 The young contractor was keenly disappointed 
 to think that his old family physician would not 
 undertake the work, yet he could not blame Doctor 
 Shepard. He walked home in rather a thoughtful 
 mood. Half way to the house, however, his face 
 broke out into a broad grin. 
 
 "By the bones of Virgil, I've a good mind to do 
 it!" he cried to himself. "Yes, sir, I will!" 
 
 That night Ross went around to interview one of 
 the members of the board of health, and this man 
 and himself shortly afterward visited a second 
 member. 
 
 When the meeting of the health board was held, 
 the room was crowded with citizens, for word had 
 gone forth that something unusual was going to
 
 178 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 take place. After the transaction of the regular 
 business, the question of vaccinating the laborers 
 was taken up, and the name of Doctor Walwick 
 was mentioned by one of the members for the work. 
 Immediately after this one of the other members 
 got up, and in a short but pointed address put the 
 name of Doctor Paul Parmalee in nomination. 
 
 "We don't want Doctor Parmalee," said the 
 member who had named the other physician. "He's 
 just a beginner, and he might not be able to do the 
 work as well as an older man who was more ex- 
 perienced." 
 
 "I think he can be trusted to do it as well, if not 
 better, than your candidate," retorted the other 
 member ; and then followed a spirited debate, which 
 lasted several minutes. At the end of this time a 
 vote was taken and Parmalee received two votes 
 out of three and was declared the board's physician 
 pro tern. 
 
 It must be confessed that Doctor Parmalee did 
 not relish the honor -which was thus thrust upon 
 him. The news was brought to him in a letter 
 from the clerk of the health board, which he read 
 with much astonishment. 
 
 "Want me to vaccinate all those Poles and Da- 
 goes and Swedes and Hungarians, and I don't know 
 what!" he grumbled, after perusing the epistle a
 
 A First Victory 179 
 
 second time. "That's the rottenest job a man ever 
 tackled. This is some of Ross Goodwin's work, 
 and I'll get even with him some time for doing it, 
 sure!" 
 
 He was exceedingly angry, but presently he 
 calmed down a little and began to reflect. It was 
 all well enough to ride a high horse and say he 
 would not undertake the work, but when he con- 
 sidered that it would pay fairly well, and that there 
 would be quite a large number of men to be vac- 
 cinated, he hesitated. Since becoming a physician, 
 he had lived at such a high rate that his father, 
 though wealthy, had cut down his allowance. He 
 was now deeply in debt, and some of his creditors 
 threatened to go to his parent with their tales of 
 woe. 
 
 "I've got to pay that garage man, and my tailor, 
 and half a dozen others," he told himself, with a 
 sour look on his face. "And I've got to settle that 
 hundred and fifty I borrowed from Abrahams. The 
 old man won't settle any of those debts for me, 
 and if I go to him, it will only bring on another 
 family row, and for all I know he may cut me off 
 entirely." 
 
 He went to bed that night in a rebellious state of 
 mind. In the morning, however, his opinion of the 
 matter changed. He learned that not only were
 
 180 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 Ross' laborers and also the laborers working for the 
 railroad company to be vaccinated, but likewise all 
 the men engaged at the local quarry. The morn- 
 ing mail brought him half a dozen bills, and this 
 was followed an hour later by a call from Mr. 
 Abrahams. 
 
 "It ish nod dat I wish to disturb you, Doctor 
 Farm' lee," said the money-lender, rubbing his 
 hands together industriously, "bud I wass a poor 
 mans, and I must needs my moneys." 
 
 "Don't worry, Abrahams, you'll get your 
 money," growled the doctor. "I've got a big job 
 on hand now, and as soon as I get paid for it, you'll 
 get all that's coming to you." 
 
 "Yes, I wass hearin' dat you vaccinate dos rail- 
 road workmans yes?" 
 
 "That's it. And as soon as my money comes in, 
 you'll get yours," answered Parmalee; and then 
 dismissed the money-lender. 
 
 Parmalee wondered what his friends in high so- 
 ciety would say to this new turn of affairs, and 
 especially did he wonder how it would strike Mar- 
 garet. 
 
 "I think I'll have to go and explain matters to 
 her," he told himself. "And I'll have to explain it 
 to the De Havens and Van Worts, and some of the 
 others."
 
 A First Victory 181 
 
 He met Margaret the day after receiving his ap- 
 pointment. She had already heard of it through 
 the local newspaper. 
 
 "It's a beastly job, don't you know," he told the 
 girl. "But I really can't decline. You see, the 
 poor men need vaccinating, and nobody in town 
 seems to want to do it except a quack doctor, who 
 can not be trusted. I've really got to sacrifice my- 
 self." 
 
 "Yes, I suppose the work will be somewhat un- 
 pleasant," said the girl. 
 
 "It will be beastly, Margy, beastly! It's bad 
 enough to do the vaccinating on a lot of fellows 
 who don't know enough to take a bath or wear 
 clean clothing! But to think that a doctor has to 
 go into the houses where those fellows live the 
 houses owned by Ross Goodwin. Why, do you 
 know, those places are regular eye-sores! The 
 authorities ought to make him tear them down." 
 
 "Can that be true, Paul? I thought that those 
 places were model tenements." 
 
 "Model tenements nothing! They are regular 
 shacks. They are full of vermin ; and I say they 
 ought to come down." 
 
 Though the doctor still kept on grumbling to 
 himself, he did not delay the work at hand, being 
 anxious to receive the pay for the same, and as
 
 182 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 soon as he could gain the necessary vaccine points, 
 he visited the tenements. 
 
 As Ross and Cole had expected, there was trouble 
 at once, and plenty of it. Although he had ex- 
 plained to Gorgi and Lamp-post what was to be 
 done and asked them to explain ,to the laborers 
 under them, some of the workmen were doubtful 
 and refused to be treated. 
 
 "You-a no come-a in here!" cried one of the la- 
 borers, as he tried to shut the door in the doctor's 
 face. "You-a stay out!" 
 
 "I've got to come in to vaccinate you and the 
 other men in there," declared Doctor Parmalee, and 
 shoved open the door. 
 
 At once there was a commotion, and suddenly the 
 young physician found himself confronted by a 
 burly foreigner with a pistol in his hand. 
 
 "You-a no cut-a my arm!" yelled the workman, 
 flourishing the weapon under the doctor's nose. 
 "You-a clear-a out, or you-a get-a shot!" and 
 thereupon the doctor lost no time in departing. 
 
 It may be added here that by morning sixteen 
 men had packed up their belongings and departed 
 for parts unknown. 
 
 Filled with humiliation over the revolver episode, 
 although it was afterward learned that the weapon 
 had not been loaded, the doctor reported that two
 
 A First Victory 183 
 
 out of the four houses were unfit for human habita- 
 tions, and recommended that they be burned down. 
 
 "This is an outrage," said Ross, as soon as he 
 heard of it. "The houses are good enough for any- 
 body to live in. The drainage is perfect, and I 
 had them whitewashed from cellar to garret only 
 a month ago. Of course, they are not as good as 
 the house the doctor lives in, but they are better 
 than ninety per cent, of the houses used by most 
 foreign laborers." 
 
 The doctor's report was eagerly taken up by 
 Breen, Shacker and McNamara, and the health 
 commissioner who had voted for Dr. Walwick, and 
 there was the promise of a lively meeting of the 
 board three nights later. 
 
 "Will you go?" questioned Cole of the young 
 contractor. 
 
 "I certainly shall," answered Ross. "And I'll 
 give those fellows to understand that they have 
 gone too far." 
 
 "They tell me that Chester will vote to burn the 
 houses down. If he goes over to Slater, that will 
 make two to one against you." 
 
 "Leave the matter to me, Cole. Only be on hand, 
 that's all." 
 
 It soon became the talk of Durham that young 
 Goodwin was going to make a hot fight to preserve
 
 184 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 his property. As a consequence, the night of the 
 health board meeting the hall was crowded to suf- 
 focation. Many of the best of the townspeople 
 were there, and in the assemblage were Breen, 
 Shacker and half a dozen railroad officials and out- 
 side contractors. 
 
 Some routine business was quickly disposed of, 
 and then the communication from Doctor Parmalee 
 was read. The physician was present, and he was 
 requested to give some further particulars, which 
 he did in a loud tone, as if defying anybody to 
 contradict him. 
 
 As soon as he had finished, and before the board 
 could call for a vote, Ross made his way to the front 
 and asked to be heard. The request was granted, 
 and, in a low but clear voice, he said that he would 
 have to contradict Doctor Parmalee, even though 
 he had every respect for him as a private citizen. 
 He had taken an interest in the homes his work- 
 men occupied, and early in the season had spent 
 considerable money in having those homes put in 
 proper condition. 
 
 "This whole attack upon me and my workmen is 
 the invention of my enemies," he declared, boldly. 
 "Certain persons in this community thought that 
 when my late uncle, John Goodwin, whom you all 
 knew, died, that his business was a thing of the
 
 A First Victory 185 
 
 past, and that they would have the contracting field 
 to themselves. When I came in and took the rail- 
 road contract from under their noses, they were as 
 enraged as hornets. Since that time they have 
 tried everything in their power to stop me from 
 putting that contract through on time. My men 
 have been persuaded to leave my employ, my tools 
 have been stolen, new machinery which I had or- 
 dered has been delayed on account of a fake tele- 
 gram, and then came the report that there was small- 
 pox at my houses ; while the only man who was sick 
 and he had chicken-pox was sent to my place 
 from the house of a rival contractor. Now Doctor 
 Parmalee comes along and says the houses ought 
 to be burned down which means more trouble for 
 me. I knew that this report was to be handed in, 
 and I beg to hand in another report, signed by Doc- 
 tor Shepard, of this city, well known as one of our 
 best citizens, and Dr. Fairfield, of the State board of 
 health. These gentlemen visited the houses in 
 question yesterday, and made an inspection lasting 
 three hours, and in their report they state that the 
 houses are fit for anybody to live in. Now, gentle- 
 men, I leave it to you whether you are going to act 
 on the advice of Doctor Parmalee, who is a new- 
 comer in our midst, or on the advice of such an 
 honored citizen as Doctor Shepard and such a well-
 
 186 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 known medical expert as Doctor Fairfield, of the 
 State board. Your duty " 
 
 "Hurrah for Goodwin!" shouted a man in the 
 rear of the hall at this point. 
 
 A wild clapping of hands followed, and it was in 
 vain that the chairman of the health board pounded 
 with his gavel for silence. Then somebody pro- 
 posed three hisses for Parmalee, and they were also 
 given, good and strong. It was too much for the 
 fastidious physician, and, jamming his silk tile on 
 his head, and muttering imprecations under his 
 breath, he fled from the hall.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 LOOKING UP A LOST DRILL 
 
 "I'LL tell you, you knocked 'em out in one, two, 
 three order last night," said Cole, the next morning. 
 "The whole crowd was mad enough to chew ten- 
 penny nails." 
 
 "They deserved to be knocked out," answered 
 Ross, with an earnest smile on his face. "So far, 
 I have taken all they put on me and said nothing. 
 Now I am going to fight them, step by step, and 
 inch by inch." 
 
 "It didn't take long for the board to vote down 
 Doctor Parmalee's recommendation. But that 
 don't bring back the men that left on account of the 
 arm-scratching," went on the foreman, seriously. 
 
 "That is true, Larry; but I'm going to do some- 
 thing that will bring them back, and bring others 
 here, too," said Ross, more earnestly than ever. 
 "Send Gorgi to me at once." 
 
 Half an hour later the Italian foreman was with 
 the young boss. Ross had written the following on 
 a sheet of paper: 
 
 187
 
 188 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 LABORERS WANTED GOOD PAY! 
 Men wanted to work on the railroad between 
 Durham and Cressing. Steady work and good pay. 
 Every man working a month will receive $10 extra, 
 and every man working until the contract is finished 
 will receive $20 extra. Men must come before 
 Saturday, July 24th. 
 Apply to 
 
 Ross GOODWIN, Contractor, or, 
 
 LAWRENCE COLE, Foreman. 
 
 "Now, Grorgi, I want you to write this out in 
 Italian," said Ross. "Make it plain, so that every 
 man can read and understand it." 
 
 Fortunately the Italian had a fair education, and 
 the translation was soon made. Then Ross had a 
 Durham printer strike off fifty of the advertise- 
 ments, each on heavy cardboard a foot and a half 
 square. These cards he gave to Gorgi and one of 
 the workmen, and told them to tack them up around 
 Durham, Cressing, Finchville, and at the places 
 where the men under Breen and Shacker were 
 working. 
 
 "If that won't do the business, I don't know what 
 will," said Ross, as he showed Cole one of the 
 cards. 
 
 "I think you'll catch some of the men with it,"
 
 Looking up a Lost Drill 189 
 
 answered the foreman. "Say, when Breen and 
 Shacker see these they'll feel like murdering you in 
 cold blood." 
 
 "I can't help how they'll feel. They started the 
 fight, and he who dances must pay the fiddler," re- 
 turned Ross. 
 
 "I don't want you to forget one thing, Mr. Good- 
 win. That rock drill hasn't arrived yet." 
 
 "I know it. I would have taken that matter up 
 three days ago, but other troubles drove it out of 
 my mind. I'll look up the drill at once." 
 
 Ross was as good as his word. He did not write 
 or telegraph to the manufacturer, but went to the 
 local telephone headquarters and reached him by 
 long-distance 'phone. 
 
 "Your drill?" said the manufacturer, over the 
 wire. "Is this another fake?" 
 
 "Not at all," answered Ross, hotly. "I want that 
 drill, and I want it quick." 
 
 "But I sent it to you just as I agreed." 
 
 "It isn't here." 
 
 "Then you'd better ask the railroad about it. I 
 know it left Pittsburg by noon freight." 
 
 This was all the satisfaction Ross could get, out- 
 side of the number of the flat car upon which the 
 drill had been loaded. 
 
 "I'll wager it is another trick of the enemy," he
 
 190 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 said to himself. "But how could they get the drill 
 from the railroad company? They wouldn't dare 
 steal it outright." 
 
 From the telephone office the young contractor 
 made his way to the freight yard. He knew the 
 freight agent, Sam Flood, fairly well, and of a sud- 
 den remembered that Flood was distantly related to 
 Ike Shacker, and that the pair were warm friends. 
 
 "If Flood is playing in with Shacker I'll make 
 it hot for him," the young contractor told himself. 
 "I'll not take another bit of dirty work from any of 
 them." 
 
 He found Flood in the freight-house office, lean- 
 ing back in an old easy-chair and puffing away at a 
 stogy. The office was in considerable disorder, 
 showing that Flood was not a man to do more than 
 was actually required of him. 
 
 "I want to find out what's become of a rock drill 
 that was sent to me several days ago/' began Ross. 
 "Have you got it in the yard here?" 
 
 "A rock drill?" repeated Flood, slowly. He took 
 a long puff at the stogy. "Where did it come 
 from?" 
 
 "Jepson Company, Pittsburg." 
 
 "Haven't see anything of it." 
 
 "Nothing at all?"
 
 Looking up a Lost Drill 191 
 
 "It's mighty queer, Flood. I just telephoned to 
 the Jepson Company, and they said it was sent out 
 on the noon freight several days ago." 
 
 "Oh, those manufacturers are willing to tell any- 
 thing," growled the freight agent. "Only two 
 weeks ago George Harris was looking for two cases 
 of rubber boots that the manufacturer swore he 
 had shipped four days before. The boots came in 
 a week later, and the shipping bill showed the goods 
 were sent just two days before I got 'em." 
 
 "Well, I am certain this drill was shipped here." 
 
 "All right; I'll see if I can look it up," answered 
 Flood, stretching himself. "Call around again in a 
 week or so." 
 
 "A week!" exclaimed Ross. "Not much! That 
 drill has got to be located in the next twenty-four 
 hours!" 
 
 "How in thunder am I to locate it in that time, 
 Goodwin? I don't even know the number of the 
 car, or anything." 
 
 "It was flat car No. 34,587," said Ross, putting 
 down the figures on a slip of paper. "You ought to 
 be able to locate that car pretty soon, if it came out 
 on this branch." 
 
 "I'll do what I can. But I'm very busy to-day." 
 
 "Oh, really?" answered Ross, and now he was 
 growing sarcastic. "Very well, Flood; I'll go and
 
 192 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 see Mr. Sanderson about it, and if he can't help me 
 out I'll go and see the chief freight agent." 
 
 At this the freight agent leaped to his feet, and 
 his face flushed crimson. 
 
 "Look a-here!" he blustered. "You needn't try 
 to make trouble for me. I'll look this matter up 
 just as soon as I can. You contractors think a 
 man can do everything on the jump." 
 
 "Will you look up the car within the next twenty- 
 four hours?" 
 
 "How can I promise to do that when I don't 
 know anything about the car? For all I know, it 
 may have gone through to Buffalo, or Chicago, or 
 some other point." 
 
 "You can find out if it's on this branch?" 
 
 "I'll do that as soon as I get time. But let me 
 tell you that it won't do you any good to go to 
 headquarters about this matter. They'll simply 
 refer the matter to me." 
 
 "I don't think so not after they hear what I'll 
 have to say," answered Ross, shortly; and, turning 
 on his heel, he left the office. 
 
 The freight agent gazed after him anxiously until 
 he was out of sight. Then he began to puff away 
 savagely at his stogy. 
 
 "I hope Ike hasn't got me into a hole over this," 
 he half muttered to himself. "I'm willing enough
 
 Looking up a Lost Drill 193 
 
 to help him all I can, but I'm not going to cut my 
 own head off doing it." 
 
 From the freight station Ross hurried back to 
 the telephone office. Something made him feel 
 pretty certain that the flat car had come out as far 
 as Durham, and that Flood had allowed it to go to 
 some other freight depot "by mistake." He accord- 
 ingly called up the next station and asked the 
 freight agent there if he knew anything of the 
 car. 
 
 The reply was in the negative, and similar re- 
 plies were received from all freight agents as far as 
 Ballton Junction. At the junction the agent said 
 one of the yardmen remembered the flat car with 
 the drill on it, and that it was marked for Cleveland, 
 and had been put in the freight train made up for 
 points on the lake. 
 
 Once more Ross called up the manufacturer and 
 explained the situation. At first the latter could not 
 believe the report, but he promised to look up the 
 matter without delay and notify Ross of what was 
 done. If the drill had gone to Cleveland, he would 
 have it back by the next day, if possible.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 CAUGHT IN THE STORM 
 
 Ross was in a very thoughtful mood after he had 
 called up the manufacturer of the rock drill, and he 
 hurried down the street with his hands in his 
 pockets and looking straight ahead. 
 
 Thus, before he realized it, he had passed a girl 
 on the sidewalk. Then, of a sudden, he seemed to 
 realize something, and, turning quickly, saw that it 
 was Margaret. 
 
 "Oh, hello!" he cried, and as she looked over 
 her shoulder, he retraced his steps. 
 
 "You seem to be in an awful hurry to-day, 
 Ross," she answered, and there was just a trace of 
 coldness in her tone. 
 
 "I'm all upset about a rock drill that has gone 
 astray," he explained. "I've been down to the 
 freight station and could get no satisfaction there, 
 and now I've been calling up the manufacturer on 
 the telephone. They seem to think the drill went 
 to Cleveland by mistake." 
 
 "And how is the railroad contract getting 
 along?" she asked, somewhat curiously. 
 
 "Oh, we're doing fairly well. We are a little 
 194
 
 Caught in the Storm 195 
 
 shy of help, and are doing our best to get more 
 men. By the way, Margy, I understand your mu- 
 sicale at Mrs. Barker's was a great success. I'm 
 sorry I wasn't on hand to hear you sing." 
 
 "Oh, I suppose a business man like you hasn't 
 any time for anything but his business," she re- 
 turned. "Yet I think you might have attended the 
 concert the Home for Cripples needed the 
 money." 
 
 "Oh, I took two tickets, even if I didn't go," he 
 answered quickly. "Just the same, I am sorry I 
 wasn't there. Did your mother go?" 
 
 "No. She didn't feel very well that day." Mar- 
 garet looked into a nearby store window. "Doc- 
 tor Parmalee asked me for my company, and I 
 went with him." 
 
 "Oh, I see!" Ross' face showed his displeasure. 
 
 "You evidently don't like the doctor." 
 
 "Why should I? After I helped him to get the 
 job of vaccinating all the laborers, he turned on me 
 and made a complaint about my tenements." 
 
 "But, Ross, if those tenements are not fit to live 
 in " 
 
 "But they are fit, Margy. They are better than 
 the average tenements in this district. I wish the 
 people who heard what the doctor said would go 
 down in that neighborhood and examine them, and
 
 196 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 then examine some of the other places around 
 here. His attack was nothing less than an outrage, 
 and I am glad the health board sat down on him as 
 they did." 
 
 "Well, I am not going to have anything to do 
 with your quarrel with Doctor Parmalee," returned 
 the girl. "Now I must be going. Good-bye," and 
 she turned and hurried on her way, the young con- 
 tractor gazing after her longingly. 
 
 "Hang the luck, anyhow!" he mutterd. "Now 
 I've got myself in wrong again. I suppose Parma- 
 lee has been filling her up with all sorts of stories 
 about me and what I am doing." 
 
 A day went by, and just two workmen applied 
 for jobs in answer to the advertisement put out. 
 Then the young contractor became impatient. 
 
 "I'm going to take a look around and see what is 
 doing," he announced to Cole. "I may be gone two 
 days." 
 
 "All right, sir; we'll shove the work along all we 
 can while you are absent," answered the foreman. 
 
 It was an unusually warm day when Ross left 
 Durham in his runabout to ride to Cressing and to 
 several places beyond, especially the localities where 
 the gangs employed by Breen and Shacker were 
 working. The young contractor was a bit curious 
 to see how his rivals were progressing.
 
 Caught in the Storm 197 
 
 "Undoubtedly they are watching me like a dog 
 watching a bone," he told himself. "And that 
 being so, there won't be any harm in my casting an 
 eye their way." 
 
 Ross had been on the road only a few miles when 
 he made the discovery that Jerry had forgotten to 
 fill up the gasoline tank of the runabout. He was 
 close to a country home at the time, and walked 
 toward the barn, where he saw a man sharpening a 
 scythe on a grindstone. 
 
 "Yes, I've got a barrel of gasoline on hand, and 
 I'll sell you four or five gallons if you want it," 
 said the man, and the deal was quickly made. 
 
 Ross was just finishing pouring the gasoline into 
 the tank, when the front door of the country home 
 opened and two girls stepped out on the porch, one 
 evidently the daughter of the household. Ross was 
 surprised to see that the other girl was Ethel By- 
 with. 
 
 "Why, Mr. Goodwin! is it possible?" cried the 
 trained nurse. "I didn't know that you knew my 
 Uncle Terry." 
 
 "I don't know that I do know him, Miss By- 
 with," he answered, coming toward her. "I ran 
 out of gasoline, and the man living here was kind 
 enough to let me have some. So he is your uncle ?" 
 
 "Yes. And this is my cousin Miss Ward."
 
 198 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 A pleasant little chat followed, and Ross learned 
 that the trained nurse had received a call to Finch- 
 ville, some miles beyond Cressing. 
 
 "I had one of the jitney drivers bring me out 
 here," she explained. "And Uncle Terry said he 
 would take me over to Finchville this afternoon." 
 
 "Well, I'm going to Finchville after I stop at 
 Cressing," Ross answered readily. "If you'd like 
 to go with me, I'll save your uncle the trouble of 
 driving you over." 
 
 "Oh, my ! that is very kind of you ! But it looks 
 as if I were making a regular taxicab man of you," 
 went on the trained nurse demurely. She had not 
 forgotten the ride to Clankerton. 
 
 "It won't be any hardship for me to have you for 
 a companion," he announced gallantly. 
 
 "You don't want to leave me so quickly, Ethel," 
 said Miss Ward with a pout. "I thought you were 
 going to stay to lunch." 
 
 "Of course I don't want to deprive her of lunch," 
 said Ross. 
 
 "It's half past eleven already," went on the young 
 lady of the house, glancing at a grandfather's clock 
 in the hallway. "Why can't you stay over and have 
 lunch with us, Mr. Goodwin?" 
 
 "Oh, that would be splendid! Do stay!" burst 
 out Ethel Bywith. "We're going to have some
 
 Caught in the Storm 199 
 
 fried chicken, and peach pie, and several other 
 good things." 
 
 An invitation from two good-looking girls to a 
 lunch of chicken, pie, and other good things was 
 too much for the former college youth to resist, and 
 after demurring in a very perfunctory way, Ross 
 accepted the invitation, and ran his runabout into 
 the farmyard. 
 
 The lunch proved to be all that the girls had 
 promised, and after the young contractor had been 
 formally introduced to Mrs. Ward and her husband, 
 he was made to feel thoroughly at home. Ethel 
 Bywith was extra vivacious, and put Ross in such 
 good humor that he told some of his very best col- 
 lege stories, which made the girls shriek with 
 laughter. Thus over an hour was spent at the table 
 before the little party broke up. 
 
 "You must come again, Mr. Goodwin," said Miss 
 Ward, on parting. 
 
 "Thank you, perhaps I will," he returned. 
 
 "And I sure hope you'll get those men you are 
 looking for," put in Terry Ward. "Only, for 
 goodness sake! don't try to coax away any of my 
 farm hands. It's getting so these days, if you lose 
 a hand you don't know where to look for another." 
 
 The sun had been shining brightly, and so far the 
 day had been unusually warm, but as Ross drove
 
 200 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 out of the Ward yard with Ethel Bywith on the 
 seat beside him, the young contractor noticed that 
 some dark clouds were looming up in the west. 
 He said nothing to his companion about this, but 
 they caused him some uneasiness. 
 
 As on their previous ride, Ethel Bywith did her 
 best to entertain him, and being a good talker when 
 over her shyness, and a keen judge of human na- 
 ture, she soon had Ross in a receptive frame of 
 mind. She asked him many questions about his 
 business, and drew from him all the particulars 
 concerning the trouble he had had with the board 
 of health and with Doctor Parmalee. 
 
 "Oh, I think it was awful for Doctor Parmalee 
 to act that way," declared the young trained nurse. 
 "But I am not surprised. He has a very large 
 opinion of himself, and thinks that most other folks 
 are beneath his notice." 
 
 "Well, I didn't think he would run a thing like 
 that up my back after I had helped him to get the 
 job of vaccinating the men." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Goodwin, probably the doctor thought 
 he was doing somebody a tremendous favor by tak- 
 ing that job," went on the trained nurse. And 
 then, after a pause, she continued: "I can't really 
 see what Miss Poole sees in him." 
 
 "What do you know about Miss Poole and Doc- 
 tor Parmalee?" he questioned quickly.
 
 Caught in the Storm 201 
 
 "Oh, I don't know anything except that they 
 have been out together a good deal lately. When- 
 ever she sings anywhere, the doctor always accom- 
 panies her. Some folks think they are engaged. 
 But if they are, they haven't announced it." 
 
 "I don't think they are engaged or anything 
 like it," answered Ross shortly. Nevertheless, what 
 the trained nurse said disturbed him much more 
 than he was willing to admit, even to himself. 
 
 They were about half way to Cressing when they 
 found themselves suddenly confronted by a sign 
 in the middle of the road, telling that the highway 
 beyond was closed. 
 
 "I knew they were going to repair this road, but 
 I didn't think they were going to get at it so 
 quickly," said the young contractor. "It's too bad." 
 
 "What can you do?" 
 
 "I suppose I'll have to turn back and take that 
 road to the left. It isn't near as nice as the other, 
 but that can't be helped." 
 
 "Haven't you noticed how the sun is going under 
 the clouds?" cried the girl, looking up in the sky. 
 "Oh, my! how black it is getting over to the west- 
 ward!" 
 
 "Yes, I've noticed that, but I didn't want to 
 alarm you." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Goodwin! do you think it is going to 
 storm ?"
 
 202 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Possibly, although it may blow over. I was in 
 hope we could reach Cressing before it overtook 
 us and we would surely have done it if it hadn't 
 been for this detour." 
 
 "I shouldn't like to be out on the road if it 
 thundered and lightened," went on the young 
 trained nurse. "That is one thing I can't stand. 
 I don't mind any kind of an operation, but when it 
 comes to thunder and lightning, my nerves seem to 
 go all to pieces ;" and her face showed her anxiety. 
 
 "I'll push along just as fast as I can," returned 
 Ross, and increased the speed of the runabout until 
 they were bounding over the somewhat uneven side 
 road at a rate of speed which was not altogether 
 safe. Several times they struck the rough rocks, 
 and both were in danger of being pitched out. 
 Then came a sudden flash of lightning and a rumble 
 of thunder, and, in added alarm, Ethel Bywith 
 clutched the young contractor by the arm. 
 
 "Oh, dear! what shall we do?" she cried. 
 
 "You just sit still, and we'll get out of this some- 
 how," he returned. "I'll have to stop the car, I 
 guess, and put up the top." 
 
 He brought the runabout to a standstill under 
 some overhanging trees, and then lost no time in 
 raising the top and also adjusting the side curtains. 
 While he was doing this the wind came up and
 
 Caught in the Storm 203 
 
 several more flashes of lightning lit up the land- 
 scape, followed by increased thunder. Then they 
 heard the big drops of rain pattering down on the 
 leaves. 
 
 "Oh, if we were only in Cressing !" cried the girl, 
 and in spite of her effort to control herself, the 
 tears stood in her eyes. 
 
 "We'll get there don't worry," Ross answered, 
 and started forward once more. 
 
 As soon as they had left the shelter of the trees, 
 they felt the full force of the storm. The wind 
 was blowing freely, and this dashed the increasing 
 rain against the windshield and the side curtains of 
 the runabout. Soon the young contractor was 
 soaked on one side. He had only a small robe with 
 him, and this he insisted that the girl should place 
 around her and over her lap. 
 
 "Oh, don't run into anything!" she gasped, as 
 they turned a corner of the road, where the storm 
 seemed to meet them with increased fury. 
 
 "I'll have to run slowly I can't see very well," 
 he answered. "My, we certainly are in a pickle!" 
 
 Ross was right about being in a pickle, but how 
 great a one he was yet to realize. They went for- 
 ward about a hundred yards farther, when, of a 
 sudden, they struck a hole which he was unable to 
 see because of the raindrops on the windshield.
 
 204 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 The runabout gave a sudden lurch, and then there 
 was a crash under the machine, and the young con- 
 tractor brought it to a sudden stop. 
 
 "What's the matter now?" asked the frightened 
 girl. 
 
 "I don't know. But I am afraid I have broken 
 the back axle," was Ross' answer.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 
 
 THERE was no help for it, and Ross crawled from 
 under the curtains of the runabout to the roadway. 
 The rain was coming down in torrents, and soon 
 he found himself wet almost to the skin, despite the 
 rain curtain he had thrown over his shoulders. 
 
 A brief investigation of the damage done showed 
 him that he could not go on. The back axle was 
 bent, and one of the wheels had come off, and this 
 mishap would necessitate repairs which no one but 
 a skilled machinist with the necessary tools could 
 make. 
 
 "How bad is it?" asked the girl, peering forth 
 from between the curtains. 
 
 "It's so bad that the runabout is out of commis- 
 sion," he answered gravely. "Confound the luck! 
 I'm afraid you'll never forgive me for this adven- 
 ture, Miss Bywith." 
 
 "Oh, it isn't your fault," she returned quickly. 
 "And I wouldn't mind it in the least if it wasn't for 
 this dreadful thunder and lightning. Oh!" And 
 she shrank back as another illumination lit up the 
 landscape, followed by a deafening crash that 
 reverberated across the hills. 
 
 205
 
 206 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 What to do next, the young contractor hardly 
 knew. The road which they had been traveling was 
 a strange one to him, and so far as he could see, 
 there was not a farmhouse in sight. 
 
 "I'll take a better look when the next flash of 
 lightning comes," he told himself. 
 
 By the flash he made out a long, low building a 
 short distance up the road. What it was, he could 
 only surmise. 
 
 "I think yonder is a cow-shed," he announced to 
 the girl. "Would you rather stay here in the run- 
 about for the present, or go up there to the shed? 
 Perhaps that would be a drier place than this." 
 
 "Oh, yes, let us go up to the shed, by all means !" 
 she answered. 
 
 "You had better throw the robe and one of the 
 curtains over your head. They will protect you a 
 little," he said kindly. 
 
 He assisted her from the runabout, and the pair 
 ran up the muddy and rocky roadway hand in hand, 
 arriving at the long, low building almost out of 
 breath. He kicked open one of the doors, and they 
 entered just as another flash of lightning and crash 
 of thunder was followed by an increased downpour. 
 
 As Ross had surmised, the place was a cow-shed, 
 and had evidently not been in use for several years. 
 No other buildings were in sight, and later on he
 
 An Unexpected Meeting 207 
 
 learned that several years before the dwelling and 
 stables belonging to that farm had burnt down 
 and had never been replaced. 
 
 "Oh, my, what an awful adventure!" cried the 
 young trained nurse, when she could catch her 
 breath. Ross had found a seat for her on an 
 empty feed box, and was resting on another box 
 near by, the water dripping from his clothing. 
 Fortunately, the robe and rain curtain had pro- 
 tected the girl to a large extent, and these she had 
 thrown over a nearby rail. 
 
 "It certainly is," returned the young contractor. 
 "I don't know of anything we can do until this 
 rain lets up. I might tramp down the road until 
 I came to some farmhouse, but I hate to leave you 
 alone." 
 
 "Oh, don't go! I don't want to be left alone in 
 such an awful storm as this." 
 
 "I suppose I ought to go back and see if I can't 
 shove that runabout out of the road. In this storm 
 and gathering darkness somebody might run into 
 it." 
 
 "Well, please don't be gone too long." 
 
 "You can rest assured, Miss Bywith, I won't 
 stay out in this rain a minute longer than I have 
 to," he laughed. 
 
 "Why not take the robe ? That's a good deal bet-
 
 208 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 ter than nothing. Come, I will help you wring it 
 out." 
 
 Between them they wrung all the water possible 
 from the robe, and then she helped him drape it 
 over his shoulders in cape fashion along with the 
 curtain. 
 
 "There, now you look like a soldier ready for 
 the trenches!" she said, giving him a bright look. 
 "But please remember, I don't want to stay here 
 alone in this storm any longer than I have to;" 
 and she watched him as he dashed off down the 
 rocky roadway, splashing through several mud- 
 puddles as he went. 
 
 Arriving at the runabout, the young contractor 
 made another investigation. He found that it 
 would be useless to attempt to use the motor power 
 of the machine, so, raising up the axle where the 
 wheel was missing, he managed, though not with- 
 out great effort, to push the runabout off to one 
 side of the road into some bushes. Then he lit the 
 rear light and one of the headlights, and threw the 
 broken-off wheel under the chassis of the machine. 
 
 "Now I guess she'll have to stay there until 
 somebody comes to jack her up and haul her away," 
 was his conclusion. 
 
 In the pocket of one of the doors, Ross had left a 
 notebook and a number of documents. These he
 
 An Unexpected Meeting 209 
 
 brought forth and stowed away in his pockets. He 
 was just finishing the task when he saw a large and 
 partly enclosed car coming from the direction of 
 Durham. 
 
 "Hello, maybe that fellow will give us a lift!" 
 he cried, and put up his hand to stop the on-coming 
 automobile. 
 
 As the touring car came closer, Ross recognized 
 it as one belonging to the main garage in Durham. 
 It was driven by the garage owner himself, who 
 stopped in surprise on beholding the young con- 
 tractor. 
 
 "Hello! what's the matter? Have you had an 
 accident?" he questioned quickly. 
 
 "That's the size of it, Lapham," answered Ross. 
 "I got caught in this confounded storm, and 
 couldn't see for the rain on my windshield. I went 
 down in that hole yonder, and bent my back axle 
 and broke off one of the wheels." 
 
 "You didn't get hurt, did you?" 
 
 "Nothing more than a wetting. Where are you 
 bound, Lapham?" and as Ross asked the question 
 he looked towards the occupants of the enclosed 
 part of the car, and was much surprised to behold 
 Margaret, Mrs. Poole and Mr. Thomas Poole, the 
 lawyer from Cressing. 
 
 "Sure, I can take you along," answered Lapham,
 
 210 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 without hesitation. "You can sit here in front 
 with me if the folks inside object to you on account 
 of your being so wet." 
 
 Those in the car had been so engaged in conver- 
 sation that they had not observed what was taking 
 place. Now, however, Margaret and the others 
 looked out, and the girl at once recognized Ross. 
 
 "Oh, Uncle Tom, it's Mr. Goodwin!" she cried. 
 "Out there in the rain! Do open the door and let 
 him get in," and then, as her uncle threw open the 
 door, she added: "What in the world are you 
 doing out in such a storm as this, Ross?" 
 
 "How do you do," he answered somewhat con- 
 fusedly, and raised his dripping cap. "Nice day 
 for a stroll, isn't it?" He said this because, for the 
 moment, he did not know what else to say. 
 
 "Surely, Ross, you haven't been out walking in 
 this storm !" put in Mrs. Poole. 
 
 "I have had a breakdown. There is my machine 
 up the road," and he jerked his thumb in that direc- 
 tion. "Went down in a big hole and knocked off 
 a wheel." 
 
 "Well, be thankful you weren't hurt," put in 
 Thomas Poole. He was just old-fashioned enough 
 to prefer horses to an automobile, and always 
 looked for an accident every time he took a ride 
 in a machine.
 
 An Unexpected Meeting 211 
 
 "Why, you are soaked!" cried Margaret, glanc- 
 ing down at the young man's dripping figure. "Get 
 inhere!" 
 
 "Oh, I guess I'd better sit in front," he answered. 
 "I'm too wet to sit in there." 
 
 "You had better not, Ross," answered Mrs. 
 Poole. "You may catch your death of cold, even if 
 it is summer weather. Were you going to Cres- 
 sing?" 
 
 "Yes Cressing and Finchville." 
 
 "Well, we are going to Cressing, to visit with 
 my uncle and his folks," said Margaret. "We can 
 take you along, and you must not think of riding 
 outside with the driver." 
 
 "Oh, he is pretty well protected with his cur- 
 tains," answered Ross. But just then he was not 
 thinking of where he was going to ride. He was 
 thinking of Ethel By with. 
 
 As if following his thoughts, Margaret asked 
 suddenly: "Were you alone, Ross?" 
 
 "No," he answered, and in spite of his effort to 
 appear unconcerned, he felt his cheeks flushing. 
 "I had Miss Bywith with me." 
 
 "Oh!" That was all Margaret said, but there 
 was much meaning in the single expression. 
 
 "You see I had to stop at a house along the 
 road for some gasoline," he explained, somewhat
 
 212 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 lamely. "It was a farm run by a man named Ward. 
 Miss Bywith is his niece, and she was stopping 
 there, but she wanted to go to Finchville. So, as I 
 was coming up to Cressing and Finchville, I told 
 her to come along." 
 
 "Where is Miss Bywith now?" questioned Mrs. 
 Poole. 
 
 "I took her to the only shelter I could find a 
 cow-shed a little farther up the road," answered 
 Ross. He looked at Margaret and saw that the 
 girl was biting her lip. 
 
 "Well, get in, and we'll take you along, and Miss 
 Bywith, too," said Mrs. Poole. And then, as there 
 seemed nothing else to do, Ross entered the touring 
 car, and they told the driver to go ahead. 
 
 In a minute more they reached the cow-shed, and 
 Ross sprang out again and threw open the door, 
 which the trained nurse had closed in order to keep 
 out the driving rain. 
 
 "Here's a chance for a ride," he explained. "An 
 enclosed car came along, and they are going to 
 Cressing and will take us both along. I think 
 maybe you know the folks Mrs. Poole and her 
 daughter, Margaret, and Mr. Poole, the lawyer 
 from Cressing." 
 
 "Oh, isn't that lovely!" cried the trained nurse, 
 in relieved tones. "Yes, I've met Miss Poole. 
 She's the young lady who does so much singing for
 
 An Unexpected Meeting 213 
 
 charity. They say she has a lovely voice. I'll be 
 mighty glad to get out of this place it leaks like 
 a sieve!" 
 
 All of the Pooles had crowded on to the back 
 seat of the enclosed car, leaving the two front 
 chairs for the two others. Margaret welcomed 
 Miss Bywith rather stiffly, and then introduced her 
 mother and her uncle. As soon as Ross and the 
 trained nurse were seated, the enclosed car resumed 
 its journey towards Cressing. 
 
 It was an awkward situation in more ways than 
 one, and no one realized this more keenly than did 
 the young contractor. He did his best to appear at 
 ease, but it must be confessed that the effort was 
 not much of a success. 
 
 "And to think I thought I was going to have a 
 lovely afternoon with Mr. Goodwin!" Ethel By- 
 with prattled on during the course of the conversa- 
 tion. "When we left my uncle's house the sun was 
 shining beautifully, and I did not imagine that we 
 would run into any such storm as this is proving 
 to be." 
 
 "At this time of the year a summer shower is 
 apt to come up almost any time," remarked Thomas 
 Poole. 
 
 "But such thunder and lightning!" went on the 
 trained nurse. "I can stand almost anything but
 
 214 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 that. I remember once when I was in attendance at 
 an operation in the hospital from which I gradu- 
 ated, we had just such a storm as this. I was 
 almost unnerved, and I had to beg the doctors to 
 excuse me. That almost gave me a black mark on 
 the records. I told the doctors I could stand any- 
 thing in the way of operations, but they would have 
 to be held when there was no thunder and light- 
 ning," and she laughed a bit hysterically. 
 
 "I don't blame you, Miss Bywith," said Mrs. 
 Poole kindly. "I detest the thunder and lightning 
 myself. When I was younger, I used to throw 
 myself into a featherbed and cover myself all up," 
 and she laughed at the recollection. 
 
 "Did you ever have to sing in a thunder storm?" 
 questioned the trained nurse of Margaret suddenly. 
 
 "I did once at a concert given over in Landing- 
 ham," was the reply. 
 
 "And didn't it scare you?" 
 
 "I must confess it did not, Miss Bywith. I was 
 simply annoyed because my voice was not strong 
 enough to outsing the thunder." 
 
 "By gad! a girl would have to have some voice 
 to drown out this thunder," chuckled the lawyer; 
 and at this sally everybody had to laugh, and for 
 the instant the tension was relieved. 
 
 Nevertheless, there was a certain restraint in the
 
 An Unexpected Meeting 215 
 
 talk, and more than once there was a spell of silence 
 which no one seemed to be able to break. Ross 
 could not keep his thoughts from Margaret, and 
 more than once he tried to catch her eye, but she 
 always averted her gaze. When they rolled onto 
 the main street of Cressing and drew up in front 
 of the lawyer's homestead, he breathed a sigh of 
 relief. 
 
 "Will you folks come in?" questioned Mr. Poole. 
 "Perhaps you had better do it and get some dry 
 clothing on." 
 
 "Miss Bywith wishes to get to Finchville," said 
 Ross. "And I'll have to get somebody to look after 
 my broken-down runabout. Are you going to use 
 this car any more?" 
 
 "No, I'm done with it for the present. You see, 
 it's my wife's birthday, and I brought the other 
 folks up here, so that we might do a little celebrat- 
 ing this evening." 
 
 "I see, Mr. Poole. Then, if you don't mind, I 
 will hire the car for the rest of the day. I've got to 
 go through to Finchville anyhow. And that is 
 where Miss Bywith wishes to go," Ross added 
 somewhat hastily. 
 
 He had tried his best during the last minute or 
 so to get a word in private with Margaret, but she 
 had avoided him.
 
 216 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "But, Ross, you are all wet!" protested Mrs. 
 Poole. 
 
 "Oh, don't bother about me, Mrs. Poole. I can 
 dry off at the hotel, or somewhere. I'll be all right." 
 
 "Well, good-bye," said Margaret, rather abrupt- 
 ly, and turned and entered the house. She had 
 given Ross a look which puzzled him a good deal. 
 Her mother and the lawyer followed her. 
 
 "I'm afraid Miss Poole didn't like it much that 
 we broke in on their party," was the trained nurse's 
 comment, when the touring car was once more on 
 its way, the young contractor having come to terms 
 with the driver. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know," returned Ross, somewhat 
 confusedly. "Perhaps she was tired. She sings 
 a great deal, you know, and has to travel around to 
 quite a few places." 
 
 "I wish I had her gift of singing. It must be 
 great to thrill an audience," and the nurse sighed. 
 
 The sudden shower was now clearing away, and 
 by the time Cressing was left behind the rain had 
 practically ceased. Long before Finchville was 
 reached the sun was peeping out from behind the 
 clouds. 
 
 "We're going to have a little sunshine after all !" 
 cried the girl, when the ride had come to an end 
 and Ross was bidding her good-bye.
 
 An Unexpected Meeting 217 
 
 "Perhaps so," he returned. Yet, as he rode 
 away alone, he thought that the sunshine, so far as 
 he was concerned, just then did not amount to 
 much. His thoughts were on Margaret and what 
 she might be thinking of the afternoon's happening.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE ROCK DRILL 
 
 AFTER leaving Ethel Bywith, Ross lost no time in 
 hurrying to the Finchville hotel. There he ex- 
 plained to the clerk his predicament, and obtained 
 the loan of some dry clothing while his own gar- 
 ments were hung up before a fire. 
 
 Lighting his old bulldog pipe, he sat down in a 
 corner of the reading-room and gave himself up to 
 his reflections. 
 
 "If ever a man made a mess of things, I am 
 doing it," he reasoned bitterly. "Instead of placat- 
 ing Margaret, I am letting her draw further and 
 further away from me. Doctor Parmalee must 
 have told her all about my former ride with Miss 
 Bywith, and now I suppose she'll think that those 
 rides are a regular thing. Of course, the trained 
 nurse is a real nice girl, and all that sort of thing, 
 but I don't want Margaret, or anybody else, to get 
 the idea that I am keeping company with her, or 
 anything like that," and he puffed away vigorously. 
 
 While at the hotel Ross met several men con- 
 nected with the railroad, and all questioned him 
 concerning the contract which he had undertaken. 
 
 218
 
 The Rock Drill 219 
 
 "Some of your rivals predict that you are going 
 to fall down on that contract," said one of the men, 
 a very out-spoken individual. "How about it, Good- 
 win?" 
 
 "It will be time enough to howl when I do fall 
 down on it," he answered abruptly. 
 
 "They had one of your advertisements calling 
 for laborers tacked up on the billboard out yon- 
 der," went on the man, "but last night somebody 
 came along and tore it off." 
 
 "Must have been some friend of mine," answered 
 the young contractor cynically. 
 
 "Oh, you can bet your rivals are not throwing 
 you any bouquets." 
 
 As soon as he was in a position to do so, Ross 
 took a look around Finchville, and then rode back 
 to dressing. Here he obtained the services of a 
 garage man, and both went out to look at the 
 broken-down runabout. 
 
 "It will take several days for me to get that ma- 
 chine fixed up," said the man. "I think the best 
 thing you can do is to leave it here, and after I've 
 got it all fixed I'll bring it over to Durham for 
 you;" and so it was arranged. 
 
 Although he had hardly dared to admit it to 
 himself, Ross had hoped to see Margaret again 
 before leaving Cressing. The girl, however, did
 
 220 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 not appear on the main street, and when he walked 
 past the lawyer's residence, he saw that there was 
 a regular family gathering in progress around the 
 table in the dining-room. 
 
 "It won't do for me to butt in there," he told 
 himself. "Probably she wouldn't like it." And so 
 he went on his way, and thus lost another oppor- 
 tunity to come to an understanding with the girl he 
 so fondly loved. 
 
 The summer storm, which had brought such an 
 adventure to the young contractor, was followed by 
 several days of very hot weather. Then, however, 
 it grew suddenly cooler, and a gentle rain was fol- 
 lowed by a steady downpour, which lasted for three 
 days. The rain was so heavy that little or nothing 
 could be done on the railroad job, and the young 
 contractor was compelled to take a rest in spite of 
 himself. This rest, however, was something which 
 he greatly needed, for the unaccustomed strain was 
 beginning to tell upon the young college man. Yet 
 he chafed to think that the storm meant only an- 
 other delay, and one which he could ill afford. To 
 him it looked as if the elements had combined with 
 his enemies to defeat him. 
 
 During those rainy days fully fifty men came in 
 from various points to take up with the offer which 
 Gorgi and his assistant had faithfully posted. Ross
 
 The Rock Drill 221 
 
 and Cole looked these men over personally and 
 spoke to them through Gorgi and Lamp-post. They 
 selected thirty-six, refusing to accept fourteen men 
 who had come in from the local quarries and from 
 the work being done by the railroad company itself. 
 
 "That will square us with the quarry people and 
 with the railroad company," said the young con- 
 tractor. 
 
 "Out of the batch there are twenty-eight men 
 who used to work for Breen and Shacker," replied 
 Cole. "And one of the men told me that others 
 were coming over as soon as they were certain that 
 the offer was genuine." 
 
 "One man told me that Shacker went around 
 tearing down the cards wherever he could find 
 them," said Ross. "I guess you were right when 
 you said he and Breen would be mad enough to 
 murder me in cold blood. I'll have to keep my eyes 
 and ears wide open after this." 
 
 The rock drill had not yet come in, but it had 
 been located in a freight yard at Cleveland, and 
 was now on the way to Durham. The tag on the 
 car had been forwarded to the manufacturer in 
 Pittsburg, and he had sent it to Ross, stating that 
 the tag had been tampered with by some party un- 
 known. 
 
 Ross looked the tag over with deep interest. The
 
 222 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 name of Durham had been scraped away and Cleve- 
 land substituted, and there was a slip attached, noti- 
 fying some freight agent to correct the way bill. 
 
 "This is, no doubt, the work of Breen, Shacker, 
 O'Mara and Company," said the young contractor. 
 "If only I could prove it, I'd have some of them 
 behind the bars." 
 
 "To me that handwriting looks like that of Ike 
 Shacker," said Cole. "He always puts a flourish 
 after a name when he writes it." 
 
 The lawyer in Philadelphia had already sent a 
 private detective out to see Ross. The man was a 
 tall, awkward-looking fellow named Paul Vance. 
 He had made himself up to resemble a fellow just 
 from the farm, and in public assumed a drawl that 
 was a marvel of perfection. 
 
 "I would like to hear your whole story, Mr. Good- 
 win," said Paul Vance. "Please give me all the 
 particulars." 
 
 "I'll give you what particulars I can," Ross re- 
 plied, and thereupon related how he had been at- 
 tacked at the cliff, and of what O'Mara, Breen and 
 Shacker had done to make him fall down on the 
 railroad contract. 
 
 "It certainly looks as if those fellows might be 
 guilty," said the detective, "although there is no 
 use in guessing at it. In court, a fellow has not
 
 The Rock Drill 223 
 
 only got to know a thing, he has got to prove it." 
 
 "I know that; and that is why I have done noth- 
 ing on my own hook. I didn't want to add to my 
 troubles," and the young contractor smiled grimly. 
 
 "Well, I'll get to work at once," went on Vance. 
 "But don't expect results too quickly, Mr. Good- 
 win. You know a case like this has got to be han- 
 dled with a great deal of caution." 
 
 "I understand. Just the same, the quicker you 
 get results, the better I'll be pleased." 
 
 "One question more," went on the detective. 
 "Are you sure you can trust your foreman, Larry 
 Cole?" 
 
 "Yes, I'll swear by Cole every time." 
 
 "Then just give me a note to him. I may have 
 to ask him for some information, or maybe for 
 some assistance." 
 
 "All right, you can have the note," and Ross 
 wrote it out then and there. 
 
 "Then that's all, Mr. Goodwin, and you needn't 
 bother your head about this matter again until you 
 hear from me." 
 
 "All right, do your best," was the injunction 
 from the young contractor. "And remember, if 
 O'Mara is guilty, I want him brought to justice 
 no matter what the cost." 
 
 "I understand that."
 
 224 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "And if you find that Breen and Shacker are also 
 implicated, I don't want you to spare them." 
 
 "But what if the guilty party is some outsider, 
 Mr. Goodwin?" 
 
 "Then I want to know it just the same."
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THREE AGAINST ONE 
 
 AT last everything seemed to be moving along 
 swimmingly once more, and Ross was correspond- 
 ingly happy. He had now nearly all the men he 
 could handle to advantage, and everybody worked 
 with a will, anxious to get the bonus that had been 
 promised. The steam shovel was also doing won- 
 ders, and the rock drill proved to be what the manu- 
 facturer guaranteed first-class in every particular. 
 Some nitro-glycerine had already come in for the 
 blasting, and several cases of dynamite had been 
 promised in the course of ten days or two weeks. 
 
 Ross had met Flood twice since the affair at the 
 freight office, and the man was exceedingly sour on 
 the young contractor. This was not to be wondered 
 at, for it was pretty well established that Flood had 
 had something to do with the mis-shipping of the 
 flat car, and the fellow had come close to losing his 
 situation as a consequence. 
 
 "You're a fly young rooster," he had said, on 
 meeting Ross. "But some day you'll have your 
 wings clipped." 
 
 "Possibly, Flood," he had answered. "But you 
 haven't the shears to do it with." 
 
 225
 
 226 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 One evening, having knocked off early, Ross 
 arrayed himself in his best with a view to calling 
 upon Margaret. He felt that he owed her this 
 visit, if for no other reason than because she had 
 taken such an interest in him during his sickness. 
 He also wished to explain to her more in detail how 
 lie had come to take Ethel Bywith and Jennie Mar- 
 tinson riding. 
 
 "Of course, she may not be interested at all," he 
 told himself dismally. "For all I know, she may 
 be so completely wrapped up in Parmalee that she 
 no longer cares a rap for me. He is a professional 
 man, and that is the kind she admires. More than 
 that, she wouldn't be human if she wasn't pleased 
 by the way he hangs around her and escorts her to 
 all the places where she sings." 
 
 It took some time for him to screw up his cour- 
 age to the point of going, for he was doubtful how 
 he would be received, and to get the "cold shoul- 
 der" from Margaret was more than he felt he could 
 bear. 
 
 "Maybe I had better telephone and see if she is 
 at home," he told himself. But the line was just 
 then out of commission, so Central told him, and 
 would not be repaired until morning. 
 
 "Oh, hang it all I I'll go and have it over with," 
 he told himself finally. "I'm not going to see-saw
 
 Three Against One 227 
 
 around any longer." Then he remembered the 
 affair before the health board, and his brow clouded. 
 "If she's in love with the doctor, she'll hate me for 
 giving him such a dressing down. Oh, hang the 
 luck, anyhow! maybe I made a mistake in taking 
 up this contracting job, after all. I suppose I might 
 have become a lawyer if I had set my mind to it." 
 
 He realized now how much Margaret was to him, 
 and the thought that she might marry such a shal- 
 low fellow as Parmalee was maddening to him. As 
 he started off towards the Poole home, he was half 
 of a mind to propose to her if the opportunity 
 offered, and thus be sure of his fate without addi- 
 tional worry. 
 
 But, as he approached the house in the gathering 
 darkness, he saw Margaret's mother sitting on the 
 piazza alone. He hesitated at the gate, but before 
 he could turn away the lady called to him, and he 
 was forced to come in and sit down beside her. 
 
 "I am sorry that Margaret is out," said Mrs. 
 Poole. "She offered to sing at an orphan asylum 
 benefit in Finchville this afternoon, and Doctor 
 Parmalee insisted upon it that he be allowed to drive 
 her over and back. I presume she will return by 
 nine o'clock. How are you getting along with the 
 railroad work?" 
 
 "We are doing very well now, thank you," an-
 
 228 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 swered Ross, in an absent-minded manner. He was 
 thinking of that drive to Finchville, along the beau- 
 tiful brook and through the green hills. It was 
 a drive he and Margaret had taken years before, 
 when they were the best of chums. It was truly 
 romantic in spots, and he wondered if the coming 
 home in the moonlight would make either Margaret 
 or the doctor sentimental. 
 
 "You must not overwork yourself, Ross," went 
 on the widow, kindly. "Remember, you have been 
 very ill." 
 
 "Oh, I don't expect to die of overwork," he said, 
 laughing, he knew not why. "I'm bound to put that 
 contract through on time." 
 
 "So some folks in town told me. By the way, 
 have they discovered the man who struck you 
 down?" 
 
 "Not yet; but we are on his track." 
 
 "It was certainly a desperate piece of work, x and 
 how queer that they should have arrested your fore- 
 man for it!" 
 
 "Arresting Cole was the craziest thing I ever 
 heard of, Mrs. Poole. Why, that man is my best 
 friend." 
 
 "So Margaret thought. I suppose you thought 
 it awfully queer that she took such an interest in 
 the matter."
 
 Three Against One 229 
 
 "Margaret was always my friend" 
 
 "Yes ; but not many girls would go around trying 
 
 to get a man like that bailed out. She Oh, 
 
 what is the matter? What makes you look so sur- 
 prised? Didn't you know " 
 
 "No, I didn't know, Mrs. Poole. And so it was 
 Margy who had Larry Cole bailed out? Bully for 
 her!" Ross' face beamed with pleasure. "I wish 
 I had known of this before. Cole didn't say a word. 
 I suppose she made him promise to keep quiet?" 
 and he looked inquiringly at the lady. 
 
 "Yes, so I heard; and she made her uncle keep 
 quiet too." 
 
 "Her uncle? Do you mean Mr. Thomas Poole, 
 the lawyer?" 
 
 "Yes. Now that you know the truth, I might 
 as well let you know some of the particulars. But 
 what Margy will say when she finds it out, I don't 
 know. You see, she got it in her head that if you 
 failed on that railroad contract, you would lose 
 twenty thousand dollars. So she had her Uncle 
 Tom take the matter up, and he arranged for your 
 foreman's bail." 
 
 "And she never said a word to me about it!" 
 Ross' face was beaming. Had Margaret been pres- 
 ent at that moment, he would undoubtedly have pro- 
 posed to her on the spot.
 
 230 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 After that an hour slipped by pleasantly enough. 
 Ross wanted to know more of the details, and Mrs. 
 Poole told him all she knew. It made him love 
 Margaret more than ever, and as he realized how 
 she had stood up for him when he lay helpless, his 
 heart went out to her as never before. Surely she 
 was one girl in a thousand, and well worth the win- 
 ning, no matter what obstacles might lay in the 
 way. 
 
 "I have got to make good with Margaret," he 
 told himself. "I've just got to!". He felt that if 
 he could not win her, nothing else in this world 
 would be worth while. 
 
 "I want to know what you think of Doctor Par- 
 malee, Ross," Mrs. Poole said, when he was on the 
 point of leaving. 
 
 "Mrs Poole, I would prefer that you ask that 
 question of some one else," he answered gravely. 
 
 "Yes, but, Ross you know him quite well. You 
 had such a time with him over that health board 
 affair," went on the widow. "And I have known 
 you so long and so intimately that I rely a great 
 deal on your judgment." 
 
 "Well, Mrs. Poole, if you must know the truth, 
 I do not like Doctor Parmalee at all. He may be a 
 good enough doctor at least I hope he is but he 
 is not the kind of man that I would care to associate
 
 Three Against One 231 
 
 with. Not that he has any particularly bad habits. 
 He simply isn't my type of man." 
 
 "I am very sorry to hear you say that. You see, 
 he has been taking Margy around quite a good deal. 
 So much so, in fact, that folks are beginning to talk 
 about them." 
 
 "Yes, I've heard a little about that." 
 
 "How far the matter has gone, I do not exactly 
 know, because Margaret has not confided in me 
 lately as much as she used to why, I don't know." 
 And then, as Ross made no comment on this, the 
 lady continued in a whisper. "One of my friends 
 told me the other day that Doctor Parmalee had in- 
 timated that he was going to propose to Margy. 
 I didn't know whether I liked it or not, and now, 
 from what you say about him, I am afraid I do not." 
 
 "Well, if he proposes to Margy, it will be up to 
 her as to what she does," answered the young con- 
 tractor. "Just the same, I'd be sorry to see her 
 accept him," and that was all he would say on the 
 subject. Yet he passed a sleepless night thinking 
 about it
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 DR. FARM ALEE SPEAKS 
 
 THE orphan asylum concert at Finchville was to 
 be an affair of unusual importance. Several singers 
 and entertainers from Boston were to be present, 
 and Margaret felt that she must do her best on this 
 occasion. 
 
 "It's a pity that you're not going along," she told 
 her mother, on departing with Doctor Parmalee. 
 
 "I'm afraid you are asking a little too much of a 
 person of my age," returned Mrs. Poole, with a 
 faint smile. "If it was only one or two concerts, 
 I shouldn't mind it; but I cannot be traveling all 
 over the country as if I were a singer or an actress 
 myself." 
 
 Margaret had a new gown and a new hat, and 
 even when wrapped up in a veil and a long dust coat, 
 she looked very bewitching as she seated herself 
 beside the young physician. Parmalee himself was 
 arrayed in his best under his duster and wore a rose 
 in his buttonhole. 
 
 "It's certainly a shame that all the folks in this 
 town can't hear you sing," remarked the doctor, 
 as they bowled along the road leading to Finchville. 
 
 232
 
 Dr. Parmalee Speaks 233 
 
 The regular highway between dressing and the 
 other town was still closed for repairs, and the 
 doctor proposed taking an even longer detour than 
 Ross had assayed during his fateful drive with 
 Ethel By with a drive along the edge of the river, 
 that drive which had come to the young contractor's 
 mind when Mrs. Poole mentioned the fact that her 
 daughter had gone off with the doctor. 
 
 The young physician had been looking forward 
 to this ride ever since he had made the engagement 
 with the girl. Mentally, matters had reached a 
 crisis with him, and he had come to the conclusion 
 that he had better propose to Margaret at the first 
 available opportunity. He had learned in a round- 
 about way only a few days before that Margaret 
 had been instrumental in having Cole let out on 
 bail while Ross lay sick, and this had worried him 
 a good deal. 
 
 "Maybe she thinks more of Goodwin than I sus- 
 pected," the doctor told himself ; "and if that is so, 
 the sooner I get busy the better." 
 
 As the automobile bowled along the highway, 
 the two young people spoke of a number of things, 
 but presently the physician drew the conversation 
 around to Jennie Martinson and Ethel Bywith. 
 
 "It's wonderful how those two girls have wound 
 around Goodwin," was his comment.
 
 234 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Wound around? What do you mean by that, 
 Paul?" she questioned, looking straight ahead as 
 she spoke. 
 
 "Oh, I mean the way they are using him for a 
 good thing," he returned. "Every time either of 
 them wants a ride, she always manages to get 
 Goodwin to give it to her. Either they are very 
 much stuck on him, or else he is stuck on them." 
 
 "What a way to talk !" Margaret exclaimed, and 
 her face showed that she was not at all pleased. 
 "Perhaps you're a little bit jealous, Paul, because 
 those young ladies won't go out with you," she 
 added slyly. 
 
 "Humph! they can't go out with me unless I ask 
 them, can they?" 
 
 "You wouldn't want to ask them unless you were 
 pretty sure they would go, would you?" she retorted. 
 
 "I'm not asking anybody to go out with me but 
 you, Margy." He gazed at her in a manner that 
 brought a sudden blush to her cheeks. "If I can 
 have you along, I don't want anybody else. Ross 
 Goodwin is welcome to every other girl in Durham 
 and the whole state, for that matter." 
 
 "How ridiculous you are, Paul!" she cried, not 
 knowing what else to say. 
 
 "I'm not ridiculous, Margy, I'm in dead earnest." 
 He took one hand from the steering wheel and
 
 Dr. Parmalee Speaks 235 
 
 caught her by the arm, but she drew away quickly. 
 
 "See what a funny little boat on the river!" she 
 exclaimed, changing the subject. "I never saw a 
 boat like that before. What is it, Paul?" 
 
 "I guess it's nothing but a mud scow," he an- 
 swered, with just a glance in the direction she in- 
 dicated. 
 
 "Be careful how you are driving!'' she cried. 
 "The river is very lovely, but we don't want to go 
 into it," for he had for the instant allowed the 
 wheel to go its own way and had run close to the 
 bushes lining the stream. 
 
 "Don't be alarmed, I know how to run this car," 
 he reassured her. "I could travel this road in per- 
 fect safety the darkest night there ever was." 
 
 "I suppose you do have to get out quite often in 
 the night, Paul." 
 
 "More than I want to. I don't relish leaving a 
 comfortable bed to go two or three miles out of 
 town, especially on a night when it is raining." 
 
 The mention of being out in an automobile in the 
 rain put Margaret in mind of the time she had met 
 Ross and Ethel Bywith in the storm, and for the 
 moment her face clouded. 
 
 "What's the matter, Margy?" questioned her 
 companion, glancing at her keenly. "I didn't say 
 anything wrong, did I?"
 
 236 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "Oh, no, Paul. I was just thinking." 
 
 "Can't you just think a little about me?" 
 
 "Why, I do a whole lot." 
 
 "Then why won't you listen to me when I've got 
 something important to say?" 
 
 "I have been listening." 
 
 "Yes, but you put me off." 
 
 "I didn't know it." 
 
 "You asked about that dinky mud scow " 
 
 "But I like to know about the different kinds of 
 boats, even if they are mud scows," she protested, 
 and then, as she saw him trying to become serious 
 again, she went on quickly; "Oh, I forgot some- 
 thing!" 
 
 "Forgot something? Do you mean we'll have 
 to go back?" and his face fell. 
 
 "Oh, no, not that! I only meant about one of 
 those songs I am to sing at the concert. I am not 
 altogether sure of the words of the second verse, 
 and I promised myself that I would learn them 
 while I was on this ride. You won't mind if I 
 look the music over, will you?" 
 
 "Certainly not," he answered, but his tone did 
 not indicate any particular pleasure. 
 
 Margaret picked up her music portfolio and 
 brought forth the song in question. Then, in a 
 clear voice, she read the verses over to him. They
 
 Dr. Parmalee Speaks 237 
 
 were about a brown thrush singing from the top 
 of a hedge. 
 
 "Aren't they poetic, Paul? Can't you just see 
 that dear little bird singing as if to split his throat? 
 Oh, if I could only sing like that !" 
 
 "You sing better than any thrush, Margy." 
 
 "I am afraid you are a biased critic, Paul," she 
 responded, yet the compliment pleased her. 
 
 They soon passed around Cressing, and then con- 
 tinued on the river road leading up into Finchville. 
 The girl easily divined that the doctor had some- 
 thing unusual on his mind, and did her best to talk 
 of ordinary things. But Parmalee could not be 
 thrust aside. 
 
 "You've just got to listen to me, Margy," he 
 said finally, when they were on a particularly lonely 
 stretch of the road. And now he turned off the 
 power and allowed the machine to come to a stand- 
 still. 
 
 "Oh, we mustn't stop here, Paul!" she cried 
 "I don't want to be late for that concert." 
 
 "Oh, we've got an hour to spare." 
 
 "Oh, no only fifty minutes," she answered, 
 glancing at her wrist watch. 
 
 "They never begin those concerts on time, you 
 know that. Come now, won't you please listen to 
 me?" he pleaded.
 
 238 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "I've been listening all along, and I must get to 
 that concert." 
 
 "You've got to listen!" he cried, and suddenly 
 threw one arm around her shoulder. "You've just 
 got to listen to me, Margy!" and then he attempted 
 to draw her closer. 
 
 For one brief instant Margaret thought she would 
 let him go on, but then another feeling surged over 
 her, and she pushed him gently but firmly away. 
 
 "Now, you mustn't act like that, Paul, if you ex- 
 pect me to ride with you," she said. "Hurry up, 
 I don't want to be late ; and I want to meet some of 
 the folks there before the concert begins." 
 
 "You're not treating me fairly," he grumbled. 
 "You know how much I think of you. Why won't 
 you be reasonable and listen to me? You know 
 I think you are the finest girl in the world, and I 
 want you to marry me." 
 
 It was out at last, and as he uttered the words, 
 the young physician caught her almost fiercely by 
 the arm and the shoulder. Margaret turned her 
 face from him. 
 
 "I don't want you to talk that way, Paul. I don't 
 want to hear it at least not now." She did not 
 know how to proceed. 
 
 "Then you will listen to me some time?" he 
 pleaded eagerly.
 
 Dr. Parmalee Speaks 239 
 
 "I won't make any promises. Now please let go 
 of me and start up the machine. If you don't, I'll 
 jump out and walk to Finchville," and she made a 
 movement as if to carry out that purpose. 
 
 "Oh, you haven't got to do anything like that, 
 Margy," he cried, as he released her. "Just the 
 same, I want you to remember what I said, for I 
 meant every word of it;" and then, as she made no 
 reply, he started up the motor once more, and the 
 car proceeded on its way. 
 
 Margaret was much upset ; more so than she was 
 willing to confess even to herself. She had felt 
 for a long time that Parmalee intended to r>ro T >c n " / 
 and she had used various means to keep him at a 
 distance. Not that he was altogether distasteful to 
 her if he had been that she would not have gone 
 out with him. Outside of the disparaging remarks 
 that he had made concerning Ross and the two 
 trained nurses, the young physician had acted his 
 very best when in her presence, and had been so 
 kind and considerate in so many things that she 
 could not help but feel under obligations to him. 
 
 She was glad when the hall where the concert 
 was to take place was reached, and doubly glad to 
 be welcomed by a number of folks with whom she 
 was well acquainted. 
 
 "But I've got to ride back with him after the
 
 240 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 concert is over," she told herself. "Oh, dear, I 
 wish that didn't have to be. He'll surely propose 
 again." 
 
 Fortunately for the girl, she was not called on 
 to sing until several numbers of the program had 
 been rendered, and this gave her a chance to pull 
 herself together, and, in consequence, when the time 
 came to appear before the audience she was fairly 
 calm and collected. For the time being she tried 
 to dismiss Parmalee from her thoughts and give 
 her entire attention to her singing. 
 
 As was usual, she was well applauded, and re- 
 ceived several bouquets of flowers, including one 
 purchased for her by the young physician. 
 
 "Oh, it was lovely perfectly lovely, Margy!" 
 cried a young woman, as she made her way to the 
 singer's side after the concert was over. "I de- 
 clare, I never thought it was in you. You ought to 
 be in grand opera." 
 
 "It's splendid of you to say that, Laura," an- 
 swered Margaret, as she embraced her old friend, 
 Mrs. Frederick Feversham. "I don't know that I 
 deserve all the compliments I've been receiving." 
 
 "Oh, yes, you do every one !" Mrs. Feversham, 
 who had been married but two years, suddenly drew 
 Margaret to one side. "I see Doctor Parmalee is 
 very attentive to you," she whispered.
 
 Dr. Parmalee Speaks 241 
 
 "Laura, do you want to do me a favor ?" returned 
 Margaret quickly, struck by a sudden idea. 
 
 "Anything you say, dear." 
 
 "Then give me a very pressing invitation to stay 
 all night with you," answered Margaret, in a low 
 voice. 
 
 Mrs. Feversham looked at her wonderingly for 
 a moment. 
 
 "Oh, do!" went on the young singer. "Perhaps 
 . I'll explain to you later, but, anyway, please give 
 me the invitation and insist mind you, insist on 
 my accepting it." 
 
 The girl had not time to say more on the subject, 
 for Doctor Parmalee was approaching. He had 
 met Mrs. Feversham before, and now the two shook 
 hands. 
 
 "I want Margy to stay with me all night," said 
 the married lady sweetly. "In fact, I would like it 
 very much if she would stay with me several days," 
 she added suddenly. "You see, Fred and I and 
 several others are going up to Cedar Lake to attend 
 the carnival there, and I'd like very much to have 
 Margy go along." 
 
 "Well, now," began the doctor in dismay, "you 
 see " 
 
 "Oh, how perfectly grand of you to ask me to 
 attend that carnival," burst out Margaret. "It's
 
 242 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 the one given by the Winona Boat Club, isn't it?" 
 
 "Yes. Fred, you know, is one of the charter 
 members of the club. He will have his motor boat, 
 the Firefly, up there in one of the races." 
 
 "Oh, I would like to see that!" went on Mar- 
 garet ecstatically. "I just dote on boat races!" 
 She turned and looked rather contritely at the young 
 physician. "You won't mind very much, Paul, if 
 I accept the invitation and stay here, will you?" 
 
 "Sure, I'll mind, when I thought I was going to 
 have the pleasure of seeing you home to-night," 
 he answered, with a longing look at her. "But it's 
 all right I suppose," he added hastily, not to dis- 
 please her. "I would go up to that carnival myself, 
 only I've got several patients who can't be left alone 
 that long." 
 
 "If you will, you might do me a favor," pursued 
 Margaret. "When you get back to Durham will 
 you telephone to my mother that I am going to 
 stay with Mrs. Feversham for several days? Tell 
 her not to worry that I am sure Mrs. Feversham 
 will take good care of me." 
 
 "Yes, and tell her too, Doctor, that she needn't 
 worry over Margaret's wardrobe. I've got all the 
 clothing she'll want, and she knows she'll be welcome 
 to use it." 
 
 And so it came about that, instead of returning to
 
 Dr. Parmalee Speaks 243 
 
 Durham in the company of Doctor Parmalee, Mar- 
 garet went to Cedar Lake wtih the Fevershams, 
 there to be brought face to face with the most 
 thrilling experience of her existence.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A DASTARDLY PLOT 
 
 Two days after his conversation with Mrs. Poole, 
 Ross received a visit from Mike Breen, who came 
 in his own interest and in the interest of Ike 
 Shacker. The young contractor was just finishing 
 breakfast when the servant announced the visitor. 
 
 "I'm after thinkin' you know what I came about," 
 began Breen, as Ross entered the library, where the 
 visitor was stalking about, too impatient to sit 
 down. "It's about thim notices you posted around 
 our work, and about the things you're after say in' 
 about me in town." 
 
 "What do you want to know?" asked Ross, 
 quietly. 
 
 "I want to know what you mean by such under- 
 handed wurruk, that's what I want to know!" 
 shouted Breen, red in the face with suppressed rage. 
 "You're doin' yer best to take our gangs away from 
 us; ye needn't deny it." 
 
 "I haven't denied it, Breen. And you needn't 
 shout as if I was half deaf," added Ross, throwing 
 himself into an easy-chair. 
 
 "It's a dirty shame, the way yer actin'. Ye " 
 
 244
 
 A Dastardly Plot 245 
 
 "Hold on, now, Breen. If you want to talk to 
 me you've got to be civil." 
 
 "Phat did yez do it fer? Ye can't be after payin' 
 out that wages an' make money." Breen's broad 
 brogue was beginning to assert itself. 
 
 "That is my affair, Breen. Certainly you wouldn't 
 be sorry to see me lose money on the railroad con- 
 tract." 
 
 "It's dishonest to take our men in that fashion." 
 
 "No more so than it was for you and Shacker to 
 scoop in the men I advertised for. Remember, I 
 didn't start this fight. I was minding my own 
 business when you hired O'Mara to interfere with 
 me." 
 
 "It ain't so!" 
 
 "It is so, and some day, perhaps, I'll prove it. 
 And not only that you've done all you possibly 
 could to make me fall down on this contract. And 
 I know the reason. You want to put me out of the 
 field and scoop in those other big railroad contracts 
 that are to be given out next year. But you can't 
 put me out or down me. I am here to stay, and 
 now I mean to fight you tooth and nail, first, last 
 and all the time. I'll give you back as good as you 
 send, and if you don't leave me alone I'll give it 
 back to you with interest." 
 
 "But look here. We want "
 
 246 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "I don't care what you want, and I won't argue 
 with you. I've told you what stand I propose to 
 take in this matter, and that is the end of it. If 
 you keep on, I'll do my best to put you and 
 Shacker and O'Mara in State's prison before I 
 let up on you. Now, you've heard what I have 
 to say; and now, let me bid you good-morning." 
 
 Ross stepped to the door and held it open. Breen 
 stared at him in rage, and his hands twitched as if 
 he wanted to catch the young contractor by the 
 throat. 
 
 "All right! All right!" he shouted, hoarsely. 
 "Have yer say! But yer a big fool whin ye talk 
 o' State's prison to Mike Breen. I've met laddy- 
 bucks like you before, an' downed 'em, too ! I might 
 have been yer frind " 
 
 "I'd feel safer to have you for an enemy," came 
 from Ross, quickly. 
 
 "Oh, talk big, if ye want to! Wind don't cost 
 nuthin' ! But remimber, th' play ain't over till the 
 curtain goes down on th' last act, begob!" And, 
 with this parting shot, Breen fled from the house. 
 
 He was a bitterly disappointed man, for he had 
 fully expected to intimidate Ross. When he realized 
 how completely he had failed in his object, his face 
 became a study in low cunning and treachery. 
 
 "He thinks we can't down him, eh?" he hissed,
 
 A Dastardly Plot 247 
 
 between his set teeth. "Oi'll show him yes, Oi 
 will ! We ain't played our last card yit ! Shacker's 
 plan is all roight, an' if it comes to the worst, we 
 can be after shiftin' the blame on O'Mara's shoul- 
 ders ! Oi'll git over to Finchville this very mornin' 
 an' talk the matter over wid Ike, an' then we can 
 see Flood and borrow or steal a switch key." 
 
 Half an hour later saw Breen on his way to the 
 place mentioned, a pretty town set between green 
 hills, and with a small river flowing through its 
 center. At the upper end was Cedar Lake, a long, 
 picturesque sheet of water. To the whole neighbor- 
 hood there was but one drawback the dynamite 
 factory located about half a mile beyond the lake 
 shore. 
 
 Arriving at Finchville, Breen made his way to a 
 saloon often frequented by himself and his cronies. 
 
 "I'm after lookin' fur Shacker," he said to the 
 saloon keeper, who was resting comfortably in an 
 easy-chair, smoking a clay pipe. 
 
 "Shacker was here early this morning," responded 
 the saloon man. "I don't know where he went." 
 
 "Shacker went up Cedar Lake," broke in the bar- 
 keeper. "He and O'Mara went together." 
 
 "Did they say where they was after a-goin'?" 
 
 "Yes. They were going up to the dynamite fac- 
 tory to see about some of the stuff for their work.
 
 248 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 Shacker said it was kind o' hard to get the dyna- 
 mite he wanted these days." 
 
 "Maybe he ain't paid his bills quite as quick as 
 he might," laughed Breen. "You know, Ike is a 
 good feller fur holdin' on to his money." 
 
 "Well, there are others," came from the saloon 
 keeper significantly. He remembered that there 
 was quite a charge on the slate against Breen. 
 
 "Don't you worry, Mike, you'll git all that's 
 comin' to you as soon as we finish our contracts," 
 returned Breen. 
 
 The fellow knew the way up the lake, and, hiring 
 a light rowboat, set out in search of his friends. 
 At the boat landing he learned that Shacker and 
 O'Mara had gone up to the dynamite factory by 
 way of the footpath which ran part way along the 
 lake shore. 
 
 Breen was half way up the lake when he caught 
 sight of the others coming toward him, they having 
 evidently finished their errand to the dynamite fac- 
 tory. He rowed in as close as the rocky shore 
 line permitted. 
 
 "Hi, you!" he called out, and waved his hand 
 to them. 
 
 "Why, it's Mike !" exclaimed Shacker in surprise. 
 "I wonder what brought him up here in that boat." 
 
 "We'll soon find out," returned O'Mara, and then
 
 A Dastardly Plot 249 
 
 he and Shacker hurried down to the water's edge. 
 
 When Breen came ashore and made fast his boat, 
 the others saw that he was decidedly angry. He 
 did not mince matters, but came directly to the 
 point. 
 
 "It's about Ross Goodwin that I want to see ye !" 
 he stormed. 
 
 "What has Goodwin done now?" demanded 
 Shacker. 
 
 "He's goin' to make it hot fur us, that's what 
 he's goin' to do!" cried Breen, and then told how 
 Ross had defined all of them to do their worst, and 
 how the young contractor had stated that he would 
 like nothing better than to put them all in prison. 
 
 "What's that you say?" shrieked Shacker. "Put 
 me in prison? I'd like to see him do it!" 
 
 "He's getting altogether too fresh!" added 
 O'Mara. "The best thing we can do is to set to 
 work and clip his wings." 
 
 "Well, that's why I came up here in sech a hurry," 
 said Breen. "I don't think we ought to lose any 
 time. The thing of it is what can we do that will 
 be most effective?" 
 
 "Sit down here and we'll talk it over," suggested 
 Shacker, and thereupon the three proceeded to make 
 themselves comfortable on some rocks which were 
 screened by the trees and bushes lining the lake
 
 250 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 shore. An animated conversation lasting half an 
 hour followed. 
 
 "The dynamite will do the work well," said 
 Shacker. "It may cost a Dago or two his life, 
 but- 
 
 "What do we care for the dirty Dagoes ?" put in 
 O'Mara. "If we can down Ross Goodwin, and ruin 
 his work, I'll not be after mindin' the cost." 
 
 "Oi knew ye'd be after sayin' that," put in Breen. 
 And then they went into some details, which took 
 them another half hour to discuss. 
 
 After all had entered the boat and moved away 
 from the spot, silence reigned supreme for fully a 
 minute. Then from out of the bushes that con- 
 cealed a canoe lying in a nearby cove, appeared first 
 the face and then the form of a girl, pale and ter- 
 rified. 
 
 It was Margaret Poole.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 MARGARET'S DECISION 
 
 MRS. FEVERSHAM did her best to make Margaret 
 feel at ease during the stay at Finchville and on the 
 trip up Cedar Lake. With womanly intuition she 
 realized that something unusual had occurred be- 
 tween her friend and the young doctor, but she 
 was polite enough not to mention the matter. 
 
 The Fevershams had a small bungalow at the 
 upper end of the long lake, and there the whole 
 party proceeded to make themselves at home. This 
 was on the day after the Orphan Asylum concert, 
 and the water carnival was to take place starting 
 in the middle of the afternoon. 
 
 Margaret felt that she must be alone to do some 
 thinking, and so asked permission to take a canoe 
 and paddle around the lake wherever she might 
 care to go. 
 
 "I wish Paul hadn't proposed at least not yet," 
 she said to herself, as she guided her canoe in and 
 out of the various nooks along the picturesque lake 
 shore. "Now I suppose we can't be quite as good 
 friends as before. If I give him half a chance, he'll 
 be sure to propose again." 
 
 251
 
 252 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 Coming to a particularly pretty spot in the shore 
 line, she sent her light canoe into a little cove where 
 the cedars lining the lake almost hid her from view. 
 In this little nook she sank back on the cushions of 
 the craft and gave herself up to her reflections. 
 
 As she lay there, she wondered if she had done 
 altogether right. Parmalee had been kind to her 
 in many ways, and he was gradually building up a 
 fairly good practice. She was quite sure she did 
 not love him, but she had heard some society ladies 
 say more than once that all marriages in this life 
 were not based merely on that feeling. 
 
 "Maybe I might get to love him if I knew him 
 better," she mused. "I suppose some girls would 
 think him quite a catch. His folks are well known 
 and rich, and the Parmalees have always moved in 
 the very best of society." 
 
 Presently her mind drifted to the quarrel that the 
 doctor and Ross had had over the tenements of the 
 laboring men, and then settled upon the young 
 contractor and what he was trying to do. It had 
 hurt her greatly to see him follow in the footsteps 
 of his uncle and thus throw away, as she thought, 
 the benefits that might have been derived from his 
 college education. 
 
 "I don't believe his four years at Yale are going 
 to help him very much in that contracting business,"
 
 Margaret's Decision 253 
 
 she told herself dismally. "I guess all the ordinary 
 contractor needs is a knowledge of the three R's 
 and the will-power to make his men do their work." 
 
 But she felt compelled to admire his pluck, and 
 her heart warmed towards him as she realized what 
 he had had to contend with from the very start. 
 She knew he had rivals who were old and expe- 
 rienced in the business, and who stood ready to 
 ruin him if they could. She wondered if he would 
 win out on his contract, and what he would do next. 
 
 Lying there like one in a dream, she presently 
 heard a shout from Breen; and, before she could 
 retreat, she heard the three men talking together. 
 Then she heard Ross' name mentioned, and instantly 
 she became all attention. These were his enemies, 
 and she must learn every word of their plans. 
 
 When they were gone, she felt so weak she could 
 scarcely raise herself on the seat of the canoe. 
 What was this she had heard? The dynamite for 
 the railroad work was on a side track at Durham, 
 and they were going to send it forward without 
 warning, on the single track that had been laid as 
 far as the rocky cliff. The jar of the wreck would 
 set off the stuff, and track, shanty, drilling machin- 
 ery, and perhaps many workmen, would be blown 
 
 sky-high! And if Ross was with that gang 
 
 The thought made her shiver as with a chill.
 
 254 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "They are going to try to kill him !" she gasped 
 hoarsely. "To kill him! To kill Ross!" 
 
 She must give warning ! She must stop this pro- 
 posed destruction of life and property! In her 
 imagination, she could see Ross in his working 
 clothes, laboring among his men at the cliff, un- 
 conscious of the danger swooping down upon him. 
 Ross, her chum of childhood days ! 
 
 "They shan't do it! They shan't do it!" she 
 cried over and over again, and clenched her hands. 
 In that instant she realized the truth that she 
 loved him better than anybody else in the whole 
 world. Oh, why could she not fly to him on the 
 instant and tell him of what his enemies proposed 
 to do? 
 
 In feverish haste she took up her paddle, and sent 
 the frail canoe out upon the broad bosom of the 
 lake. She began to paddle swiftly, and thus started 
 back towards the Feversham bungalow. 
 
 "If I only had a motor boat !" she groaned, as she 
 realized the slow progress she was making. She 
 was not skillful at handling the paddle, and soon her 
 exertions in the bright sunshine began to tell upon 
 her, and the glare on the water made her head ache. 
 But she gave herself no pause, keeping on steadily 
 until at last the boat-landing was reached. 
 
 Mrs. Feversham was out, having gone up to the
 
 Margaret's Decision 255 
 
 head of the lake with her husband to see how the 
 preparations for the water carnival were progress- 
 ing. Only a maid servant and a hired man were 
 about the bungalow, and both of these were sur- 
 prised to see her returning in such haste. 
 
 "Henry, have you a good saddle horse in the 
 stable here?" she demanded. "I must use one 
 and at once." There were no good roads around 
 that vicinity of the lake, and most of the traveling 
 done there was either on foot or by boat or horse- 
 back. 
 
 "Yes, Miss Margaret, we've two saddle horses 
 left here," answered the hired man, and then he 
 added : "You seem to be terribly upset is any- 
 thing wrong? If I can help you " 
 
 "I don't think you can help, Henry, excepting 
 to saddle the best horse you've got at once. I must 
 go on an errand without delay," and Margaret 
 rushed into the house to prepare for her journey. 
 
 "If you please, Miss," said the hired man, fol- 
 lowing her into the living-room of the bungalow, 
 "We've got Nelson here. The missus used to ride 
 him, but he got kind o' fiery and Mr. Feversham 
 said " 
 
 "Saddle Nelson at once, Henry." 
 
 "But he is fiery, Miss Margaret, and 
 
 "I dare say I can manage him. I've been used
 
 256 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 to horseback riding all my life. And don't waste 
 any time I'm in a tremendous hurry." 
 
 She ran to the house and into the dressing room 
 of her friend. Now was no time to stand on cere- 
 mony, and soon she had donned a riding habit and 
 hat belonging to Mrs. Feversham. Then she came 
 out again, just as Henry led Nelson from the barn. 
 
 "Tell Mrs. Feversham I had to go, and that I'll 
 tell her all about it when I see her again," she said, 
 and leaped gracefully into the saddle. In another 
 second she was off, through the lane of cedars and 
 out on the road leading to Durham. 
 
 What the coachman had said concerning the 
 horse was true. Nelson had not been used for a 
 saddle horse for some months, and he did all in his 
 power to show his resentment at being used as such. 
 He shook himself freely, and then set off at a speed 
 that would have alarmed any ordinary rider. 
 
 But at present this was just what Margaret want- 
 ed. She did not know how soon Breen and the 
 others would act, but she knew it would be that 
 very afternoon. It was already after twelve and the 
 place where Ross and his men were working was 
 a good twenty to twenty-five miles distant. She 
 knew that Breen and the others would go to Dur- 
 ham on the noon freight, getting aboard at the 
 water tower ; but f of her there was no way to cover
 
 Margaret's Decision 257 
 
 the distance excepting that which she had chosen, 
 and she could not telegraph to the cliff. 
 
 For several miles she kept to the highway lead- 
 ing to Durham, but presently she reached a cross- 
 roads, and then she headed Nelson along the other 
 road, which ran midway between Durham and 
 dressing, and crossed the proposed railroad line 
 half a mile below the rocky cliff. 
 
 It was on this new road that Nelson showed his 
 mettle and his disposition to unseat anybody who 
 dared to mount him. He began to balk and kick, 
 and tried his best to throw her. Failing in this, he 
 caught the bit in his teeth and started off on a mad 
 gallop which nothing could control. He took the 
 wrong road, and half a mile was covered ere she 
 could get him again down to a canter and turn 
 him around. 
 
 "I may be too late!" she gasped. "Oh, God, 
 don't let me be too late! Please don't let me be 
 too late !"
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 WITH NOT A MOMENT TO SPARE 
 
 THE precious time thus lost nearly drove the girl 
 crazy. In her mind's eye she could see the dyna- 
 mite car swooping down upon Ross, and killing him 
 and all those around him. And then she could see 
 herself in black, and mourning that she had never 
 been able to tell him how much she loved him 
 always had loved him! 
 
 On and on, and still on, over the dusty road, 
 in the glaring heat of the midsummer sun. She had 
 lost her hat in that mad rush made by the steed, 
 and now her hair had come loose and was floating 
 out in a silken wave behind her. A strange light 
 glimmered before her eyes, and she often had to 
 clutch the saddle to keep herself from falling. She 
 knew her strength was leaving her, and she shut her 
 teeth hard in a vow to keep up as long as was 
 necessary. 
 
 Two miles more! Would that hot and feverish 
 ride never come to an end? The road, now rough 
 and uncertain, seemed to waver and break before 
 her. Nelson was covered with foam, and now as 
 docile as a lamb, and she had to whip him to keep 
 him from dropping into a walk. 
 
 258
 
 With Not a Moment to Spare 259 
 
 Only a mile now, and the roughest of the road 
 lay before her. She shaded her eyes with her hand, 
 and at a distance made out where some of the 
 grading had been done. But no workmen were in 
 sight, and she pressed on and on, straight for the 
 cliff. 
 
 Down there, under the shadow of that beetling 
 mass of stone, Ross was hard at work, directing 
 what drilling should be done. The foreman of the 
 drillers was there, along with the man who ran the 
 engine used for the work, and about a dozen Italian 
 laborers, who were placing the rock already blasted 
 out on two flat cars, standing on a temporary siding. 
 Ross was bathed in perspiration and dust, and was 
 glad enough to knock off for a few moments when 
 he saw Cole leap from an approaching hand car and 
 come forward to consult him. 
 
 "It's about that bend over Leary's Creek," said 
 the foreman, drawing a blue print from his pocket. 
 "It's down one way in the map, and another way 
 by the stakes, and Leary claims the stakes are abso- 
 lutely right." 
 
 "Let me look at the specifications and the map," 
 answered Ross, dashing the sweat from his brow 
 with the edge of his finger. "Phew ! but it's a hot 
 day, Larry!" 
 
 "That's what," was the reply. "Those Hunga-
 
 260 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 rians under Lamp-post are bound to have their beer, 
 too, in spite of my orders." 
 
 "We can't stop drinking entirely, such weather 
 as this." Ross was bending over the map. "This 
 seems to me " 
 
 "By the jumping jenny!" burst out the foreman, 
 leaping to his feet. "Who's that on horseback, 
 tearing over the rocks yonder?" 
 
 Ross gave a look. The next instant map and 
 specifications were forgotten and thrown at his 
 feet, and he was running forward to meet Margaret. 
 She saw him coming, and gave a short, low but 
 glad cry. 
 
 "Oh, Ross, I am so so thankful!" she gasped. 
 "I I was afraid I would be too too late !" The 
 words came with difficulty. 
 
 "Too late? What for? Let me help you to the 
 ground. Why, your horse is covered with foam! 
 What does it mean?" 
 
 "It means that that " He held out his arms, 
 
 and she dropped, rather than leaped, into them. 
 
 "They Breen and and " She tried to catch 
 
 her breath, but her heart was throbbing as if ready 
 
 to burst. "The villains " She could say no 
 
 more, but sank limply in a deathlike swoon. 
 
 By this time Cole was at hand, and also several 
 others. "Something wrong?" queried the foreman;
 
 With Not a Moment to Spare 261 
 
 and then, without waiting for an answer, he dashed 
 off, to return with a pail of water and a tin dipper. 
 "Here, use some of this," he said. 
 
 "Yes, something is very much wrong, I fear," 
 answered Ross, as he bathed Margaret's face. "She 
 said something about fearing she was too late, and 
 Breen, and villains; but I couldn't make it out 
 exactly." 
 
 "She's overheard something, probably." Cole 
 began to use his straw hat for a fan, while Ross 
 continued the bathing. 
 
 Presently Margaret gave a shudder and opened 
 her eyes. For an instant she was bewildered, then 
 her will-power reasserted itself, and she looked at 
 Ross wildly. 
 
 "Was I too late, Ross ? Have they sent the dyna- 
 mite car yet ? Oh, the rascals ! to plot such a thing !" 
 
 "The dynamite car!" repeated Ross. He looked 
 from Margaret to Cole. "What do you mean?" 
 
 "Oh, I haven't told you yet! They plotted to 
 send the car along a wildcat, they called it. They 
 mean to blow " 
 
 "To send it here?" 
 
 "Yes! yes!" , 
 
 Ross was still holding Margaret, and the girl 
 showed every sign of fainting again. But Cole was 
 free to act, and the foreman was running up the
 
 262 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 temporary track in the direction of Durham. Ross 
 gazed after him, and then along the rails, and saw 
 a sight that made his heart suddenly grow sick. 
 
 The wild-cat car with the dynamite was rushing 
 along, down the grade with lightning-like swiftness. 
 He caught only a glimpse of it as it flashed around 
 a bend, then some timber hid it from view. But 
 he knew it would reappear in a second more, and 
 then come straight for those flat cars standing not 
 twenty-five feet away! 
 
 "Turn the switch!" he yelled hoarsely to Cole. 
 "Turn the switch !" And then, with Margaret still 
 in his arms, leaped farther away from the spot of 
 dire danger. 
 
 Cole was already at the switch and fumbling in 
 his pocket for a key. As he placed the key in the 
 lock the wild-cat car hove once more into sight. 
 Ross held his breath as he saw the foreman bend 
 forward and then pull back. Was the switch 
 turned ? 
 
 The car came forward with a rush and a strange 
 grinding of the wheels. It shot over the switch like 
 a flash, and turned from the rocky cliff to the short 
 side track. Then it left the end of that track and 
 plunged down into the water and mud of the creek. 
 One end struck a flat rock, and an instant later a 
 mighty roar rent the air; and the danger was a 
 thing of the past.
 
 "Turn the switch !" he yelled hoarsely to Cole.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 AFTERWARDS 
 
 IT was fully a minute before Ross felt like speak- 
 ing. He looked keenly at the girl who had saved 
 him from death. He held her close, and felt her 
 tremble and draw closer still. 
 
 "Margy!" he murmured, and that single word 
 conveyed a wealth of meaning. 
 
 "Ross!" 
 
 "And you did this for my sake!" 
 
 "Yes," she whispered, and looked him straight 
 in the eyes. "For your sake alone!" 
 
 Cole was now coming up, white and somewhat 
 shaky, but filled with a desire to bring somebody to 
 justice. From Margaret's lips all present heard the 
 story of the villainy that had been hatched out on 
 the shore of Cedar Lake. 
 
 "They must be somewhere around Durham," 
 said Cole. "I'll go up on the hand car and find out. 
 If I find them 
 
 "Have them arrested," put in Ross, quickly. 
 "No, don't try to do them violence," he added, as 
 he saw Cole's face grow black. "Let the law take 
 its course. I'd go with you, only " 
 
 "Never mind; you take care of Miss Poole," 
 263
 
 264 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 said Cole; and in a minute more he and three 
 of the workmen were on the hand car, bound for 
 Durham. The other men also quit, loud in their 
 denunciation of the enemy, and saying they would 
 join in a hunt for the rascals. 
 
 It was fully two hours later before Ross was 
 able to leave Margaret at her home while on his 
 journey to Durham proper. The couple made the 
 journey in his runabout, which was now repaired. 
 
 "Oh, Margy, Margy ! to think you saved my life !" 
 he cried, after they had been talking the thrilling 
 event over. 
 
 "Oh, you really mustn't take it so seriously, 
 Ross," she returned, with her eyes beaming on him. 
 
 With one hand guiding the car, he drew her over 
 to him. 
 
 "But I am going to take it seriously," he de- 
 clared. He caught her around the shoulder. "You 
 must know why?" 
 
 To this she did not reply, but lowered her eyes. 
 
 "Tell me, Margy," he almost whispered. "Have 
 I made good with you?" 
 
 Her reply was faint, but quite distinct. 
 
 "Yes, Ross." 
 
 There was a slight pause, which meant a great 
 deal to both of them. 
 
 "Of course, I might give up this contracting
 
 Afterwards 265 
 
 business if you really wish me to," he ventured, 
 slowly. Just then he was willing to do anything in 
 the world for her. 
 
 She looked up quickly. 
 
 "The idea, Ross Goodwin! You'll do nothing 
 of the kind ! You'll keep right on and make a big 
 man of yourself and I'll be proud of you." 
 
 "But if you are going to be a grand opera 
 singer " 
 
 "Who said I was? Of course, I love to sing in 
 public, but not as a professional. I'll sing for 
 charity, and maybe in church, and that's all." 
 
 "But Doctor Parmalee might like to see you a 
 grand opera singer." 
 
 "Now, Ross, please don't drag Doctor Parmalee 
 into this," and her eyes showed her protest. 
 
 "But he's your friend," he insisted. 
 
 "Yes a friend, and that's all." She looked him 
 squarely in the eyes. "Ross, you mustn't be jealous. 
 You're too too big for that." 
 
 "Well, Margy, just as you say. It's up to you." 
 The recollection of having seen Doctor Parmalee in 
 her company so many times was not a happy one. 
 
 "Is it?" Margaret had snuggled closer. But 
 suddenly she straightened up. 
 
 "Now what?" he demanded, with a lover's quick 
 intuition, scenting trouble.
 
 266 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 "I was just thinking that maybe you prefer 
 trained nurses " 
 
 "Bosh! Now who's jealous? Margy, there is 
 only one girl in the world for me only one, and 
 that's you. I've loved you oh, ever so long, and 
 you know it. Don't you, dearest?" He ran the 
 car to the side of the roadway and halted. "Say 
 you knew I loved you," he pleaded. 
 
 She came closer then, and let him hold her tight. 
 
 "Yes," she whispered. 
 
 "And you loved me, didn't you?" he went on, 
 trying to make her look at him. 
 
 "You knew I did, you mean thing!" she an- 
 swered, and buried her face in his shoulder. 
 
 When Ross reached the city proper he found 
 that O'Mara had been captured, and that Sam Flood 
 had also been placed under arrest. Breen and 
 Shacker had fled, and a large posse was out search- 
 ing for them. With the posse went the sheriff and 
 nearly all of the laborers whose lives had been 
 placed in peril. 
 
 "It will go hard with Breen and Shacker if those 
 Italians locate them," said more than one. And 
 there was a good reason for this conclusion; for, 
 two days later, Breen was found in the mountains, 
 with his skull crushed in by rocks that had been
 
 Afterwards 267 
 
 thrown at him. Of course, nobody had done the 
 deed, and the sheriff deemed it wise not to probe 
 into the matter too deeply, and the coroner did 
 likewise. Shacker escaped and fled to the South- 
 west, and what became of him nobody ever learned. 
 
 When O'Mara was brought to trial a surprise 
 awaited him. He was charged with the assault on 
 Ross at the cliff during the storm, and Detective 
 Vance came forward to prove that he had done the 
 deed and also committed the robbery. Through the 
 detective, Ross recovered his watch and his dia- 
 mond scarf-pin, and also a portion of the money. For 
 his various misdeeds O'Mara was sent to prison for 
 ten years; and society was well rid of him. Sam 
 Flood was found not guilty of helping the rascals, 
 and was let go. But he was unpopular with the rail- 
 road, and soon after lost his position and drifted 
 elsewhere. 
 
 The railroad contract went through with a rush 
 after the excitement was over. When the general 
 public learned how Ross had been fighting his rivals 
 from the very start, many came forward to offer 
 their sympathy and assistance. 
 
 "I thank you for your kindly interest, but I need 
 no help," he said to one and all. "Cole is my right- 
 hand man, and we'll get along first-rate, if only left 
 alone." And get along they did, and the contract
 
 268 Making Good With Margaret 
 
 was finished a week before schedule time and at 
 a net profit to the young contractor of twelve thou- 
 sand eight hundred dollars. 
 
 "And that means the big contract next year, 
 doesn't it, Ross?" asked Margaret, when he called 
 and told her that the work was at an end. 
 
 "It does if you say so, Margy," he answered, 
 with a twinkle in his eye. 
 
 "To be sure I say so if you want it," she re- 
 turned, promptly. 
 
 "Well, I don't think I can do that work properly 
 unless I have a wife to assist me," he continued, 
 softly. 
 
 "Really?" she murmured, and cast down her eyes. 
 "Well, if that's all " 
 
 THE END
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 91 
 
 RENEWALS
 
 3 1158 01127 3306 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000127682 3