He was big and flabby. The skin about his eyes had grown into loose sacks; his eyes were a steel-gray, cruel, keen, crafty, without a part

or all the foreign herd. In return for their allegiance, he bailed them out of jail when necessary. When Gerani in a drunken quarrel, had stabbed the fighting, ugly-tempered little Italian, Marino De Angelo, it was Dennis who established an alibi, and swore all manner of oaths to prove that Gerani, a law-abiding citizen, a credit to the commonwealth, could not possibly have done it. As to the guilty party, O'Day had shaken his head in doubt. He was not quick to remember the faces of these foreigners. There were many about-some new to him

rsed under his breath the instant he was out of range of the cold, steely eyes. O'Day was not i

ud enough for all to hear. "If you don't want to hand in you

laughed loud and mirthlessly, while he washed

d when I'm gone. It will be hot enough around here to make more than one swing for a breeze. I'm safe with Gerani-so long as those papers a

abbath and until all hours of the night. Young boys entered sober and came forth drunk. There was no one to cal

ten called upon to act as interpreter between the bosses and the men, but still he was different from those about him. He was a Pole, heart and soul, and his faith was bound to the homeland whose ultimate independence was his one dream; he had risen a grade higher in the moral scale than those whom h

tion, and at last opened a little restaurant where lunches after the German style were served. His black coffee certai

ovation of the paper diminished the popularity of O'Day's place. Joe also introduced music, or what was passed for it. Then O'Day offered to buy him out at a price more than the place was worth. Joe smiled blandly, "Me know Slav-me know Polack talk. Me know no

ong, as he said, the man knew his place and did not interfere. And his place, to O'Day's way of thinking, was to superintend the mines, and let the morals of the men alone. "I'll take good care of them," he was apt to add with a crafty lo

ak the law with impunity. He felt that keen eyes were upon him. He was cunning enough to know that his safety now lay in his keeping within the li

er and his eyes and ears open to all that was said and done in his place of business. Finally, when his confidence was fully restored, he returned to his old way of doing business, and kept open one Sunday. His place was filled with drunken, riotous Poles and Slavs. In a spirit of recklessness, he sold freely to all. O

Day, Raffelo quit his bench and made his way to the saloon. His dark, swarthy face, with stubby beard, was twisted and contorted. He gesticulated continuousl

rintendent, dare not antagonize the drink-indulging miners with open warfare against the saloon. Joe was his tool, carrying out his plans. Joe Ratowsky with his smattering of English did not know enough to make himself a formidable enemy. Some keen mind with a knowl

e ridiculed Bruno for suggesting that Mr.

s against him, but they did not. The prosecuting attorney, with great confidence in his own judgment, had drawn up the papers spe

that Dennis O'Day himself had sold liquor to them, not once but many

lared that he had personally given the saloonist permission to sell liquor to his son. By this the Minor Liquor Law was, in effect, circumvented. That each father was the richer by some of O'Day's money was generally su

s the matter ended here,

of the boss's name, now there was only silence, a silence ominous to those who knew the signs. Joe Ratowsky understood and went at midnight to ask Mr. Hobart to go away somewhere for a time, until the discontent passed. But Mr. Hobart was not one to leave his work because

assed as such, began immediately

Miner's Rest." O'Day was over-solicitous about the welfare of the men. He criticised corporations which risked the lives of the workmen for the sake of saving. "Anyone could see the cable was weak in spots," he said. "It wasn't a week ago that I walked up the incline-wouldn't trust myself t

ed. It mattered to them if a few lives were

people like an open book, and he was keen enough to know when it was wise to stop talking and when continue. "I'd choke them into taking care of the men's

inned into their ears since the day they set foot upon American soil. It meant nothing to them that their teachers were always men like O'Day, who, while lining their own pockets with the laborers' earnings, cry

ey enough right into Bitumen to have things kept up first-class, better houses for the miners, and cables that don't break. I'm thinking there hain't one of those big ones in the city who knows how poor you men live, ho

se proportions. A week passed, and yet they talked. If there had been one among them fitted to lead, there would have been open trouble. There was no one. Brun

s, the engineer, insisted that he was not careless. He had kept his steam-register down to one hundred and fifty p

come like the tivil, b'gosh, or me could have stopped it quick." He had picked up the steam-register and was holdin

Ratowsky's words. He whistled softly to himself as he examined the register. He

handed the register to Ellis. "Look closely at that," he said. "There's evidence enough there to f

head of steam. A strong but almost invisible steel rod had been driven in the face of the register at such

driven there by the e

hat about the place, and never have had. Jo

have my shoes fixed, and I came down over the hill instead of th

his little lunch-counter, shadowed the man. He knew when Gerani came and went. There was proof enough that he had been interfering with

nough of O'Day's covert suggestion that he could tell much that Gerani dreaded. Joe undertook the same stratagem. One stormy night he met Gerani on his way home. Catching him by his sleeve, he detained him long enough to say in his native tongue, "I've a word to say to you in secret, brother. O'Day is not the only one that knows about the Dago. The superintenden

her time to respond. In his own tongue, his speech was impressive. He saw now,

the pay due him. Joe Ratowsky chuckled to himself when several days passed. "

distance and afraid of him. But men of O'Day

mail, was derailed at the second switchback and crashed into a forest of big oaks. The car was empty, and the train, being

ore, b'gosh." Then Joe laughed heartily and slapped his broad limbs with his hand. He never lost his first appreciation of the manner in which he

oe Ratowsky walked to the foot of the hill to telegraph Elizabeth to remain at Exeter. And the day follow

f which had been previously dug out and filled with melted lard. He visited "The Miners' Rest" and reeled home to his shack at a late hour. All these are mere preliminary details to the statement that his nerves were growin

discharged he was. Had conditions been normal, discharging a mule-driver would have been of so little

put the plan in operation. After deliberation, he spoke to them plainly. Such a movement on their part was ill-advised. First, the largest orders for the year had already been filled, and enough coal was at the dumps and in cars at the foot of the mountai

no reason. Mr. Hobart's present method of talking with them, to their

elegation, expressing their anger in strong words, departed. Mr. Hobart immediately sent word to Ratowsky, Ellis and half a dozen other men whom he knew would stand by him.

vening the strike