The Young Engineers on the Gulf

by H. Irving Hancock

  CHAPTER VI

  MR. BASCOMB IS PEEVISH

  At the first blush of dawn Tom despatched the tireless Nicolas to Blixtonto notify the police of the explosions and of the disappearance of HarryHazelton.

  Two men in blue, wearing stars on their coats, came over within an hour,walked about and looked wise until noon. They discovered nothing whatever,and their theories did not strike Reade as being worthy of attention.

  As soon as possible the divers were sent down at the two wrecked parts ofthe retaining wall. These men reported that the breaches extended tenfeet beneath the surface at some points; only eight feet at other points.The foundations of the walls were reported as being secure. Then Tom,under the directions of two divers, put on a diver's suit and went downhimself, for the first time in his life. After some two hours, withfrequent ascents to the surface, the young chief engineer had satisfiedhimself that the foundations were secure. Then he did some rapid figuring.

  "The loss will not exceed eight thousand dollars---the cost of rebuildingthe missing parts of the walls," Reade informed Superintendent Renshaw.

  "Only eight thousand dollars!" whistled the superintendent.

  "Well, that figure isn't anywhere nearly as high as I feared it might be,"Tom pursued.

  "But it will strike the directors of the Melliston Company as being prettybig for an extra bill," muttered Renshaw. "Especially, since---"

  The superintendent paused.

  "You were going to say," smiled Tom, wanly, "since the loss wouldn't havehappened if I hadn't kicked the gamblers out of camp."

  "That's about the size of it, Mr. Reade," nodded Renshaw. "Directors ofbig companies are less interested in moral reforms than in dividends.They're likely to make a big kick over what your crusade has cost themalready, even if it costs them no more."

  "We'll see to it that it doesn't cost them any more," Tom retorted."Every night we'll watch that sea wall the way a mother does a sick baby.There'll be no more explosions. As to the directors kicking over thepresent expense, they'll have a prompt chance to do it. As soon as thetelegraph office in Blixton was open this morning I wired the president ofthe company. Now, I'm going ashore. I can't do anything out here to helpyou, can I?"

  "Nothing," replied Renshaw. "If I didn't know how foolish the advice wouldsound, Mr. Reade, I'd urge you to take a nap."

  "I'll take a nap when I find it impossible to keep my eyes open anylonger," Tom compromised. "For the next few hours---work and lots of it."

  As yet no effort had been made to repair the breaches in the wall. Thedifferent gangs were working that day in nearer shore. The divers,gathered on a scow, were now waiting for the "Morton" to convey them backto shore. Reade decided to go with them.

  "Twenty minutes to two," murmured Tom to himself, glancing at his watch asthe "Morton" went laboriously back over the dancing, glinting waves."There's a train due at Blixton at 1:30. By the time I get back to thehouse I ought to find one or more officials of the company impatientlywaiting to jump on my devoted neck."

  Nor was Tom disappointed in this expectation. Pacing up and down on theporch of the house occupied by the engineers and superintendent was GeorgeC. Bascomb, president of the Melliston Company. Behind him stood Nicolas,respectfully eager to do anything he could for the comfort of the greatman.

  "Ah, there you are, Reade," called President Bascomb in an irritated tone,as he caught sight of the young engineer striding forward. "Now, what'sall this row that you wired us about?"

  "Will you come down to the water, and go out with me to look at thedamage, sir?" asked Tom, as he took the president's reluctantly offeredhand.

  "No," grunted Mr. Bascomb. "Let me hear the story first. Come insideand tell me about it."

  "Our friend is not quite so gracious as he has been on former meetings,"thought Tom, as he led the way inside. "I wonder if he is going to getcranky?"

  Inside was a little office room, as in the foremen's barracks.

  "Any decent cigars here?" questioned Mr. Bascomb, after exploring his ownpockets and finding them innocent of tobacco.

  "No, sir," Tom answered. "No one here smokes."

  "I've got to have a cigar," the president of the company insisted.

  "Then, sir, if you'll give Nicolas your orders, he'll run over to Blixtonand get you what you want."

  The Mexican departed in haste on the errand.

  "Now, first of all, Reade," began the president, "I am disgusted atlearning of one fool mistake that you've made."

  "What is that, sir?" Tom asked, coloring.

  "I've just learned that you discharged Evarts---one of our best and mostuseful men."

  "I did discharge him, sir," Reade admitted.

  "Take him back, at once."

  "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't do it. He---"

  "I don't think you quite understand," broke in Mr. Bascomb coldly. "Idirected you to take Mr. Evarts back on this work."

  "I was about to tell you, sir, why I can't do anything of the sort.I---"

  "Stop right there, Reade," ordered President Bascomb, in his mostaggressive, bullying manner. "The first point that we have to settle isthat Evarts must come back on the pay-roll and have his old position. Begood enough to let that proposition sink in before we take up the second."

  "I am very sorry, sir," Tom murmured respectfully, "but I can't and won'thave Evarts back here. I won't have him around the work at all. Now whatis the second proposition, sir?"

  As Tom spoke he looked straight into Mr. Bascomb's eyes. The other glaredat him unbelievingly but angrily.

  "Young man, you don't appear to understand that I am president and head ofthe Melliston Company."

  "I quite understand it, sir," Reade answered. "At the same time I am chiefengineer here, and I am committed to building the breakwater and dredgingout the enclosed bay or harbor, all within a certain fixed appropriation.In order to keep my part of the bargain I must have men with me on whom Ican depend to the fullest limit. Evarts isn't such a man and I won't havehim on the work again."

  "He'll go on the pay-roll, anyway," snorted Mr. Bascomb.

  "I can't help what you may see fit to pay him, Mr. Bascomb, provided youpay him somewhere else. But the fellow can't go on the pay-roll here forthe simple reason that he wouldn't be allowed to visit this constructioncamp for the purpose of getting his money. Mr. Bascomb, I am not trying toride a high horse. I recognize that you are president of the company, andthat I must take all reasonable orders from you and carry them out to theletter. Yet I can't take any orders that would simply hinder my work anddamage my reputation as an engineer. Evarts can't come back into this campas long as I am in charge here."

  "We'll take that up again presently," returned Mr. Bascomb, with an air ofruffled dignity. "Now, there's another matter that we must discuss. Iknow what has been done in the way of great damage to the retaining wall.I also know that this damage came through enmity that you stirred up bydrumming certain parties out of this camp."

  "You refer, sir, I take it, to my act in having Blixton police officerscome in here and chase out some gamblers who had come here for the purposeof winning the money of the workmen?"

  "That's it," nodded Bascomb. "In that matter you went too far---altogethertoo far!"

  "I'm afraid I don't understand you, sir."

  "You mean, Reade, that you don't want to understand me," snapped thepresident. "You admit having chased out the gamblers, don't you?"

  "Of course, I admit it, sir."

  "That was a bad move. In the future, Reade, you will not interfere withany forms of amusement that the men may select for themselves in theirevening hours."

  Tom stared at the speaker in undisguised amazement.

  "But, Mr. Bascomb, the men are shamelessly robbed by the sharpers who comehere to gamble with them."

  "That's the men's own affair," scoffed the president. "Anyway, they havea right to pitch away their wages if they want to. Reade, when you're asold as I am you will underst
and that workmen who throw away their moneymake the best workmen. They never have any savings, hence they must makeevery effort to keep their jobs. A workman with savings becomes tooindependent."

  "I am certain you have seen more of the world than I have, Mr. Bascomb,"Reade replied, respectfully. "At the same time I can't agree with you onthe point you have just stated. A workman with a bank account has alwaysa greater amount of self-respect, and a man who has self-respect is boundto make a good citizen and a good workman. But there are still otherreasons why I had the gamblers chased out. Gambling here in the camp wouldalways create a great deal of disorder. Disorder destroys discipline, anda camp like this, in order to give the best results in the way of work,must have discipline. Moreover, the men, when gambling, remain up untilall hours of the night. A man who has been up most of the night can't givean honest day's work in return for his wages. Unless the men get theirsleep and are kept in good condition we can't get the work out of them thatwe have a right to expect."

  "The right man can _drive_ workmen," declared Mr. Bascomb, with emphasis."You'll have to drive your men. Get all the work out of them, but drop atonce this foolish policy of interfering with what they do after the whistleblows. We can't have any more of this nonsense. It costs too much. Bythe way, how much will it cost to repair the damage to the retainingwalls?"

  "About eight thousand dollars, sir, if my first figuring was correct," wasReade's answer.

  "Eight thousand dollars!" scowled President Bascomb. "Now, Reade, doesn'tthat amount of wanton, revengeful mischief teach you the folly of trying toregulate camp life outside of working hours?"

  "I'm afraid it doesn't, sir."

  "Then you must be a fool, Reade!"

  "Thank you, sir. I will add that you're not the first man who hassuspected it."

  "You will, therefore, Reade," continued Mr. Bascomb, with his grandest airof authority, "cause it to become known throughout the camp that you arenot going to interfere any further with any form of amusement that isbrought to the camp evenings by outsiders."

  "Is that proposition number two, sir?" queried the young chief engineer.

  "It is."

  "Then please don't misunderstand me, sir," Reade begged, respectfully,"but it is declined, as is proposition number one."

  "Do you mean to say that you are going to go on with your fool way ofdoing things?"

  "Yes, sir---until I am convinced that it is a fool way."

  "But I've just told you that it is," snapped Mr. Bascomb.

  "Then I say it very respectfully, sir, but pardon me for replying that Idon't consider the evidence very convincing. I have shown you why I musthave good order in the camp, and I have told you that I do not propose toallow gambling or any other disorderly conduct to go on within camp limits.I can't agree to these things, and then hope to win out by keeping the costof the work within the appropriation."

  "Do you feel that you'll keep within the appropriation by making enemieswho deliberately blow up our masonry?" glared Mr. Bascomb.

  "I doubt if there will be any more expense in that line, sir. I intendto have such a watch kept over the wall as to prevent any further mischiefof the kind."

  "Watchmen are an item of expense, aren't they?" snorted the president.

  "Yes, sir; but next to nothing at all as compared with the mischief theycan prevent."

  "I have already told you how to prevent the mischief, Reade. Stop all ofyour foolish nonsense and let the men have their old-time pastimes."

  "I can't do it, sir."

  "Have you paper, pen and ink here?" thundered Mr. Bascomb. "If so, bringthem."

  Tom quietly obeyed.

  "Reade," again thundered the president of the Melliston Company, "I havehad as much of your nonsense as I intend to stand. You are out of here,from this minute. Take that pen and sign your resignation!"