The five or six weeks following Mr. Britton's visit passed so swiftly
that Darrell was scarcely conscious of their flight. His work at the
mill, which had been increased by valuable strikes recently made in the
mines, in addition to considerable outside work in the way of attests
and assays, had left him little time for study or experiment. For nearly
three weeks he had not left the mining camp, the last two Saturdays
having found him too weary with the preceding week's work to undertake
the long ride to Ophir.
During this time Mr. Underwood had been a frequent visitor at the camp,
led not only by his interest in the mining developments, but also by his
curiosity regarding the progress made by the union in the construction
of its boarding-house, and also to watch the effect on his own
employees.
Entering the laboratory one day after one of his rounds of the camp, he
stood for some time silently watching Darrell at his work.
"In case of a shut-down here," he said at length, speaking abruptly,
"how would you like a clerical position in my office down there at
Ophir,--book-keeping or something of the sort,--just temporarily, you
know?"
Darrell looked up from his work in surprise. "Do you regard a shut-down
as imminent?" he inquired, smiling.
"Well, yes; there's no half-way measures with me. No man that works for
me will go off the grounds for his meals. But that isn't answering my
question."
Darrell's face grew serious. "You forget, Mr. Underwood, that until I am
put to the test, I have no means of knowing whether or not I can do the
work you wish done."
"By George! I never once thought of that!" Mr. Underwood exclaimed,
somewhat embarrassed, adding, hastily, "but then, I didn't mean
book-keeping in particular, but clerical work generally; copying
instruments, looking up records, and so on. You see, it's like this," he
continued, seating himself near Darrell; "I'm thinking of taking in a
partner--not in this mining business, it has nothing to do with that,
but just in my mortgage-loan business down there; and in case I do,
we'll need two or three additional clerks and book-keepers, and I
thought you might like to come in just temporarily until we resume
operations here. Of course, the salary wouldn't be so very much, but I
thought it might be better than nothing to bridge over."
"How long do you expect to be closed down here, Mr. Underwood?"
"Until the men come to their senses or we find others to take their
places," the elder man answered, decidedly; "it may be six weeks or it
may be six months. I was talking with Dwight, from the Buckeye Camp,
this morning. He says they've been to too much expense to put up with
the proposition for a moment; they simply can't stand it, and won't;
they'll shut down and pull out first. I don't believe that mine is
paying very well, anyway."