James R. Mears

“ Segunder smote the table a terrible blow with his fist. The baby asleep in its mother's arms awakened and began crying loudly.
"I kill bosses. I kill them!" shouted Olsen in a terrible voice. "I bring you here to kill you. Maybe you lie to me. Then I kill you, anyhow!"
"Segunder, Segunder!" cried the woman aghast. "This young man is going to help you. He is going to give you work. Don't you understand?"
Olsen grabbed Steve by both shoulders, and, pushing him over to the light, peered long and earnestly into the eyes of the Iron Boy. ”

“ Hello, there! Stop the machine! I'm caught!" he shouted.
In the groaning and creaking of the great crane his cries for help were unheard. Steve felt himself being borne swiftly through the air. Up, up swung the great shell, swaying dizzily from side to side after it left the deck of the ship. As it passed out of the hold Steve uttered a shout louder than the others. He was not frightened, but, as was quite natural under the circumstances, he wanted to get out of his unpleasant predicament.
Bob Jarvis, who was at the rail, heard the cry. He divined the truth instantly. ”

“ Let your union mean your uplifting. Don't use the power of your union for any wrong purpose. If you have a grievance at any time, talk it over calmly; look on both sides of every question. Do not let your leaders influence you against your better judgment——"
"I protest against this line of talk," cried Cavard angrily, rising and pounding on the table. "It is treason, men."
"Men, it is not treason! I am your friend," answered Steve, addressing the audience. "Hear me out, then I will sit down. I believe that our employers have our best interests at heart. ”

“ CHAPTER VI IN THE POWDER-WRECKED DRIFT
FOR a moment those outside the end of the drift stood in awed silence. The candles on the hats of the miners had been extinguished by the explosion.
Nothing will cause an underground miner to lose his head quicker than being plunged into sudden darkness. Several of them set up a terrified yell.
"Hold your tongues!" bellowed the contractor. "You haven't been hurt. Don't you know enough to light your candles? That's the best way I know of to get rid of the darkness."
Spooner lighted his own candle, holding it in his hand above his head as he looked about. ”

“ Keating and Mr. Phillips were engaged in earnest conversation discussing the plan proposed by Steve, so that they did not take particular notice of what was going on about them. They were used to walking along the narrow footpath by the side of the tracks on the bridge that hung high over the river, so that neither man was timid. They raised their voices to make themselves heard above the thunder of the hot metal train, as with its load of red hot pig-iron, it hurried on. ”

“ Steve stepped lightly to one side, putting out his foot as the stoker shot by him. Smith's head hit the edge of a hatch, then he sprawled forward on the deck.
"So you're the fellow who gave me that blow in the dark last night, are you?" demanded the lad in a stern voice.
"I—I'll kill you for this!" roared the stoker, raising a vengeful face to the Iron Boy.
"You'll do it some dark night, then. You haven't the courage to face a man in broad daylight and meet him man to man—no; I won't put it that way, for you are no man. You're just a common tough, that's what you are. ”

“ In other words, the company has broken faith with us. The remedy lies with you. I am your servant. But let me ask you, are you going to submit to the tyranny of the bosses? Are you going to let them trample you under their feet?"
"No, no!" roared the miners.
"Then assert your manhood! Show them that you are men; that you are determined to fight for your liberty and your homes."
In his subtle, unscrupulous manner, Cavard was working up his hearers to a high pitch of excitement.
"This is anarchy!" cried Steve, but his voice was lost in the uproar. ”

“ Pig-Iron sniffed the air with a snort.
"Get ready for a cast!" he bellowed. "Boy, you'll do. You've got the nose that smells, you have. Heave up that dolly bar. How's them gutters? You, Kalinski, there, see that slag trough is open. Bud, get your cinder-ladle ready. Come, now, the whole bunch of you is half-asleep. Anybody'd think you'd been out to a party all day long. Come, Rush!"
"I am here, sir."
"Git that dolly against the furnace dam, and get ready to jump when things are hot enough."
"I will jump, never you fear," answered Steve laughing. ”

“ ON the seventeenth sub-level of the Cousin Jack Mine the Spooner contract gang was working at high pressure. Two diamond drills were banging away like a battery of Gatling guns; men were rushing here and there, some were pushing small cars of red ore out through the drift to the level, where the electric trams would pick up the cars and rush them to the ore chutes. The pick men were breaking off the loosened pieces of ore dislodged by the last blast, while others were shoveling the ore into cars as if their very existence depended upon keeping up the pace. ”

“ Men were flitting about in the dim light of half a dozen electric globes distributed along the top of the trestle that loomed all of seventy-five feet above the water.
"There's a ship down there," cried Steve.
"Yes, and there's one on the other side," answered Bob. "Why, there are ships at all of the docks along here. Are you sure we have hit the right dock?"
"I am not sure of anything, except that we are likely to break our necks if we don't look sharp," answered Rush, with a laugh. "We will ask the first man we meet where the 'Wanderer' is. There comes some one now." ”

“ Cavard, are you helping to unionize the mines here?"
"Whatever I am doing is done wholly in the interest of the rank and file of the mines," snapped Cavard. "You are making a mistake in antagonizing us in this way. We had hoped that you would see the matter in its true light, and that you might prove a valuable aid to us."
"In what way?" demanded Steve.
"You are popular with the men; you have a great deal of influence with them, even though you are a boy. We had hoped that you might enter into the plan and accept an important office in the union." ”

“ Mr. Keating was a man well past middle age. His hair was gray, his bristling mustache of the same shade, gray, twinkling eyes adding greatly to the general effect of the face. But it was the square-set jaw and the firm set of the lips that revealed the iron in the make up of the superintendent. All this Steve Rush saw at a glance and understood.
[25]
"Perhaps I should not have been quite so outspoken," admitted the lad. "That is a fault of mine."
"That is not always a fault. Most honest men are outspoken, my lad. ”

“ Penton was watching Steve at work with a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
"That's a promising boy, Jim," he said.
"You mean young Rush?"
"Yes. This is the kind of job I should like to turn him loose on, if he had more experience. He's as sharp as a steel trap."
"That is true."
"He has that dogged persistence that would make him hang on like a bull terrier. I'm going to push him along as fast as seems advisable."
"He's a likely youngster," admitted the mine captain, studying Steve's back as the lad swung his iron bar with unerring precision. "Yes, he's a very likely lad." ”

“ Bob Jarvis rolled over until he was practically standing on his head and shoulders. He toppled over on his back with a jolt that woke him up. The lad gave a kick and some one grunted.
"Hey, there, take your foot out of my stomach, whoever you are. Is that you, Bob?"
"I—I don't know. Hello, Steve, that you?"
"I guess it's both of us. Ugh! My mouth is so full of ore that I can hard—hardly talk."
"I've got a dark red taste in my own mouth. I've swallowed enough ore to make a steel rail. Do you know where we are?"
"We have fallen into the hold of a ship, and we are lucky that we are not dead." ”

“ The messenger, after entering with Rush, opened a door leading into a large office, and shoved Steve in.
A sandy-haired, rugged-faced man sat at a desk, while around the room were several men from the shops. Among them were Bill Foley and Watski Kalinski. The latter grinned when he saw Steve.
"What's your name?" demanded the man at the desk gruffly.
"Stephen Rush."
Steve's face was so coated with grime that it was unrecognizable, even to one who knew him well, which the superintendent did not.
"A man named Jarvis is your side partner, isn't he?" ”

“ The office boy obeyed, casting an angry glance at the unruffled countenance of Steve Rush as he closed the door behind him.
"Now, what is it you want, young man?" questioned the president. "State your business briefly, for I have no time to waste."
"I am looking for a position, sir."
Mr. Carrhart was about to make a sharp reply, when, chancing to glance into the face of the lad before him, he saw something there that arrested the words he was about to utter. The boy's face showed an earnestness of purpose, a stubborn determination that led the mining president to modify his tone. ”

“ The miners started to pounce upon him.
"Stand back!" shouted Bob. "I'll shoot the first man who makes a move!"
Olsen was struggling to get up. Bob was beside him in an instant.
"Pull Cavard away!" commanded the lad.
No one made a move to do so. Jarvis dragged the unconscious leader to one side, then sprang back to Olsen, who was pulling himself together.
"Olsen! Segunder! I hit you. I had to do it, or you would have killed him. Come with me. Come now! You've whipped him. He won't do any more fighting for a while, I'll wager. Come, now—that's a good fellow." ”

“ You can get into more trouble than any other fellow I ever knew."
"Never mind," laughed Steve. "We're the Iron Boys. Why shouldn't we travel as part of the iron ore cargo? The only thing that troubles me is that we have lost our ship. The 'Wanderer' will sail to-night with two men short, and—but I care more about what Mr. Carrhart will think when he hears that we missed our boat. He will think us a couple of stupid boys, and he will be justified in so thinking."
"I don't care what he thinks," growled Bob. ”

“ As for Bob Jarvis, he had not been seen since the black column had lifted him from the floor.
Young Brodsky grasped the outstretched hands and began tugging with all his might. All his efforts were unavailing. Steve was being buried deeper and deeper every second.
"Hang on—I get somebody!" exclaimed Ignatz, darting away through the black cloud.
Kalinski, now running here and there, apparently very much upset over the disaster, was the first man the Pole met.
"Come quick!" he demanded, breathing hard.
"What do you want?" snarled Watski.
"The pit! There's a man in there and he can't get out!" ”

“ Oh, Steve!"
A faint "here," that sounded far away reached their ears.
"He's alive! I tell you, he's alive!" cried Bob Jarvis.
Grabbing the end of one of the planks that he had torn loose, Bob began dragging it toward the edge of the platform.
"What are you going to do, lad?"
"Do? Why, sir, I'm going after him."
"Wait; let the men do that. I cannot have you going in there," objected Mr. Penton. But Bob did not stop. He hauled the plank over, and, snatching the rope, made one end of the latter fast about the plank. He then began letting the plank over the side, end first. ”

“ Cried Rush.
"There is the traitor!" cried Rush, pointing to the triumphant Cavard. "That is the man who has brought this about, and all for his own gain. He is as crooked as the tram road on the sixteenth level in the Red Rock Mine."
With a yell, the mob surged toward the spot where Steve was standing. Bob Jarvis slowly rose to his feet. ”

“ A cleat ladder extended up the side of the trestle to the top. Bob ran up it like a real sailor and rushed over the ties to the place where the train was being loaded for the furnaces.
In the meantime, Steve Rush had been hoisted to the top. He knew what was coming. The lad braced his feet and shoulders against opposite sides of the scoop, hoping thereby to hold himself in place. He had forgotten that the shell would open up at the proper moment in order to discharge its load—would open up so wide that not even a fragment of anything would be left within it. ”

“ Steve gave the Pole a shove, Kalinski hurrying away as fast as his weakened legs would carry him, the fellow uttering threats and shaking his fists as he went.
"We will go home now," announced Steve. "You come with us, Ignatz," he added, taking an arm of the Polish boy. "I am sorry this thing happened, for I had hoped we should be able to keep out of further trouble. We will get a bad name if we don't stop having so many rows."
"But how are we going to help it?" protested Bob. "I can't stand around and see a boy abused by a big brute like Kalinski, without taking a hand." ”

“ He struck the water with a splash, broadside on, quickly sinking beneath the surface. Steve was too good a swimmer to swallow any water, however, and began holding his breath even before he struck the water, knowing as he did what was about to happen. The result was that he had propelled himself to the surface before many seconds had elapsed. He came up shaking himself like a water dog, but was careful to make as little noise as possible.
As soon as he succeeded in getting the water out of his eyes, he looked up, expecting to see a light on the platform on the sub-level. ”

“ Bob Jarvis nodded his approval of what Steve had said.
"I rather thought so. While I shall not want to lose you, you may rest assured that I shall leave nothing undone to push you along. You have a career before you, each of you. The keynote of success in the industrial world is patriotism. There is patriotism for flag and country and there is another kind as well—patriotism of achievement. It is this patriotism which accomplishes [pg 28] great works in the industrial world. Without it our great industries could not exist." ”

“ The captain laughed heartily.
"Lights, my boy. Channels are lighted at night, so you can't go wrong; but a good navigator will take his ship through any place without a light to guide him. I want you boys to learn every one of the ranges——"
"What is a range?" interrupted Bob.
"Guide lights," spoke up Steve quickly. "They are the lights on shore, either lighthouses or buoys, to show you how to lay your course."
"That is the idea," agreed Captain Simms. "Let's hear you box the compass while we are here alone, Jarvis." ”

“ Hissing and snapping the molten metal burned its way along through the sand-packed gutters, and shot from the ends of the gutters and into the waiting ladles on the flat cars at the foot of the platform. Everywhere the air seemed filled with fiery shapes reaching for human prey. Under foot there was danger on every hand, for a single misstep would plunge one into this all-consuming flood. The slag, or as much of it as possible, ground its way much more slowly, along another channel, to be gathered up and used over for other purposes at some later day. ”

“ Every man of the hundreds took up the cry. Steve Rush stood calmly on the bridge, his attention divided between the men creeping up the ravine and the mob on the surface. He held a piece of railroad iron in his hands, but this was the only weapon he had for his own defence, in case the men should decide to rush upon him from the end of the structure. ”

“ Just then the figure of a man was seen to leap from the top of the after deck-house into the raging sea.
Bob Jarvis had been clinging to a ladder that the chief engineer was holding up against the whistle pipe, the valve of the whistle having worked loose. The engineer had asked Bob to help him as a favor, which the lad was glad to do, though that was not his department. It was a ticklish position in which to work, and at any moment a lurch of the ship might throw the ladder over and throw the Iron Boy into the sea. ”

“ The furnace men, especially those on the tapping job, would be likely to get the full charge in their faces.
"Clank, clank, clank!" sounded the steel mall as it beat against the end of the bar held by Steve.
"Tap lighter," ordered the boy.
The sound of the blows grew fainter.
"That will do. We can poke out the opening after we step to one side. We shall then——"
"Bang!"
The mall struck the end of the dolly a terrific blow. The bar was driven through the thin shell of dolmite right into the hot metal of the furnace. ”

“ Barton, mining captain of the Red Rock Mine?"
Olsen nodded.
"And he would not take you back?"
"Him no take me."
"He will to-morrow," said Steve.
"Oh, if you will do that for my husband, I shall bless you!" exclaimed the woman. "Segunder, this young man is a good man. Surely he could not have brought this terrible thing upon us."
Segunder's face relaxed a little.
"Are you in need of assistance, Mrs. Olsen?"
The woman hesitated. Her pride was battling with her love for her little family.
"Oh, yes, sir; we are. We do not care for ourselves, my husband and myself, but our children! ”

“ And so Steve Rush began as a watch officer on the Great Lakes. He proved that the confidence of his superiors was not misplaced, and for the rest of the season he remained on the "Richmond," distinguishing himself in many ways. Gus Collins, with his fresh start in life, had dropped his hang-dog expression. When he talked to a man, now, he looked that man squarely in the eye, and from the moment of his return to the ship he was a daily worshipper at the shrine of Steve Rush. ”

“ Watski chuckled. He walked over to where Bob and Steve stood waiting for orders to go to work, surveying them from his beady, red eyes; beady because nature had made them so, red from the heat and the cinders of years in the mills. ”

“ Shortly before noon there was a meeting at Liberty Hall. Of course the Iron Boys were not present.
When the men came away from that meeting a change had stolen over them. They had ceased their noisy threats. Their faces were sullen and their words were few.
"Look out for trouble!" nodded Steve, as he observed the men from the window of a house across the way.
"Yes; they are loaded for bear," agreed Bob.
"Something has stirred them up. Probably Cavard has been talking to them. That man is a fiend in human form. He handles them, makes them his playthings, all to serve his own selfish purposes." ”

“ By this time Kalinski was getting slower in his movements, and the strong fists of the Iron Boy were beating a tattoo on the pit boss's face and ribs. The crowd, seeing that Kalinski was getting the worst of it, set up yells of disapproval.
"Throw him out! Put him in the river!"
With one common purpose the idlers surged forward. At that moment some one began pushing and elbowing through the crowd. Then Steve Rush strode into the ring where the man and the boy were battling for a finish. ”

“ His orders were carried out with a snap, and a moment later the dripping figure of Smith appeared above the level of the deck.
"You're a fine lot of lubbers," growled the stoker. "You let a man go overboard and then forget he's there. I ought to throw the bunch of you overboard."
"Take those boys to their cabins as soon as you get the water out of them," ordered Captain Simms.
"No, no; I'm all right," protested Steve, pulling himself together and staggering away from the men who were thumping him with their closed fists, hoping in that way to bring him back to himself. ”

“ Steve was caught up. His hat was lost, his coat was nearly ripped from his shoulders, and he was borne in triumph to the rostrum, where they tossed him up into the president's chair.
"You're the next president of the miners' union," they howled.
Steve raised a protesting hand.
"No, boys; you must choose an older man than I. You need level heads here. Besides, I may not be with you next year, but while I am here I shall work for your good. Good luck, boys! To-morrow you will go to work, and there will be happiness in your homes on Christmas Day." ”

“ The head melter, standing close up against the furnace, clad in a rubber coat and wearing green goggles, was peering into the furnace through a peep hole, while a stream of water from a hose was constantly played over his body. His face seemed to rest almost against the plates, and the bosh on which he was standing was so hot that the steam rose in a cloud about him.
Two men were inserting the prodding rod against the dolmite that plugged the ore hole near the bottom of the furnace. The perspiration was running in rivers down their half-naked bodies. ”

“ You are appointed foreman of the stoke-room of the ore carrier 'Richmond,' and you'll save more coal for the company than any other stoker who ever bossed a fire-room."
Collins sat down heavily. The tears were blinding his eyes. Steve did not try to stop them. He realized that they marked the turning point in what had been a hard life, a life that had bidden fair to be wholly wrecked in the name of justice. But what Steve Rush in his unselfishness did not realize, was that he had saved a human soul. ”