The Iron Boys in the Steel Mills; or, Beginning Anew in the Cinder Pits

  CHAPTER XIX

  RUSH MAKES A SUGGESTION

  "Kalinski!" exclaimed both boys.

  "Come here!" commanded Peel.

  The Pole came forward sulkily.

  "Did you hit that dolly the whack that drove it through the dam?"

  Kalinski nodded.

  "Why did you do that?"

  "He told me to," pointing to Steve.

  "You are mistaken. I did nothing of the sort," answered Rush, his faceflushing under his effort at self-control.

  "You did!"

  "Be careful," warned Rush.

  "You know what Brodsky would say were he here?" spoke up Jarvis,thrusting his chin close to the face of the Pole. "He would say 'liar!'and I reckon he wouldn't be far from the truth at that."

  "Look here, what about this thing? What are you getting at, Jarvis?"demanded Pig-Iron.

  "This is the fellow who got us into trouble the other time and he istrying to get Steve in again. If he was the man driving home the dolly,whatever he did was done on purpose. Did he put Steve's life in danger?"

  "Nearly killed him. So you're the duffer, are you?" growled the melter."Git out of this!"

  Pig-Iron's voice grew to a roar. He made one leap toward the surly-facedPole, planting a ponderous fist squarely between Kalinski's eyes.

  "Git up!"

  Kalinski did not rise, for the reason that he could not. Pig-Iron jerkedthe fellow to his feet, then knocked him clear across the platform.

  "Don't hurt him. He has been punished enough," cried Steve.

  "It would serve the brute right if I killed him," roared the melter.

  Kalinski moaned, stirred, then got to his feet dizzily.

  "I'll have you put out of the yards for this," he growled, turningslowly away.

  Pig-Iron's right foot shot out. It caught the Pole fairly, lifting thefellow clear of the platform, hurling him headlong to the ground tenfeet below.

  "There, I guess that will hold him steady for a while. Don't you ever becaught around these furnaces again, unless you want me to finish thejob," shouted the boss.

  Steve's face wore a serious expression. Bob was grinning.

  "I wish Ignatz could have been here to see that," Jarvis said. "It wasworth being blown off the roof to see. Say, Mr. Peel, if you ever haveoccasion to lambaste Watski again, just call to me. I want to see thefun. Wouldn't miss it for anything."

  "All hands to number three," commanded the melter. "We're losing time.Daylight will be here almost before we know it now. We have lost onefurnace full and we don't want to repeat the performance."

  A few minutes later a cast was being made from number three. This timeBob worked on the gutters while Steve continued at his post asmonkey-man, toiling in the burning heat, with parched, cracking lips andburning cheeks. Morning found all hands ready for home and bed.

  "I wish I knew whether it would be right to see the superintendent,"said Steve, as he was walking along with Mr. Peel on the way out.

  "What for?"

  "I think I have an idea that will perhaps make a great improvement inthe furnace end of the business."

  Pig-Iron laughed.

  "Boy, there's bigger heads than yours that have been working on all theproblems for a long time. What they haven't thought of you never would.But, if you think you've got an idea in your head, just go see thesuper, and get it off your mind. I know how you feel."

  "Thank you; it isn't troubling me to that extent."

  Pig-Iron first went to the offices of the company to make his personalreport of the hang-over and the flare-back that had so upset theirnight's work. He made his report to Superintendent Keating direct, aswas the custom after the formal report had been made to the divisionsuperintendent.

  Mr. Keating asked Peel about the Iron Boys, whereupon Pig-Iron, in hisblunt way, told the general superintendent about Steve's plucky fightfor the mastery of himself before the furnace and of his eventualwinning out. He told the official some further facts that interested Mr.Keating very much.

  About four o'clock that afternoon as the Iron Boys were eating theirbreakfasts, or in this case their dinners, a messenger called at theBrodsky house with an order for Steve Rush to call at the office of thesuperintendent before he went to the mills to work.

  Rush did not know what was wanted, of course, but this time he did notbelieve he was being called up to be criticized. He hurried through hismeal, and, making himself presentable, walked over to the offices. Indue time he was admitted. Mr. Keating greeted him cordially. He wascourteous to all of his men until they showed themselves unworthy ofthat courtesy. In such cases the superintendent was curt and brief inwhat he had to say and he did not smile into their faces as he talked tothem.

  A pleasant smile wreathed his countenance this afternoon.

  "Your head melter has been in to-day, Rush," he said.

  "Yes, sir?"

  "He had some very pleasant things to say about you and Jarvis, in hisrough way. I assure you I was very glad to hear that you are doing sowell. I was sure you would. You have the pluck and you will make yourway to better things, in the steel business. Neither of you was hurtlast night, were you?"

  "Not at all, sir."

  "Mr. Peel tells me, among other things, that you have an idea for animprovement of some sort about the furnaces," said Mr. Keating, with arare twinkle in his eyes.

  Steve flushed.

  "I thought I had. He rather made fun of me for even thinking I had anidea."

  "And you therefore dropped it, eh?"

  "No, sir. It is stronger than ever."

  "That's the way to talk. Do not allow yourself to be swerved from aworthy purpose."

  "I never do. It results in my being called hard-headed sometimes."

  "We like to encourage our young men to make suggestions. Unfortunatelywe do not get many of value from the rank and file. Those men eitherhave not had experience enough to suggest valuable improvements, or elsethey are of too low an order of intelligence to do so. What was youridea?"

  "It was in connection with the waste gas from the stoves."

  "Indeed." Mr. Keating was interested at once.

  "Yes, sir; there is a great deal of waste gas, is there not?"

  "Much more than I wish there was."

  "You buy your gas from the city plant, do you not, if it is not animpertinent question?"

  "We do."

  "And it must cost you a great deal of money."

  "It does."

  "Have you ever thought of any way to avoid the waste of so much of itfrom the furnaces, then?"

  "We certainly have, my lad."

  "May I ask how you have tried to utilize it?"

  "We have tried to devise some system by which it might all be consumedin the heating stoves. This, thus far has appeared impracticable for thereason that, by holding it in the furnaces we were likely to get aserious blow-out some time."

  "That is the only way in which you have tried to use it?"

  "Yes. Was your suggestion along this line?"

  "Not exactly."

  "How then?"

  "I may be foolish, sir, but it struck me that the waste gas might beused to operate some sort of machinery in the mills."

  "Hm-m-m!" reflected Mr. Keating, not fully catching the drift of theIron Boy's suggestion. "What machinery?"

  "I visited the gas engines a few days ago, and I was very muchinterested in them. I took the liberty of inquiring how much gas wasused to run them, and when I got home I figured it down to dollars. Itcame to a very large figure."

  "You are getting into the business deeply, young man."

  "Perhaps I had no business to do so, but I was interested."

  "Go on; what do you propose?"

  "My idea is that you might run part or all of those gas engines with thewaste from your blast furnaces, sir," answered Rush boldly.

  "Hm-mm!"

  Mr. Keating was surveying his caller quizzically. Steve looked himsteadily in the eyes.

  "How did you happen to get tha
t idea?"

  "It came to me when my friend Jarvis was complaining about the gases upon the charging platform. I do not know whether the idea is of any valueto you. You are welcome to it if it is."

  "We will discuss that phase of it later," answered Mr. Keating, somewhatsharply.

  "You see, I have something of a personal interest in saving money. I ama sort of stockholder in the Steel Corporation."

  "You are?" exclaimed Mr. Keating, plainly showing his surprise.

  "Yes, sir; my friend and myself hold a few thousand dollars of thecompany's stock, on which we are drawing dividends."

  "May I ask where you got the stock?"

  "The officials of the Cousin Jack Mine gave us some, and with money thatMr. Carrhart gave us we bought some more. We are going to load up onsteel with the money we earn hereafter," answered the boy proudly.

  Mr. Keating laughed heartily.

  "You won't buy very much on the wages you are getting here at present,"he said.

  "No, sir; not much, but we are not always going to work for the wages weare now drawing."

  "You are right you are not. Let me ask how you would get the waste gasto the gas engines. Have you thought of that?"

  "Yes, sir. Pipe it."

  Mr. Keating rose, and stepping to the door of an adjoining office,called:

  "Mr. Phillips, will you be good enough to come in here?"

  The chief engineer of the mills entered the room in response to thesummons.