CHAPTER VII
TOM ISN'T AS EASY AS HE LOOKS
"I don't believe I'll do that, sir," murmured Tom, putting down the pen.
"You don't, eh?"
"No, sir."
"Oh, then you'd rather wait and be forced out?"
"How about the contract, sir, between your company and Reade & Hazelton?Contracts can't be broken as lightly as your words imply."
"I'll break that contract, if I set out to," declared Mr. Bascomb, purplingwith half-suppressed rage. "I've every ground for breaking the contract.You're running things with a high hand here, and disorganizing all ourefforts. No contract will stand on presentation of any such evidence asthat before a court."
"I am quite willing to leave that to a court, if I have to," Readerejoined. His tones were decidedly cold. "Mr. Bascomb, even if I wereinclined to forfeit the contract I would have no legal right to do sowithout the approval of my partner, Hazelton."
"Humph! He's dead," snorted the president.
"That yet remains to be proved, sir," Tom answered huskily, his voicebreaking slightly at thought of Harry.
"How on earth do you think you could defend a contract against a wealthycompany like ours? Why, we could swamp you under our loose change alone.How much money have you in the world? Two or three thousand dollars,perhaps."
"I've a little more than that," Tom Reade smiled. "For one thing, I'm athird owner in the Ambition mine, on Indian Smoke Range, Nevada, and theAmbition has been a dividend payer almost from the start. Hazelton ownsanother third of the mine."
"Eh?" gasped Mr. Bascomb, plainly taken aback.
"Oh, we're not millionaires," Tom laughed easily. "Yet I fancy Hazeltonand I could raise enough money to fight any breach-of-contract case incourt. With a steady-paying mine, you know, we could even discount tosome extent the earnings of future years."
"Oh, well, we don't want hard feelings," urged Mr. Bascomb, his mannerbecoming more peaceable. "The plain truth is, Reade, that we're utterlydissatisfied with your way of managing things here. When you know how theMelliston Company feels toward you, you don't want to be impudent enough toinsist on hanging on, do you?"
"I am certain that I speak for my partner, sir, when I state that we won'tdrop the contract until we have fulfilled it," Tom muttered, coolly, butwith great firmness.
"What's all this dispute about anyway, Bascomb?" a voice called cheerilyfrom the hallway.
"Oh, it's you, is it, Prenter?" asked Mr. Bascomb, turning and not lookingoverjoyed at the interruption.
Simon F. Prenter was treasurer of the Melliston Company. Tom had met himat the time of signing the engineers' contract with the company. Now Readesprang up to place a chair for the new arrival.
"What was all the row about?" Mr. Prenter asked affably. He was a man ofabout forty-five, rather stout, with light blue eyes that looked at onewith engaging candor.
"I have been suggesting to Reade that he might resign," replied Mr.Bascomb, stiffly.
"Why?" asked Prenter, opening his eyes wider.
"Because he has raised the mischief on this breakwater job. He has allthe men by their ears, and the camp in open mutiny."
"So?" asked Mr. Prenter, looking astonished.
"Exactly, and therefore I have called upon the young man to resign."
"And he refuses?" queried the treasurer. "Most astounding obstinacy on thepart of so young a man when dealing with his elder."
"I'll try to explain to you, Mr. Prenter," volunteered Reade, "just whatI've been trying to tell Mr. Bascomb."
"I don't know that I need trouble you," replied Mr. Prenter, moving so thathe stood more behind the irate president. "I overheard what you weretelling him."
Then the treasurer did a most unexpected thing. He winked broadly at theyoung engineer.
"Yes, Prenter," Mr. Bascomb went on, "this camp is in a state of mutiny.The men are all at odds with their chief."
"Strange," murmured the treasurer of the Melliston Company. "When I pausedon the porch, before entering, I thought I caught sight of unusualactivity down at the water front. Did you notice it, too, Bascomb?"
"I noticed nothing of the sort," replied the president stiffly. "Am I toinfer, Prenter, that you are going to follow your occasional tactics andtry to laugh me out of my decision as president of the company?"
"Oh, nothing of the sort, I assure you," hastily protested the treasurer.But he found chance to drive another wink Tom Reade's way. The young chiefengineer could not but feel that an ally had suddenly come his way.
"Now, what is the nature and extent of the mutiny?" asked Mr. Prenter.
"First of all, eight thousand dollars' damage has been done to theretaining wall of the breakwater," replied Mr. Bascomb. "That is,according to Mr. Reade's figures, which very likely may prove to be toolow. Also, Mr. Hazelton has been murdered."
"Hazelton---killed?" gasped Mr. Prenter showing genuine concern. "Ofcourse I know that the telegram to the office said that Hazelton wasmissing, but I didn't suppose it was anything as tragic as a killing."
"Well, Hazelton can't be found, so I haven't a doubt he was killed as partof a general plan of mutiny and revenge on the part of the mixed crews ofmen working here," declared Mr. Bascomb.
"Oh, I sincerely hope that Hazelton hasn't lost his life here!" cried Mr.Prenter. "Reade, aren't you going to take us down to the water front andshow us the extent of the damage?"
"I shall be only too glad to do so, sir," Tom agreed.
Even Mr. Bascomb consented at last to go. As they gained the porchNicolas rushed up with the cigars for which the president had sent him.While Mr. Bascomb paused to light one, Mr. Prenter thrust an arm throughTom's and led that youth down the road.
"Now, Mr. Reade," murmured the treasurer, earnestly, "Mr. Bascomb, ofcourse, is our president, and I don't want you to treat him with theslightest disrespect. But Bascomb isn't the majority stockholder nor thewhole board of directors, so I'll just drop this hint: When Bascomb talksof resignations don't attach too serious importance to it until you receivea resolution endorsing the same view and passed by the board of directorsof the company."
"Thank you. I have no intention of resigning," smiled Tom.
"Now, let's go on," continued Mr. Prenter.
Mr. Bascomb, having his cigar lighted, seemed to prefer strolling in therear by himself.
"Now, I don't want to give you any wrong impressions, Mr. Reade," went onMr. Prenter. "Mr. Bascomb is the head of our company, but other directorsrepresent more of the stock of the company than he does. I am one of them.Sometimes Mr. Bascomb gets a bit hard-headed, and he is inclined to giveorders that others of us wouldn't approve. I judge that you and he werehaving some dispute when I happened along."
"I didn't regard it as a dispute, sir," Reade rejoined. "In the firstplace, I had discharged, for incompetency and faithlessness, a foremannamed Evarts.
"And Evarts is a pet of Mr. Bascomb's," smiled Mr. Prenter. "I imaginethat Evarts is even some sort of family connection who has to be lookedafter and kept in a good job."
"Anyway," Tom continued, "I explained that Evarts was worse than uselesshere and that I couldn't have him in the camp or on the job."
"Quite right, I fancy," nodded Mr. Prenter. "In the second place, Mr.Bascomb ordered me to stop my crusade against the gamblers who had triedto invade the camp and rob the men of their earnings. Hazelton and I hadthat sort of row once out in Arizona---and we won out."
"You deserve to win out here, too," remarked Mr. Prenter. "I have nopatience with anything but straight, uncompromising right. We can'tcontrol the men, if they see fit to leave the camp at night, but you haveevery right---and it's your duty---to see to it that no disorder is allowedwithin camp limits. I, too, have heard something about your trouble here,Mr. Reade, and I can promise you that the directors generally will sustainyou. So Mr. Bascomb demanded your resignation?"
"He did, sir."
"Let it go at that," smiled Mr. Prenter. "You may e
ven, sometime, if itwill please Mr. Bascomb, hand him your resignation. I will see to it thatit doesn't get past the board of directors. Mr. Bascomb is irritable, andsometimes he is a downright crank, but he is valuable to us just the same.We feel, too, Reade, that you and Hazelton are just the men we need to putthis breakwater through in the best fashion."
"Even though at least eight thousand dollars in damage was done lastnight?" queried Tom.
"Yes, even in the face of that. I am certain that you will know how toforestall any more such spite work."
"Now, I'm not altogether so sure of that, sir," Reade answered, quickly."Of course we'll be eternally vigilant after this, but the trick was donelast night so cleverly and mysteriously that we may be surprised again bythe plotters. Speaking of mystery, could anything be stranger, or harderto explain, than what happened to poor Hazelton?"
"There _was_ mystery for you!" nodded Mr. Prenter. "Have you any ideaswhatever on the subject of Hazelton's disappearance?"
"Not the slightest," groaned Tom. "I know all the indications are that hehas been killed, and I ought to believe that such is the case. But Isimply won't believe it. Why, if he were killed, what became of the body?"
"It's a puzzle," sighed Mr. Prenter.
They were now nearing the land end of the breakwater wall. Mr. Bascombovertook them. Together the three strolled out along the wall, haltingfrequently, to observe what the men were doing. It was their plan to keepon until they came to the scene of the two explosions of the night before.
"Just what are you doing here?" asked Mr. Bascomb, stopping and pointing toa gang of men at work on a scow moored against the wall.
"I can tell you, after a fashion, sir," Reade answered. "Yet this was apart of Hazelton's performance. He had charge here, and knew ever so muchabout it. Poor old Harry!"
Behind them, at the beginning of the wall, a long, loud whistle sounded.
In a moment fully a hundred of the workmen stood up, waved their caps andcheered as though they had gone mad.
Coming forward, with long strides, was Harry Hazelton, in the flesh!