“You men know what shut-downs mean,” he said. “Here’s five hours in three days—half a day’s time gone. That means a loss in wages alone of a hundred dollars, which is a small part of it. It’s got to stop. I don’t care whether these accidents are accidents or whether somebody is arranging them-they’ve got to quit, and quit sudden. Suppose we lose a hundred dollars every three days. That’s two hundred a week and ten thousand a year. Have you talked about this to anybody?”
“No,” said Nelson.
Beam shook his head,
“Is there any talk in the mill?”
“Haven’t heard any.”
“Well, keep quiet about it. If you fellows are right, we don’t want to advertise it. Now clear out of here and do the best you can. Keep your eyes open. Don’t get suspicious of anybody till you have mighty good reason. I’d hate to think it was any of the crew.”
“It’s somebody that knows the run of things.”
“Yes.”
“What possible reason could anybody have, Mr. Ashe—”
“That’ll be my job—to find out. This suspicion of yours is upsetting. I want to think about it. Then I’ll do something.”