The boss turned on him like a flash.
"You had something more than a hunch: what was it—a wire?"
Mr. Van Britt gritted his teeth a little, but he told the truth.
"Yes; a friend of ours tipped me off—not about the broken track, of course, but just in a general way. I knew you'd bully me if I should tell you that I was going to run a pilot ahead of you, so I didn't tell you."
The break was repaired and the men were taking the tools back to the engine. As we turned to follow them, Mr. Norcross said: "Just one more question, Upton. Did your wire come from the capital?"
But at this Mr. Van Britt seemed to forget that he was talking to his general manager.
"It's none of your damned business where it came from," he snapped back; and that ended it.