Harding admitted that he had been told so.
"Since then I've heard from the Government people that they're not likely to want me for the new survey. As a matter of fact, I'm not sorry. The last man I went into the woods with was a sour, exacting brute."
"They've got to be hard. It isn't easy to run a line through a rough country."
"Nobody knows that better than I do," Gerald replied with feeling. "Well, I've been here a week, and can't find any congenial occupation."
"You don't look worried about it."
Gerald laughed.
"Oh, I'm not, as a rule, despondent; and I knew that I could as a last resort fall back on you. This explains my call. I believe you want an agent to manage your office."
Harding's expression indicated ironical amusement.
"Do you think what you have just told me is a recommendation for the job?"
"It seems to prove my need of it."