"Climb the ladder."
"Huh! Lucky for me I'm on the night trick, so I can't see, or I'd surely fall off."
"Rush, the sand man will show you about the troughs. Jarvis, you hike upstairs. Tell the man I have up there that you are to relieve him. He will show you about operating the levers. Have him put in a charge while you look on."
"Is there any light up there, so I can see what I am doing?"
"You will have light enough," grinned Pig-Iron Peel. "You won't have any reason to complain about either light or heat. This charging business is a continuous performance day and night, until the furnaces have to be shut down for cleaning. For your information I will tell you that the iron, being the heaviest, sinks to the bottom of the furnace as it is melted. The cinders trickle down after it, forming what is called the heart. The latter are tapped off every two hours, the iron every four hours. If you are going to be furnace men you will want to know all these things at the start."
"Thank you for the information. It is all very interesting," answered Steve.
"And very hot," added Jarvis. "With your permission I'll go aloft now, sir."
"Go on, and look sharp that you don't fall off," warned the head melter.
"I'll cling to the sheets, sir."