Copyright, 1913, by
Howard E. Altemus

CONTENTS

ChapterPage
I. Too Slow for Him [7]
II. Making a New Start [24]
III. In the Cinder Pit [33]
IV. Laying Hands on the Boss [42]
V. On the Brink of a Volcano [53]
VI. Bob's Dizzy Flight [63]
VII. An Unjust Sentence [71]
VIII. Ignatz on the War Path [80]
IX. Steve Meets With Disappointment [93]
X. Something Happens to the Boss [103]
XI. Readjusting Their Finances [112]
XII. The Boys Meet With a Surprise [121]
XIII. Facing Their Accusers [130]
XIV. By the Roaring Furnaces [142]
XV. Menaced By a Double Peril [154]
XVI. Through the Melting Pot [164]
XVII. A Hang-Over and a Flareback [173]
XVIII. In a Fiery Rain [182]
XIX. Rush Makes a Suggestion [194]
XX. The Chief Expresses Himself [203]
XXI. Raked by the "Pig" [213]
XXII. Directors Get a Shock [224]
XXIII. An Unlooked-For Promotion [235]
XXIV. Conclusion [250]

The Iron Boys in the Steel Mills

CHAPTER I

TOO SLOW FOR HIM

THE telephone bell rang sharply. Its very insistence seemed to indicate the nervous haste of the person on the other end of the line.

"Hello!" growled the boy, looking longingly out of the office window as he clapped the receiver to his ear. "What's that? What building? Pity they couldn't pick out a hot day, while they were about it. Yes, I'll tell him. 'Yes,' I said. Can't you hear?"