He held out his hand. “Suppose I take it, sir. I ’ll be down in the yard this afternoon and I ’ll look it up.”

There was a sound of jingling glass outside the partition.

John stepped quickly to the door.

“Here, Sandy. Take this to McElwain in the yard. Tell him I ’ll be down in half an hour.—Here ’s your luncheon, sir.” He brought in the tray and placed it on the table, setting a chair before it and drawing the cork from the bottle. He removed the napkin that covered the tray. “Your luncheon ’s ready, sir.”

With a sigh of satisfaction, the President of the “R. and Q.” Road rose from his desk.

“There’s a fresh towel, sir, and I brought up some soap.”

With another sigh, the president of the road obeyed.


IX