"Is the strike a serious matter?" she questioned in a confidential tone.
"As serious as it is possible for any matter of the kind to be," replied Richard.
"You and your men were always on the best of terms: why did they become dissatisfied with you?"
"They never became dissatisfied with me. The Trades' Unions' agents stepped in and persuaded them they would be better off if they could work less time and be paid more wages. The men listened: it was only natural they should do so: and presented themselves with these new demands. I did not grant them, and they struck. That's the case in a nutshell, Miss Dallory."
"I suppose you would not grant them?"
"I would not grant them upon principle; I could not, because my profits did not allow it. I am quite certain that if I had given way, in a short time the men would have demanded more. The Trades' Unions will never allow them to be satisfied, until----"
"Until what?" she asked, for Richard had stopped.
"Until the country is ruined, and its trade has left it."
"It is a serious thing," she said--and she was very grave now. "I suppose you would take the men on again upon the old terms?"
"And be glad to do it."