“Hooker,” Nash replied frankly, “I’m a native of Los Angeles. I love that city, and I’m going to protect its interests. I haven’t any authority over you, or over your dealings. I can only concern myself with the things——”
“Why didn’t you say you were a local man, in the first place?” interrupted the foreman. “I understood you came from New York.”
“I did come from there. But I was born and lived twenty-two years in Los Angeles. I’ve had enough experience in the engineering line to put me wise to a great many tricks, Hooker. This isn’t the first time I’ve bucked up against the same game.”
“Game?” retorted Hooker, his face clouding. “What the——”
“Yes, game!” Nash snapped out the word. “And padding the pay roll isn’t a very original one, either.”
CHAPTER X.
THE MYSTERY DEEPENS.
An interruption at this critical moment put an end to further argument. One of the subforemen, with a roll of blue prints, engaged Hooker’s attention, and Nash, aware of the time, and of the fact that considerable work had to be accomplished that day, abruptly turned away, leaving the foreman to brood over the dénouement.
Since the discovery last night, Nash had not allowed the affair to blind him; he had looked at the situation in the fairest possible light. Coming so abruptly, it stunned him at first. He had always imagined Hooker, while quarrelsome and quick-tempered at times, to stand for what was honorable—especially in a business way. Even after a careful comparison of the ledger with his own memorandum, Nash tried to believe that it had been a mistake—a slip of the pen turning the figure 3 into a 5. He even assured himself that once explained, the foreman would rectify the error immediately.