“Here, Smiler! You show Sol how to make a horse shoe.”
Smiler stood and grinned, shaking his head in the direction of Sol, who had always shown a tradesman’s rooted objection to anyone handling any of his tools at any time and had more than once chased Smiler out of the premises for touching a hammer.
“It is all right, son! Sol won’t say a word. Go to it; and, if you do it right that ten dollars there are yours and you’ll get working here with Sol all the time and will make plenty of money.”
Smiler threw off his ragged coat in a second, tied on one of Phil’s old aprons in a business-like way, rolled up his sleeves––what was left of the lower parts of them––picked up a piece of steel, thrust it into the heart of the fire and started the bellows roaring.
And in time––before the bewildered face of Sol Hanson––he 334 took out the almost white-hot iron, tested it, hammered it and turned it, with the skill of a master-craftsman, heeding no one; all intent on his work. He chiselled it, he beat it, he turned it and holed it, then tempered the completed shoe, handing it over finally with a crooked smile on his begrimed and sweat-glistening face.
Sol was positively dazed. When he did come to a true realisation of what Smiler had done, he sprang on him, hugging him and god-blessing him until Phil began to fear for the youngster’s personal safety.
“Well,” said Phil, picking up the ten dollars and handing them over to Smiler, “I guess, Sol, you have found your man?”
“Found him! You bet your life, I got him. Yiminy crickets!––and I make him one dam-fine fellow now, I tell you what. He my son now––my little Smiler.”
And Smiler smiled, as Phil hurried back to relieve Jim at the office.
When Phil got back there, he found Jim on tenterhooks of excitement awaiting his arrival, for he had had a prospective buyer just off the train, who wanted Jim to drive him out to inspect a few ranches in the neighbourhood, immediately after he had a wash-up and some lunch at the Kenora; and Jim had been fearing that Phil would not get back in time.