“Don’t worry about that,” replied Dave. “The company will settle with you.”
“I don’t know anything about your company,” retorted the man. “If you’re Dashaway——”
“I am.”
“I’ve heard of you, and you look like a decent, honest fellow. But say, this is an awful fix for me. I’m only in charge here, and I don’t know but the boss will hold me responsible for what’s happened and take the damage out of my small pay.”
“I will see that he doesn’t do that,” pledged Dave.
The man was almost crying in his fright and distress.
“You estimate what it will cost to replace things as they were,” directed Dave, “and I’ll settle it right out of my own pocket before I even leave here.”
“You will?” cried the gardener, joyfully.
“You can depend upon it. Did you see anything of two fellows who were in the machine with me?”
“Yes, I saw two young men running for that back fence yonder. They got out of sight pretty quick.”