There was a brief pause, while Stone puffed on his pipe. Then it may have occurred to him that it was not necessary to go into so much detail in breaking in a political recruit. When he resumed, it was in a good-natured tone of dismissal. “That's what you do, kid. To-morrow you get a sprained wrist, so you can't work for a few days, and that'll give you a chance to bum round and hear what the men are saying. Meantime, I'll see you get your wages.”
“That sounds all right,” said Hal; but showing only a small part of his satisfaction!
The pit-boss rose from his chair and knocked the ashes from his pipe. “Mind you—I want the goods. I've got other fellows working, and I'm comparing 'em. For all you know, I may have somebody watching you.”
“Yes,” said Hal, and grinned cheerfully. “I'll not fail to bear that in mind.”
SECTION 6.
The first thing Hal did was to seek out Tom Olson and narrate this experience. The two of them had a merry time over it. “I'm the favourite of a boss now!” laughed Hal.
But the organiser became suddenly serious. “Be careful what you do for that fellow.”
“Why?”
“He might use it on you later on. One of the things they try to do if you make any trouble for them, is to prove that you took money from them, or tried to.”
“But he won't have any proofs.”