This also Tom showed briefly to his chum. Then, picking up the two telegrams, Tom stepped outside, turning them over to the rider.
"Ask your operator to rush both of these, the one to New York going first."
As the pony"s hoofs clicked against the gravel, Reade stepped inside the tent.
"What are you going to do with the State University students?"
asked Harry curiously.
"Put "em at work on the smaller jobs here," Tom answered. "At least, as many of them as the professor will vouch for."
Three hours later Tom received an answer to his local despatch.
It was from Professor Coles, sixty miles away, in camp with a party of thirty engineering students. The professor asked for further particulars. Tom wired back:
"Can use your entire lot of students in practical railroad work, if they want experience and can do work. Will you bring them here with all speed and let us try them out? For yourself, we offer suitable pay for a man of your attainments. Students engaged will be paid all they are worth."
"Gracious, but you"re going in at wholesale! What will President Newnham say to you for engaging men at such a wholesale rate!"
"By the time he reaches here," replied Tom in a tone that meant business, "either he will see results that will force him to approve---or else he"ll give me my walking papers."
"Now, what shall we do?" inquired Hazelton.
"Nothing. It"s nearly time for the field force to be back in camp."
"We"d better work every minute of the time," urged Harry.
"We"re going to take things more easily after this," Tom yawned.
"Is that what you mean by hustling?"
"In a way, yes," Tom nodded. "See here, Harry, in the field we tried to do the work of a man and a half each, didn"t we? And here at the drawing tables, too."
"Of course."
"Now there is need of hustling, and, if we work too hard, we simply won"t have time to plan for others, or even to know what they"re doing. There are a lot of students coming, Harry. Most of them will be good men, for they"re young, full of enthusiasm, and just crazy to show what they can do. Some of them will doubtless be good draughtsmen. You"ll take these men and see to it that the drawing is pushed forward. But you won"t work too hard yourself.
You"ll see to it that the force under you is working, and in that way you"ll be three times as useful as if you merely ground and dug hard by yourself. I shall go light on real work, just in order that I may have my eyes and brains where they will do the most good every minute of the time."
Someone was approaching. Tom threw open the flap of the tent, thus discovering that the man was Black.
"Howdy, Reade," was the greeting of the idle engineer. "I"m glad to say that my headache is better. I"m not going to have the fever, after all. Tomorrow I"ll be out on the leveling job."
Tom shook his head.
"I want you to rest up tomorrow, Black."
"I won"t do it," retorted the other flatly. "Tomorrow I go out and continue running my levels."
"Then I may as well tell you," Tom continued, "what I would have preferred to break to you more easily later on."
"What do you mean?" questioned the other sharply, an uneasy look creeping into his face.
"You"re not going to do any more work for us, Black," replied the young chief coolly.
"Not do any more work, What do you mean, Reade? Am I discharged from this corps?"
"Not yet, Black, for I haven"t the money at hand to pay you to date. So you may stay here until the paymaster comes. Then, when you have your full amount of pay, you can leave us."
"What does this mean?" demanded "Gene Black angrily, as he stepped closer, his eyes blazing.
Some young men would have shrunk back before Black"s menacing manner. Tom had never yet met the man who could make him really afraid.
"I"ve already told you the whole story, Black."
"Why am I discharged?"
"I am not obliged to give you my reasons."
"You"ll find you"ll have to do so!" stormed "Gene Black.
"Well, then," Tom answered, "you get through here because you kicked one of the tripod legs of your leveling instrument the other day, and left a mark on the wood."
"Don"t you try to be funny with me, you young hound!" hissed Black, stepping so close that Tom gently pushed him back. "You young idiot! Do you think you can fire me---and get away with it?"
"We won"t talk about it any more," Tom answered. "Your time will be all your own until the paymaster arrives. After you"ve received your money you will leave camp."
"Are any of the others going?"
"No."
"Then you"re discharging me for personal reasons!" snarled "Gene Black. "However, you can"t do it! I"ll wire the president of the road, at New York."
"He won"t receive your wire," Tom a.s.sured the irate one. "President Newnham is on his way here. Probably he"ll arrive here before the paymaster does. You may take your case to President Newnham in person if you wish."
"That"s what I"ll do, then!" breathed "Gene Black fiercely.
"And I"ll take your place in charge here, cub! If I don"t, _you_ shall never finish the S.B. & L!"
CHAPTER XIV
BAD PETE MIXES IN SOME
Forty-Eight hours later Professor Coles arrived in camp with thirty healthy, joyous young students of engineering.
It didn"t take Tom half an hour to discover that he had some excellent material here. As for the professor himself, that gentleman was a civil engineer of the widest experience.
"I shall need you to advise me, professor," Tom explained. "While I had the nerve to take command here, I"m only a boy, after all, and you"ll be surprised when you find out how much there is that I don"t know."
"It"s very evident, Mr. Reade," smiled the professor, "that you know the art of management, and that"s the important part in any line of great work."