The Blue Goose Page 9

  CHAPTER IX

  _The Meeting at the Blue Goose_

  An algebraic formula is very fascinating, but at the same time it isvery dangerous. The oft-times repeated assumption that _x_ plus _y_equals _a_ leads ultimately to the fixed belief that a is an attainableresult, whatever values may be assigned to the other factors. If weassign concrete dollars to the abstract _x_ and _y_, _a_ theoreticallybecomes concrete dollars as well. But immediately we do this, anotherfactor known as the personal equation calls for cards, and from then oninsists upon sitting in the game. Simple algebra no longer suffices;calculus, differential as well as integral, enters into our problem, andif we can succeed in fencing out quaternions, to say nothing of the_nth_ dimension, we may consider ourselves fortunate.

  Pierre was untrained in algebra, to say nothing of higher mathematics;but it is a legal maxim that ignorance of the law excuses no one, andthis dictum is equally applicable to natural and to human statutes.Pierre assumed very naturally that five dollars plus five dollars equalsten dollars, and dollars were what he was after. He went even further.Without stating the fact, he felt instinctively that, if he could tipthe one-legged plus to the more stable two-legged sign ofmultiplication, the result would be twenty-five dollars instead of ten.He knew that dollars added to, or multiplied by, dollars made wealth;but he failed to comprehend that wealth was a variable term with nodefinite, assignable value. In other words, he never knew, nor everwould know, when he had enough.

  Pierre had started in life with the questionable ambition of becomingrich. As foreman on a ranch at five dollars a day and found, he wasreasonably contented with simple addition. On the sudden death of hisemployer he was left in full charge, with no one to call him to account,and addition became more frequent and with larger sums. His horizonwidened, the Rainbow mine was opened, and the little town of Pandorasprang into existence. Three hundred workmen, with unlimited thirst anda passion for gaming, suggested multiplication, and Pierre moved fromthe ranch to the Blue Goose. Had he fixed upon a definition of wealthand adhered to it, a few years at the Blue Goose would have left himsatisfied. As it was, his ideas grew faster than his legitimateopportunities. The miners were no more content with their wages than hewith his gains, and so it happened that an underground retort was addedto the above-ground bar and roulette. The bar and roulette had thesanction of law; the retort was existing in spite of it. The bar androulette took care of themselves, and incidentally of Pierre; but withthe retort, the case was different. Pierre had to look out for himselfas well as the furnace. As proprietor of a saloon, his garnered dollarsbrought with them the protection of the nine points of thelaw--possession; the tenth was never in evidence.

  As a vender of gold bullion, with its possession, the nine points madeagainst rather than for him. As for the tenth, at its best it onlyoffered an opportunity for explanation which the law affords the mostobviously guilty.

  Morrison allowed several days to pass after his interview with Lunabefore acquainting Pierre with the failure to land their plunder. Thedisclosure might have been delayed even longer had not Pierre made someindirect inquiries. Pierre had taken the disclosure in a very differentmanner from what Morrison had expected. Morrison, as has been set forth,was a very slick bird, but he was not remarkable for his sagacity. Hiscunning had influenced him to repel, with an assumption of ignorance,Luna's broad hints of guilty complicity; but his sagacity failed utterlyto comprehend Pierre's more cunning silence. Pierre was activelyacquainted with Morrison's weak points, and while he ceased not toflatter them he never neglected to gather rewards for his labour. If thefabled crow had had the wit to swallow his cheese before he began tosing he would at least have had a full stomach to console himself forbeing duped. This is somewhat prognostical; but even so, it is not safeto jump too far. It sometimes happens that the fox and the crow becomeso mutually engrossed as to forget the possibility of a man and a gun.

  Late this particular evening Luna entered the Blue Goose, and havingpaid tribute at the bar, was guided by the knowing winks and nods ofMorrison into Pierre's private club-room, where Morrison himself soonfollowed.

  Morrison opened the game at once.

  "That new supe at the Rainbow is getting pretty fly." He apparentlyaddressed Pierre.

  Pierre bowed, in smiling acquiescence.

  "Our little game is going to come to an end pretty soon, too."

  "To what li'l game you refer?" Pierre inquired, blandly. Pierre did notmind talking frankly with one; with two he weighed his words.

  Morrison made an impatient gesture.

  "You know. I told you about the old man's getting back that ore."

  Pierre rubbed his hands softly.

  "Meestaire Firmstone, he's smooth stuff, ver' smooth stuff."

  "He's getting too smooth," interrupted Luna. "I don't mind a supe'slooking out for his company. That's what he's paid for. But when hebegins putting up games on the men, that's another matter, and I don'tpropose to stand it. Not for my part."

  "He's not bin populaire wiz ze boy?" inquired Pierre.

  "No."

  Pierre chuckled softly.

  "He keeps too much ze glass-eye on ze plate, on ze stamp, heh?"

  "That's not all."

  "No," Pierre continued; "he mek ze sample; he mek ze assay, hall zetime."

  "That's not all, either. He----"

  "A--a--ah! He bin mek ze viseete in ze mill in ze night, all hour, anyhour. Ze boy can't sleep, bin keep awake, bin keep ze han'--" Pierrewinked knowingly, making a scoop with his hand, and thrusting it intohis pocket.

  Luna grinned.

  "At ze mine ze boy get two stick powdaire, four candle, all day, eh? Notake ten, fifteen stick, ten, fifteen candle, use two, four, sell zeres'?" Pierre again winked smilingly.

  "You're sizing it up all right."

  "_Bien!_ I tol' you. Ze hol' man, he's bin hall right. I tol' you lookout. Bimeby I tol' you again. Goslow. Da's hall."

  Morrison was getting impatient.

  "What's the use of barking our shins, climbing for last year's birds'nests? The facts are just as I told you. The old man's getting too fly.The boys are getting tired of it. The question is, how are we going tostop him? If we can't stop him can we get rid of him?"

  "I can tell you one way to stop him, and get rid of him at the sametime," Luna broke in.

  "How is that?" asked Morrison.

  "Cut the cable when he goes up on the tram."

  "Will you take the job?" Morrison asked, sarcastically.

  Luna's enthusiasm waned under the question.

  "Such things have happened."

  "Some odder tings also happens." Pierre slipped an imaginary rope aroundhis neck.

  Morrison passed the remark and started in on a line of his own.

  "I've been telling Luna and some of the other boys what I think. I don'tmind their making a little on the side. It's no more than they deserve,and the company can stand it. It doesn't amount to much, anyway. Butwhat I do kick about is this everlasting spying around all the time.It's enough to make a thief out of an honest man. If you put a man onhis honour, he isn't going to sleep on shift, even if the supe doesn'tcome in on him, every hour of the night. Anyway, a supe ought to knowwhen a man does a day's work. Isn't that so?" He looked at Luna.

  "That's right, every time."

  "Then there's another point. A man has some rights of his own, if hedoes work for $3 a day. The old man is all the time posting notices atthe mine and at the mill. He tells men what days they can get their pay,and what days they can't. If a man quits, he's got to take a time-checkthat isn't worth face, till pay-day. Now what I want to know is this:Haven't the men just as good a right to post notices as the companyhas?" Morrison was industriously addressing Pierre, but talking at Luna.Pierre made no response, so Luna spoke instead.

  "I've been thinking the same thing."

  Morrison turned to Luna.

  "Well, I'll tell you. You fellows don't know your rights. When you workeight hours the company owes you three dollars
. You have a right to yourfull pay any time you want to ask for it. Do you get it? Not much. Thecompany says pay-day is the 15th of every month. You have nothing to sayabout it. You begin to work the first of one month. At the end of themonth the company makes up the payroll. On the 15th you get pay for lastmonth's work. The 15th, suppose you want to quit. You ask for your time.Do you get your pay for the fifteen days? Not much. They give you atime-check. If you'll wait thirty days you'll get a bank-check or cash,just as they choose. Suppose you want your money right away, do you getit?" Morrison looked fixedly at Luna.

  Luna shook his head in reply.

  "Of course not. What do you do? Why, you go to a bank, and if thecompany's good the bank will discount your check--one, two, three, orfive per cent. Your time amounts to $60, less board. The bank gives you,instead of $60, $57, which means that you put in one hard day's work toget what's your due."

  "The law's done away with time-checks," objected Luna.

  "Oh, yes, so it has. Says you must be paid in full." Morrison called onall his sarcasm to add emphasis to his words. "So the company complieswith the law. It writes out a bank-check for $60, but dates it thirtydays ahead, so the bank gets in its work, just the same."

  Luna glanced cunningly from Morrison to Pierre.

  "It strikes me that the Blue Goose isn't giving the bank a fair show. Inever cashed in at the bank."

  "What time ze bank open, eh?" Pierre asked, languidly.

  "Ten to four." Luna looked a trifle puzzled.

  "_Bien!_ Sunday an' ze holiday?" pursued Pierre.

  "'Tain't open at all."

  "_Tres bien!_ Ze Blue Goose, she mek open hall ze time, day, night,Sunday, holiday."

  "Well, you get paid for it," answered Luna, doggedly.

  "Oh, that isn't all," Morrison interrupted, impatiently. "I just giveyou this as one example. I can bring up a thousand. You know them aswell as I do. There's no use going over the whole wash." There was noreply. Morrison went on, "There's no use saying anything about shorttime, either. You keep your own time; but what does that amount to? Youtake what the company gives you. Of course, the law will take your timebefore the company's; but what does that amount to? Just this: You'retwo or three dollars shy on your time. You go to law about it, andyou'll get your two or three dollars; but it will cost you ten times asmuch; besides, you'll be blacklisted."

  It may appear that Morrison was training an able-bodied Gatling on avery small corporal's guard, and so wasting his ammunition. The fact is,Morrison was an active dynamo to which Luna, as an exhausted battery,was temporarily attached. Mr. Morrison felt very sure that if Luna wereproperly charged he would increase to a very large extent the radius ofdynamic activity.

  Inwardly Pierre was growing a little restless over Morrison's zeal. Itwas perfectly true that in the matter of paying the men the company wasenforcing an arbitrary rule that practically discounted by a small percent. the men's wages; but the men had never objected. Understanding thereason, they had never even considered it an injustice. There was nobank at Pandora, and it was not a very safe proceeding for a company,even, to carry a large amount of cash. Besides, the men knew very wellthat the discount did not benefit the company in the least. Anenforcement of the law would interfere with Pierre's business. If Pierrefound no butter on one side of his toast, he was accustomed to turn itover and examine the other side before he made a row. Recalling the factthat last impressions are the strongest, he proceeded to take a handhimself. He turned blandly to Luna.

  "How long you bin work in ze mill?" he asked.

  "About a year."

  "You get ze check every month?"

  "Why, yes; of course."

  "How much he bin discount?"

  "Nothing."

  "_Bien!_ You mek ze kick for noddings?"

  "I don't know about that," remarked Luna. "The way I size it up, that'sabout all that's coming my way. It's kick or nothing."

  There was a knock at the door.

  "Come in," called Morrison.

  The door swung open, and the mine foreman entered.

  "Why, howdy, Jim? You're just the fellow we've been waiting for. How'sthings at the mine?"

  "Damned if I know!" replied Jim, tossing his hat on the floor. "The oldman's in the mix-up, so I don't know how much I'm supposed to know."

  "What are you supposed to know?" Morrison was asking leading questions.

  "Well, for one thing, I'm supposed to know when a man's doing a day'swork."

  "Well, don't you?"

  "Not according to the old man. He snoops around and tells me that thisfellow's shirking, and to push him up; that that fellow's not timberingright, doesn't know his business, that I'd better fire him; that thegang driving on Four are soldiering, that I'd better contract it."

  "Contract it, eh?"

  "Yes."

  "Did you?"

  "I had to!"

  "How are the contractors making out?"

  "Kicking like steers; say they ain't making wages."

  "Who measures up?"

  "The old man, of course."

  "Uses his own tape and rod, eh?"

  "Yes. Why?"

  "Oh, nothing; only, if I were you, I'd just look over his measures. Younever heard of tapes that measured thirteen inches to the foot, did you?Nor of rods that made a hole three feet, when it was four?"

  "What are you feeding us?" the foreman asked, in surprise.

  "Pap. You're an infant. So's the gang of you."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Just this." Morrison looked wearied. "Thirteen inches to the foot meanseight and one-third feet to the hundred. That is, it's likely thecontractors are doing one hundred and eight feet and four inches, andgetting pay for a hundred. No wonder they're kicking. That's $75 to thegood for the company."

  "I never thought of that," replied the foreman.

  "I don't know that it's to be wondered at," answered Morrison. "After aman's pounded steel all day and got his head full of powder smoke, he'stoo tired and sick to think of anything. How are you coming on with theorganisation?"

  "Oh, all right. Most of the boys will come in all right. Some arestanding off, though. Say they'd as soon be pinched by the company asbled by the union."

  "Oh, well, don't trouble them too much. We'll attend to them later on.It's going to be a bad climate for scabs when we get our working clotheson."

  "It means a strike to get them out."

  To this sentiment Luna acquiesced with an emphatic nod.

  "Strike!" ejaculated Morrison. "That's just what we will do, and prettysoon, too!" He was still smarting with the memory of Bennie's words.

  Pierre again took a hand.

  "Who mek ze troub', heh? Meestaire Firmstone. I bin tol' you he's smoothstuff, ver' smooth stuff. You mek ze strike. _P'quoi?_ Mek MeestaireFirmstone quit, eh? _Bien!_ You mek ze strike, you mek MeestaireFirmstone keep his job. _P'quoi?_ Ze company say Meestaire Firmstone onegood man; he mek ze boy kick. _Bien!_ Meester Firmstone, he stay."

  "He'll stay, anyway," growled Morrison, "unless we can get him out."

  Pierre shook his head softly.

  "Ze strike mek him to stay."

  "What do you propose, then?" asked Morrison, impatiently.

  "Meestaire Jim at ze mine bin foreman. Meestaire Luna at ze mill binforeman. Slick men! Ver' slick men! An' two slick men bin ask hol'Pierre, one hol' Frenchmans, how mek for Meestaire Firmstone ze troub'."Pierre shook his head deprecatingly. "Mek one suppose. Mek suppose zemill all ze time broke down. Mek suppose ze mine raise hell. _Bien!_Bimeby ze company say, 'Meestaire Firmstone bin no good.'"

  "Frenchy's hitting pay dirt all right," commented Luna. "That's thestuff!"

  Pierre rose to his feet excitedly.

  "_Bien!_ Ze mill broke down and ze mine blow hup. Bimeby ze company say,'Meestaire Firmstone mek _beaucoup_ ze troub' all ze time!' _Bien!_ Zesteel get hin ze roll, ze stamp break, ze tram break, ze men kick. Hallze time Meestaire Firmstone mek ze explain. _Comment!_ 'MeestaireFirmstone, you ain't bin
fit for no superintend. Come hoff; we bin gotanodder fel'.'"

  Luna expressed his comprehension of Pierre's plan. He was seconded bythe mine foreman. Morrison was not wholly enthusiastic; but he yielded.

  "Well," he said, "warm it up for him. We'll give it a try, anyway. I'dlike to see that smooth-faced, glass-eyed company minion dancing on ahot iron."

  The assembly broke up. The very next day the warming process began inearnest.