sistence seemed to indicate the nervous hast
he receiver to his ear. "What's that? What building? Pity they couldn't pick out a h
dent department. The sun beat down on the building with relentless energy, and there was scarcely a breath of
the telephone bell ring. It was their duty, immediately upon an accident being reported in any of the mills, to proceed to the scene at once and gathe
ing?" questi
tone that led one to believe that the
he
e building bearing that number.
rvis g
hot enough here, but excuse me from going into th
y to work to-day. You would only be a handic
shook his h
ng dimly at the peak of one of the long row of soot-blackened mills that made up the plant of the Steelburgh mills, a signal indicating that a disaster of some sort had oc
ere were some, such as the plate mills, where the armor plate was made for the ships of the Navy, which he had never entered.
by the guar
you going?" dem
nt depa
rd!" demanded the o
a hurry?" answered the lad, running past
running, began shouting at him from all sides to halt. Perhaps they had seen him passing in and out, daily, for several weeks. But this made no difference. He was running, and all persons goin
eir questions. He kept on running. So did some of the policemen, but they were no match in sp
ut from behind a pile of steel bars, their attention having
ld
ed Steve, continu
p, if ye know wh
. I can't stop. I'm from th
l sto
ll teach them a lesson, even if I lose my job for it," gritted the
r clubs as they executed the movement, one ste
m or be called down at the office for being too slow. I don't believe I'll be ca
grab for the fleeing lad, catching and whirling
go of
thrust forcibly against the neck of the policeman, followed by a sudden
used their companion so roughly. Their clubs were raised to strike, but er
building over which the red light still glowed. "The idiots! Why, a man cannot go about his busi
r of number twenty-four, which
an in, at which the officer nodded understa
of the dimly lighted building. It was the open-hearth furnace building, and the group
lf a dozen men lying on the floor groaning. The foreman was there waiting, havin
uestioned S
es
happ
e hot metal on them," replied the man, j
actly how i
his management. Besides this he was so used to seeing men injured, during his long service in the steel mills, th
saw the
on the pit
after which he returned to the foreman to get the names of the injured men. By the t
aphed first. Next he turned his attention to the ladle that had been capsize
broke, di
of them did," answer
atter what I see. How
train on it
e he could do so without being burned he poked the broken chain about with an iron bar that he had picked up, until he got the break where he could seenext a general view of the upset ladle and chain. You had better use
nt to do that for?"
that for?" repeated th
a fellow away like tha
but I am paid for gathering all the facts whenever an accident occurs. You are the foreman of
t's all. They're al
ush quickly. "The company's first care is for the safety of i
't!" grow
hap, though in this case it
re giving first aid to the injured as the men lay stretched
and a roar, interspersed with reverberating crashes, here an
ously hurt, Docto
He won't get well. As for t
all go to t
es
, please. Do you need
t some men to carry these po
litter-bearers?" requested Rush, tur
d so sullenly
owled. "You fellows are trying to
njured men were placed and in turn borne to the waiting ambulances, in which they were tenderly placed. The first a
iries, into these accident cases, as to cause those who were in any way responsible to feel a sense of uneasiness the moment they saw the lad enter their building. Rush spared no on
gard Steve as one among many. He did not side with the bosses, and, though he was the fr
themselves there in the beginning by their courage, resourcefulness and persistent efforts to serve their employers in the best possible manner. It was in this, their first employment, that the Iron Boys became friends after a fight and from that moment began a friendship that w
e mine from destruction by fire and dynamite, and thus saved the lives of many of their companions. The Iron Boys through their further efforts exposed the leader of the strike, proving him to be a dishonest man and a rascal of the worst type, who, instead of working for the interests of the honest but misguided members of the un
in the hold, and that they nearly lost their lives before making their way to the upper deck of the ship. Their first experience on shipboard had to do with the fire room in which they were put to work as stokers, and where they had a most unique but desperate battle with the "black gang" of the stoke hole. Collision and shipwreck were a part of their early experiences, during whi
e of their achievements, so that, though they did not know it, the superintendent was fully prepared for their coming. He had taken a liking to the frank-faced, athletic young fellows the moment he first saw them. He saw in them the making of splendid me
hletic appearance of the Iron Boys, did not believe they possesse
and Bob Jarvis. But Steve was not satisfied. There were some features about the work that he did not like. In the short time that he had been at the work he had witnessed scenes that had stirred him profoundly. Where his duty called him there was always suffering, and in many cases, death.
pany's hospital. He clung easily to the stanchions at the rear of the swaying wagon, thinking over the facts he had gained. The ambulance surgeon hummed softly to hi
tion to be talked to," requested Rush, as the ambulance driver pulled up b
e had been washed from the faces of the burned men. Steve halted as
claimed the Iron Boy. "I
ed on several occasions, thus winning t
ou suf
; I
after Brodsky here as so
surgeon. "Why, he isn't badly hurt. He will
will tell your mother how you are as soon as I can get away from t
, s
ll me what you know
es
e second place, Ignatz said, that, after the accident, he had heard some of the men talking about the chain being defective. Steve secured the names of these men from the Polish boy, then hurried on to the others of the injured. The lad had a pleasant, encouraging word for eac. These Steve did not try to question. He did, however
ight, shook himself and hurried to the office. There he made a verbal report to the head of the departmen
f the disaster, Steve was busily engaged in making out his report, which he dictated to a stenographer. Bob Jarvis stood on the other
t, Rush got up, stretched
is job," announced S
h with
oo slow
hat you s
himself looking into the face