Mr。Maitlandturnedsharplyuponthespeaker。
“Whatisyourname，myman？“heenquired。
“ManameisMalcolmMcNish。’Adootyehavenahar-r-dit。Butthenamemaitterslittle。It’sthequestion’A’mspeerin’——askingatye。“
HerewasnoamateurinthebusinessofGrievanceCommittees。Hismannerwasthatofaself-respectingmandealingwithafellow-manontermsofperfectequality。TherewasacompleteabsenceofWigglesworth’snoisybluster，asalsoofGilby’sviolentprofanity。
Heobviouslyknewhisgroundandwasreadytoholdit。Hehadacaseandwaspreparedtodiscussit。Therewasnooccasionforheatorblusterorprofanity。Hewaspreparedtodiscussthematter，mantoman。
Mr。Maitlandregardedhimforamomentortwowithkeensteadygaze。
“Wheredoyouwork，McNish？“heenquiredoftheScot。
“A’mworkin’thenoointhesawmill。A’majoinertotrade。“
“ThenPerrotteisnotyourforeman？“
“Thatistrue，“saidMcNishquietly。
“Thenpersonallyyouhavenogrievanceagainsthim？“Mr。Maitlandhadtheairofamanwhohasscoredabullatthefirstshot。
“Ay，Ahavean’thementae——themenIrepresenthave——“
“Andyouassumetospeakforthem？“
“Theyappointmetospeakforthem。“
“Andtheircomplaintis——？“
“Theircomplaintisthatheisnofittobeaforeman。“
“Ah，indeed！Andyouareheresolelyontheirword——“
“No，notsolely，butpairtly。AknowbyexperienceandAhaehar-r-dtheman，andhe’snofitforhisjob，A’mtellin’you。“
“Isupposeyouknowthequalificationsofaforeman，McNish？“
enquiredMr。Maitlandwiththesuspicionofsarcasminhisvoice。
“Ay，Adothat。“
“Andhow，mayIask，haveyoucometotheknowledge？“
“Adinnasee——Idonotseethebearingofthequestion。“
“Onlythis，thatyouandthoseyourepresentplaceyourjudgmentassuperiortomineinthechoiceofaforeman。Itwouldbeinterestingtoknowuponwhatgrounds。“
“Ihavebeenaforemanmyself。Buttherearetwopointsofviewinthisquestion——thepointofviewofthemanagementandthatoftheworker。Wehavetheonepointofview，youhavetheother。Andeachhasitsvalue。Oursisthemoreimportant。“
“Indeed！Andwhy，pray？“
“Yourshaschieflytodowithprofits，ourswithhumanlife。“
“Veryinterestingindeed，“saidMr。Maitland，“butithappensthatprofitsandhumanlifearesomewhatcloselyallied——“
“Aye，butwi’youprofitsaretheprimaryconsiderationandhumanitythesecondary。Wi’ushumanityistheprimary。“
“Veryinteresting，indeed。ButImustdeclineyourpremise。YouareanewmanhereandsoIwillexcuseyoutheimpudenceofchargingmewithindifferencetothewell-beingofmymen。“
“Youputwur-r-dsinmymouth，Mr。Maitland。Asaidnaesicthing，“saidMcNish。“Butyourforemandisna’knowhisplace，andhemustbechanged。“
“’Must，’eh？“ThewordhadneverbeenusedtoMr。Maitlandsincehisownfatherfiftyyearsbeforehadusedit。Itwasanunfortunatewordforthesuccessoftheinterview。“’Must，’eh？“
repeatedMr。Maitlandwithrisingwrath。“I’dhaveyouknow，McNish，thatthemandoesn’tlivethatsays’must’tomeinregardtothemenIchoosetomanagemybusiness。“
“Thenyourefusetoremoveyereforeman？“
“Mostemphatically，Ido，“saidMr。Maitlandwithglintsoffireinhisblueeyes。
“Verraweel，soasweknowyereanswer。Thereisanithermatter。“
“Yes？Well，bequickaboutit。“
“Awullthat。Yedinnapayyeremenenoughwages。“
“HowdoyouknowIdon’t？“saidMr。Maitlandrisingfromhischair。
“AhaveexaminedcertainfeegureswhichIshallbegladtosubmittaeye，inregardtaethecosto’leevin’sincelastyefixedthewage。Ifyerewagewasrightthen，it’swrangthenoo。“UnderthestrainMr。Maitland’sboringeyesandincreasingimpatiencetheDoricflavourofMcNish’sspeechgrewricherandmoreguttural，varyingwiththeintensityofhisemotion。
“Andwhatmaythesefiguresbe？“enquiredMr。Maitlandwithavoiceofcontempt。
“ThesearethefigurespreparedbytheLabourDepartmentofyourFederalGovernment。Isupposetheymaybereliedupon。Theyshowtheincreasedcostoflivingduringthelastfiveyears。Youknowyeresel’theincreaseinwages。Mr。Maitland，Iamtoldyeareajustman，an’weaskyetaedaether-r-right。That’sall，sir。“
“Thankyouforyourgoodopinion，myman。WhetherIamajustmanornotisformyownconsciencealone。Astothewagequestion，Mr。Wickeswilltellyou，thematterhadalreadybeentakenup。
Theresultwillbeannouncedinaweekorso。“
“Thankyou，sir。Thankyou，sir，“saidMr。Wigglesworth。“Wefeltsureitwouldonlybenecessarytopoint(h)outtherightcoursetoyou。ImaysayItookthesame(h)identical(h)attitudewithmyfellowworkmen。Iseztothem，sezI，’Mr。Maitland——’
“Thatwilldo，Wigglesworth，“saidMr。Maitland，cuttinghimshort。
“Haveyouanythingmoretosay？“hecontinued，turningtoMcNish。
“Nothing，sir，excepttoexpressthehopethatyouwillreconsideryereattitudeasregardstheforeman。“
“Youmaytakemywordforit，Iwillnot，“saidMr。Maitland，snappinghiswordsoffwithhisteeth。
“Atleast，asafair-mindedman，youwilllookintothematter，“
saidMcNishtemperately。
“IshalldoasIthinkbest，“saidMr。Maitland。
“Itwouldbewiser。“
“Doyouthreatenme，sir？“Mr。MaitlandleanedoverhisdesktowardthecalmandruggedScot，hiseyesflashingindignation。
“Threatenye？Na，na，threatsareforbairns。Yerenoabairn，butamanan’awisemanan’ajust，Adoot。A’mgie’in’yeadvice。That’sall。Guidday。“
HeturnedawayfromtheindignantMr。Maitland，puthishatonhisheadandwalkedfromtheroom，followedbytheothermembersoftheCommittee，withtheexceptionofMr。Wigglesworthwholingeredwithevidentlypacificintentions。
“This，sir，isamost(h)auspicious(h)era，sir。The(h)ageofreasonandjustice’asdawned，an’——“
“Oh，getout，Wigglesworth。Haven’tyoumadeallyourspeechesyet？Thetimeforthespeechesispast。Goodday。“
Heturnedtohisbookkeeper。
“Wickes，bringmethereportsturnedinbyPerrotte，atonce。“
Mr。Maitland’smannerwasfrankly，almostbrutally，imperious。Itwasnothisusualmannerwithhissubordinates，fromwhichitmaybegatheredthatMr。Maitlandwasseriouslydisturbed。Andwithgoodreason。Inthefirstplace，neverinhiscareerhadoneofhismenaddressedhiminthecooltermsofequalitywhichMcNishhadusedwithhimintherecentinterview。Then，neverhadhebeenapproachedbyaGrievanceCommittee。Thewholesituationwasnew，irritating，humiliating。
Astothewagesquestion，hewouldsettlethatwithoutdifficulty。
Hehadneverskimpedthepayenvelope。Itannoyedhim，however，thathehadbeenforstalledinthematterbythisCommittee。Butveryespeciallyhewasannoyedbytherecollectionofthedeliberative，raspingtonesofthatcool-headedScot，whohadsocalmlysetbeforehimhisduty。Butthestingoftheinterviewlayintheconsciousnessthatthecriticismofhisforemanwasprobablyjust。Andthen，hewastiedtoTonyPerrottebybondsthatreachedhisheart。Haditnotbeenso，hewouldhavemadeshortworkofthebusiness。Asitwas，Tonywouldhavetostayatallcosts。
Mr。Maitlandsatbackinhischair，hiseyesfixedupontheBigBluffvisiblethroughthewindow，buthismindlingeringoverapicturethathadoftengrippedhardathisheartduringthelasttwoyears，apicturedrawnforhiminaletterfromhisremainingson，Jack。Theletterlayinthedeskathishand。Hesawintheblacknightthatshell-tornstripoflandbetweenthelines，blackasaploughedfield，luridforaswiftmomentundertheredglareofaburstingshellorghastlyinthesicklyilluminationofaVerrylight，andoverthisblackpittedearthamanpainfullystaggeringwithawoundedmanonhisback。Thewordsleapedtohiseyes。“Hebroughtmeoutofthathell，Dad。“Heclosedhiseyestoshutoutthatpicture，hishandsclenchedonthearmsofhischair。
“No，“hesaid，raisinghishandinsolemnaffirmation，“astheLordGodliveth，whileIstayhestays。“
“Comein，“hesaid，inanswertoatimidtapattheofficedoor。
Mr。Wickeslaidafilebeforehim。Itneededonlyarapidsurveyofthesheetstogivehimthewholestory。Incompetenceandworse，sheercarelessnesslookedupathimfromeverysheet。Theplaningmillwasinastateofchaoticdisorganization。
“Whatdoesthismean，Mr。Wickes？“heburstforth，puttinghisfingeruponanitemthatcriedoutmismanagementandblundering。
“Hereisanorderthattakesamonthtoclearwhichshouldbedonewithintendaysatthelongest。“
Wickesstoodsilent，overwhelmedindismayedself-condemnation。
“Itseemsdifficultsomehowtogetordersthrough，sir，thesedays，“hesaidafterapause。
“Difficult？Whatisthedifficulty？Themenarethere，themachinesarethere，thematerialisintheyard。Whythedelay？
Andlookatthis。Hereisalotofmaterialgonetothescrapheap，thefinestspruceevergrowninCanadatoo。Whatdoesthismean，Wickes？“heseemedtowelcometheopportunityoffindingascapegoatforeconomiccrimes，forwhichhecouldfindnopardon。
Sheetaftersheetpassedinswiftreviewunderhiseye。Suddenlyheflunghimselfbackinhischair。
“Wickes，thisissimplydamnable！“
“Yes，sir，“saidWickes，hisfacepaleandhisfingerstrembling。
“Idon’t——Idon’tseemtobeableto——to——getthingsthrough。“
“Getthingsthrough？Ishouldsaynot，“shoutedMaitland，glaringathim。
“Ihavetried，ImeanI’mafraidI’m——thatIamnotquiteuptoit，asIusedtobe。Igetconfused——and——“Theoldbookkeeper’slipswerewhiteandquivering。Hecouldnotgetonwithhisstory。
“Here，taketheseaway，“roaredMaitland。
Gatheringupthesheetswithfingersthattrembledhelplessly，Wickescrepthurriedlyoutthroughthedoor，leavingamanbehindhimfuriously，helplesslystrugglingintherelentlessgripofhisconscience，lashedwithasenseofhisowninjustice。Hisangerwhichhadfoundventuponhisoldbookkeeperheknewwasdueanotherman，amanwithwhomatanycosthecouldneverallowhimselftobeangry。ThenexttwohourswerebadhoursforGrantMaitland。
Asthequittingwhistleblewatapcameagaintotheofficedoor。
ItwasWickes，withapaperinhishand。Withoutawordhelaidthepaperuponhischief’sdeskandturnedaway。Maitlandglancedoveritrapidly。
“Wickes，whatdoesthisnonsensemean？“Hischief’svoicearrestedhim。Heturnedagaintothedesk。
“Idon’tthink——Ihavecometofeel，sir，thatIamnotableformyjob。IdonotseeashowIcangoon。“Maitland’sbrowsfrowneduponthesheet。Slowlyhepickedupthepaper，toreitacrossandtosseditintothewastebasket。
“Wickes，youareanoldfool——and，“headdedinavoicethatgrewhusky，“Iamanotherandworse。“
“But，sir——“beganWickes，inhurriedtones。
“Oh，cutitallout，Wickes，“saidMaitlandimpatiently。“YouknowIwon’tstandforthat。Butwhatcanwedo？Hesavedmyboy’slife——“
“Yes，sir，andhewaswithmyStephenatthelast，and——“Theoldman’svoicesuddenlybroke。
“Iremember，Wickes，Iremember。Andthat’sanotherreason——Wemustfindanotherwayout。“
“Ihavebeenthinking，sir，“saidthebookkeepertimidly，“ifyouhadayoungermaninmyplace——“
