At that moment the office door inched open. The Old Man glanced up worriedly. "Aye, Miss Cole? What is it?" "Three of the shop foremen, sir. They say they must see you immediately." "Ye'll excuse me, Mr. Grimper? Verra well. Let 'em in, Miss Cole." Then, as three grim and grimy men shouldered angrily into the room: "Well, what's the motter? Don't stond there glarin' at each ither! Time is money; speak oop!" Gorman, foreman of the Maintenance Department, spoke for the trio. "Well, it's the new tools we ordered, Mr. MacDonald. The shipment just arrived--" "Then what're ye blatherin' aboot? Ye've been howlin' blue murrder f'r weeks because they were delayed. Divide 'em oop and get to wairk!" "That's just it," fumed Hendricks of Testing. "They couldn't send us our complete order, Mr. Mac. They sent only seventeen sets. And we can't divide 'em up. They don't come out even." "Even?" repeated Grimper superciliously. * * * * * Mulvaney, the Construction foreman, complained, "I'm supposed to get one half of all materials ordered, sir, but I can't take a half of seventeen. Gorman's supposed to get one third, and Henny's supposed to get one ninth. Our problem is how are we going to divide them?" Grimper said, "Er--aren't you gentlemen making much ado about nothing? The answer seems to be very simple. Just open the crates and distribute the tools in their proper proportions." And he beamed at Old Mac triumphantly. But his grin was short-lived. Gorman's sniff was one of pure disdain. "Didn't you hear Henny say them tools come in _sets_?" he snorted. "I'd look pretty, wouldn't I, Mister, screwin' a loose nut with one third of a screwdriver? And Henny'd go to town measurin' rivet-precision with one ninth of a caliper!" Old MacDonald guffawed loudly. "I'm afeared he's gawt ye there, Grimper. Hank, ha' ye any idee whut to do?" Cleaver had been scratching his cranium; now he said thoughtfully, "We-e-ell, mebbe I have, Mr. Mac. Joe, c'n you borry another set o' them tools from Supplies?" Gorman said swiftly, "I can, but I won't. I want my full share of the order, Hank. I don't want no debit against my department in Supplies--" "There won't be. But let's suppose, f'r the moment, you _have_ borryed a set. Now how many sets would you have?" "Why--why, eighteen, of course." "Sure. Now, Mike, you git half o' them sets. Nine, right? An' Joe, you git one third, or six; satisfied? Bill, your department gits one ninth o' the order--or two complete sets. Okay? Well, boys, there you are. Evabuddy happy?" "Everybody but _me_!" stormed Joe Gorman. "I've got a set of tools charged against me in Supplies! That idea's all right for these lugs, maybe, but I got my rights! I--" "Now, take it easy," soothed Hank. "Two an' six an' nine is oney _seventeen_, Joe. They's still one set left over. So now you can return that one to Supplies!" "Well, I'll be damned!" said Mulvaney. * * * * *