"It does." "Have you ever thought of any way to avoid the waste of so much of it from the furnaces, then?" "We certainly have, my lad." "May I ask how you have tried to utilize it?" "We have tried to devise some system by which it might all be consumed in the heating stoves. This, thus far has appeared impracticable for the reason that, by holding it in the furnaces we were likely to get a serious blow-out some time." "That is the only way in which you have tried to use it?" "Yes. Was your suggestion along this line?" "Not exactly." "How then?" "I may be foolish, sir, but it struck me that the waste gas might be used to operate some sort of machinery in the mills." "Hm-m-m!" reflected Mr. Keating, not fully catching the drift of the Iron Boy's suggestion. "What machinery?" "I visited the gas engines a few days ago, and I was very much interested in them. I took the liberty of inquiring how much gas was used to run them, and when I got home I figured it down to dollars. It came to a very large figure." "You are getting into the business deeply, young man." "Perhaps I had no business to do so, but I was interested." "Go on; what do you propose?" "My idea is that you might run part or all of those gas engines with the waste from your blast furnaces, sir," answered Rush boldly. "Hm-mm!" Mr. Keating was surveying his caller quizzically. Steve looked him steadily in the eyes. "How did you happen to get that idea?" "It came to me when my friend Jarvis was complaining about the gases up on the charging platform. I do not know whether the idea is of any value to you. You are welcome to it if it is." "We will discuss that phase of it later," answered Mr. Keating, somewhat sharply. "You see, I have something of a personal interest in saving money. I am a sort of stockholder in the Steel Corporation." "You are?" exclaimed Mr. Keating, plainly showing his surprise. "Yes, sir; my friend and myself hold a few thousand dollars of the company's stock, on which we are drawing dividends." "May I ask where you got the stock?" "The officials of the Cousin Jack Mine gave us some, and with money that Mr. Carrhart gave us we bought some more. We are going to load up on steel with the money we earn hereafter," answered the boy proudly. Mr. Keating laughed heartily. "You won't buy very much on the wages you are getting here at present," he said. "No, sir; not much, but we are not always going to work for the wages we are now drawing." "You are right you are not. Let me ask how you would get the waste gas to the gas engines. Have you thought of that?" "Yes, sir. Pipe it." Mr. Keating rose, and stepping to the door of an adjoining office, called: "Mr. Phillips, will you be good enough to come in here?" The chief engineer of the mills entered the room in response to the summons. CHAPTER XX THE CHIEF EXPRESSES HIMSELF "Phillips, this is young Rush, Steve Rush."