Then he went back to Tom Reade and spoke to him more quietly. “Reade, if Black doesn’t turn out to be a valuable man here he won’t last long. If he is a good man, then you will find it necessary, perhaps, to use a little tact in dealing with him. Did you notice what snapping black eyes the man has? Men with such black eyes are usually impulsive. Remember that.” “I never thought of that before, sir,” Tom admitted dryly. “I really didn’t know that people with black eyes are impulsive. This I do know, however, people who are too impulsive generally get black eyes!” CHAPTER IX “DOCTORED” FIELD NOTES? There was no more trouble---immediately. When the other engineers heard of the row---which news they obtained through Jake, not from Reade---they soon made it plain to ’Gene Black that Tom Reade was a favorite in the corps. Black was therefore treated with a coldness that he strove hard to overcome. In the matter of being a capable civil engineer ’Gene Black speedily proved himself efficient. Assistant Chief Engineer Blaisdell soon reported at headquarters that the new member of the corps was an exceedingly valuable man. Black was therefore placed at the head of a leveling squad that obtained the field notes from which were to be estimated the cost of making excavations in several cuts that must be made ere the coming tracks could be laid. In the days that passed Tom and Harry saw little of the field work. They were kept at the chief’s tent. Hence Reade had but little to do with ’Gene Black, which may have been fortunate, as Tom still retained his first instinctive dislike for the black-eyed fellow. <tb> “Reade and Hazelton, you two young men are going to forge ahead rapidly, and you are sure to earn good salaries, if you don’t make the too common mistake of young engineers first starting out,” Mr. Thurston told the cubs one forenoon. “And what is that mistake, sir, if you please?” Tom queried. “Don’t make the mistake of getting too large an idea of the value of your services,” replied the chief. “Just work hard all the time and be wholly unassuming. “I think we can follow that advice, sir,” Tom replied, with a smile. “If you can, you’ll get along rapidly. I have already written to our officers in New York, thanking them for having sent you two young men.” “Here’s the map I have just finished, sir,” said Harry, rising from his drawing table on which were arranged the various draughtsman’s inks and washes---the latter being thin solutions of water colors with which some parts of the maps were colored. “Very handsomely done, Hazelton. Reade, what are you doing?” “I’m at work on Black’s field notes of the leveling,” Tom answered. “I am very much pleased with Black’s work,” replied Mr. Thurston. “His notes show that we are going to get out of the excavating in the cuts at about one third of the trouble and expense that I had looked for.”