“Well--er--I don’t know exactly--but he doesn’t seem to be up to the mark. I think we ought to have another boy.” “I am sorry I can’t agree with you, Mr. Cutler,” Tom heard Mr. Boise say. “Mr. Keen engaged Tom, and he spoke well of his qualifications. The boy has a mother and an aged aunt partly dependent on him, and he was out of work for some time before coming to us. He learned how to work a switchboard, hoping to get a place, and now he has one I don’t feel we should discharge him--especially when there is no good cause for it.” “Well, I only mentioned it,” said Mr. Cutler, rather weakly. “Perhaps he’ll do all right, but he makes mistakes.” “So we all do,” remarked Mr. Boise. “I think Tom will be all right.” Then the door was closed, and Tom could hear no more. But what he had heard told him two things, one of which he knew before. He was made aware that Mr. Boise was very friendly to him, and he realized that Mr. Cutler had some grudge against him, though what it could be our hero could not imagine. “It can’t be about the telephone calls,” reasoned the lad, “for I haven’t made but one error on his wire in nearly a week, and that was a small one--cutting him off. He was through, anyhow, for the party on the other end of the wire had said ‘good-by.’ But I’m glad Mr. Boise stuck up for me.” That afternoon, toward the close of the day’s business, as Tom was sitting in front of the switchboard, idly wondering where the next call would come from, one of the black drops fell. He plugged in a wire, and asked: “Whom did you wish to speak to?” Back came the answer, in a voice that startled Tom, for he knew he had heard it somewhere before: “Is Mr. Cutler in?” “I’ll connect you with him. Hold the wire,” directed Tom, and he made doubly sure that he put the right plug in the right hole, so that the person could speak to the junior partner. As soon as this connection was made there came another call, for Mr. Boise. The head of the firm was soon conversing with a client, and then a third drop fell. “Well, the day is going to wind up with a rush,” thought Tom. “Whom did you wish?” he asked politely. “I want to talk to Mr. Cutler,” spoke a woman’s voice. “He is busy now. If you will hold the wire, I’ll let you speak to him as soon as he has finished.” “Very well. Don’t forget it. It’s very important.” “I’ll not. Just hold the wire.” Then, as was his custom, when a party was waiting for one of the law-firm members who was already engaged on the wire, Tom depressed the cam which enabled him to hear whether Mr. Cutler and the speaker whose voice had so startled the boy, were finished. Tom, as he “cut in” heard Mr. Cutler saying: “Yes, yes, I’ll attend to it for you. The plan ought to work, but you’ve got to be careful.” Then, before he shut off the connection through his own instrument, he heard the man on the other end of the wire say: