“What do they know?” he asked sharply. “What they want is more wages. There’s a million in the power deal and they can’t any more realise a million than they can tell what they want to do in Heaven. I promised Ed’s fellows the city scale. Ed can’t kick. He’ll make a hundred thousand as it stands. Then I promised the plough works gang a ten per cent raise. We’ll get it for them if we can, but if we can’t, they won’t know it till the deal is put through.” Sam walked over and held open the door. “Good night,” he said. Jake looked annoyed. “Ain’t you even going to make a bid against Crofts?” he asked. “We ain’t tied to him if you do better by us. I’m in this thing because you put me in. That piece you wrote up the river scared ‘em stiff. I want to do the right thing by you. Don’t be sore about Ed. He wouldn’t a done it if he’d known.” Sam shook his head and stood with his hand still on the door. “Good night,” he said again. “I am not in it. I have dropped it. No use trying to explain.” CHAPTER II For weeks and months Sam led a wandering vagabond life, and surely a stranger or more restless vagabond never went upon the road. In his pocket he had at almost any time from one to five thousand dollars, his bag went on from place to place ahead of him, and now and then he caught up with it, unpacked it, and wore a suit of his former Chicago clothes upon the streets of some town. For the most part, however, he wore the rough clothes bought from Ed, and, when these were gone, others like them, with a warm canvas outer jacket, and for rough weather a pair of heavy boots lacing half way up the legs. Among the people, he passed for a rather well-set-up workman with money in his pocket going his own way.