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Gregory, Jackson, 1882-1943

"Under Handicap A Novel"

"
"That's good. If any man's got a head on him for this sort of thing,
that man's Tommy Garton. He'd make it as plain as a man could on
paper, without goin' over the ground. To-day we're tyin' into those
seven sand-hills I mentioned last night. I've got two hundred men
workin' there. So they won't get in each other's way I've divided 'em
up in four gangs, fifty men to the gang. There's all kinds of men in
that two hundred, Conniston, and about the biggest part of your day's
work will be to sort of size your men up. I've divided 'em, not
accordin' to efficiency, but partly accordin' to nationality an'
mostly accordin' to cussedness. I'm givin' you the tame ones to begin
on. I'll take care of the ornery jaspers until you get your hand in.
But I can't spare more'n a day or two. Then it'll be up to you. You'll
have to swing the whole bunch, if you can. An' if you can't it'll be
up to you to quit! Oh, it ain't so all-fired hard, not if you've got
the savvy. I've got a foreman over each section that knows what he's
doin' an' will do pretty much everything if you can furnish the head
work."
"Where is the trouble with them? What do you mean by the ornery ones?
They're all here because they want to work, aren't they? If they get
dissatisfied they quit, don't they?"
Truxton looked at him curiously. "You got a lot of things to learn,
Conniston.


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