"There's too much water blowing through; pressure's heavier than I reckoned and I don't like the way that brace sags," Jim remarked, as a shower of mud and water fell into the hole. Then he shouted to the men: "Get a thick plank across and wedge her up."
"Looks as if the fastenings of the brace had slipped," said Jake.
"They oughtn't to slip. The plate and nut on the iron were meant to keep the beam in place."
"I don't think I saw a nut when the boys fixed the thing."
Jim beckoned the smith. Although the fellow was a good workman, he was obstinate and Jim had not bothered him much until he needed some irons for the dam, when he made careful sketches and insisted on the other's working to his plans. This had caused some trouble and Jim now meant to be firm.
"I reckon I told you to screw the ends of the bar and make nuts to turn back against the plates," he said. "Did you screw the ends?"
"I did not," said the other. "There was nae use for nuts. I punched hole for pin that wad stop her pulling oot."
"Pulling out!" Jim exclaimed. "Did you imagine I wanted to hold the frames together?"
"If yon wasn't what you wanted, you should have said."
Jim had meant to be calm, but the men had run some risk from the fellow's obstinacy, and he lost his control.
"I told you to screw the ends. Confound you! The dam's in compression; there's no pull at all. Put a new bar in the vise and I'll stand by while you cut the thread."
"Stan', if you like. I'll not touch bar while you're aboot. Are you gan t' teach me my job?"
"It's plain you don't know your job. Get out of my way and I'll cut the thread myself."
The smith stood square in front with a frown on his face. "You'll not touch my tools. Vise and forge is yours; screwing stocks is mine."
"Oh, shucks!" said Jim. "Get out of the way. We want the bar right now."
The smith did not move, and although nobody afterwards remembered how the struggle began, Jake, interfering a moment too late, imagined Jim tried to get past the smith and jostled him. They grappled, and while they rocked to and fro the men in the pit stopped work. At first, Jim would have been satisfied to throw his antagonist back, but after a moment or two he doubted if this would be enough. The fellow had defied him, they had begun to fight, and in Canada a boss who could not enforce his authority lost his right to rule. Jim imagined it was so in England and did not mean to stop until the smith was ready to submit. Yet the fellow was powerful and fought with dogged pluck.