下载辰思小说免费APP
“Iamreadyalwaystomeetmyownpeople，butIrefuseutterlytodealwiththiscommittee！“ItwasnotoftenthatMr。Maitlandbecameprofane，butinhisdescriptionofthisparticulargroupofindividualshisordinaryEnglishsufferedacompletecollapse。
“Dad，McGinniswillbehereinafewminutes。Ishouldliketosuggestoneortwothings，ifyouwillallowme。“
“Goon，“saidhisfatherquickly。
“Dad，thisiswar，andIhavelearnedalittleaboutthatgame’overthere。’AndIhavelearnedsomethingaboutitinmyathleticactivities。Thefirstessentialistodeclinetoplaytheenemy’sgame。Let’sdiscoverhisplanofcampaign。AsIreadthisdocument，thethingthathitsmyeyeisthis:dotheyreallywantthethingstheyaskfor，oristhewholethingablind？WhatI
meanis，dotheyreallywantwarorpeace？Isaylet’sfeelthemout。Iftheyareafterpeace，thethingiseasy。Iftheywantwar，thismaycometobeaveryseriousthing。Meantime，Dad，let’snotcommitourselvestoMcGinnis。Let’splayitalone。“
Mr。Maitland’slipshadsetinathin，hardline。Hisfacewaslikeamaskofgreysteel。Hesatthinkingsilently。
“Herehecomes，“saidJack，lookingoutofthewindow。“Dad，youaskedmetocomeintothiswithyou。Let’splaythegametogether。
Ifounditwisetoplacetheweightonthedefenceline。Willyouplaydefenceinthis？“
Thelinesinhisfather’sfacebegantorelax。
“Allright，boy，we’llplayittogether，andmeantimeIshallplaydefence。“
“ByJove，Dad，“criedJack，inatoneofexultantconfidence，“we’llbeat’em。AndnowherecomesthatoldIrishfire-eater。
I’llgo。Noalliance，Dad，remember。“HisfathernoddedasJacklefttheroom，toreturnalmostimmediatelywithMr。McGinnis，evidentlyquiteincoherentwithrage。
IntheouterofficeJackpausedbesidethedeskoftheoldbookkeeper。Frombehindthecloseddoorcamethesoundofhighexplosives。
“Roughstuffinthere，eh，Wickes，“saidJack，withahumoroussmile。Forsomemomentshestoodlistening。“Warisaterriblething，“headdedwithagrin。
“Whatseemstobethematter，Mr。Jack？“
JacklaidbeforehimthedocumentsentoutbytheAlliedUnions。
“Oh，thisisterrible，Mr。Jack！Andjustatthistime。Iamverymuchafraiditwillruinus。“
“Ruinus？Rot。Don’teversaythatwordagain。Wewillpossiblyhaveajollygoodrow。Someonewillbehurtandperhapsallofus，moreorless，butIdon’tmeantobebeaten，ifIknowmyself，“headded，withthesmileonhisfacethathishockeyteamlovedtoseebeforeamatch。“Now，Wickes，“continuedJack，“getthatideaoffailureoutofyourmind。Wearegoingtowin。Andmeantime，letusprepareforourcampaign。Here’sabitofworkIwantyoutodoforme。Getfourthingsforme:thewagesforthelastthreeyears——youhavethesheets？“
“Yes，sir。“
“——ThecostoflivingfromtheLabourGazetteforthelastthreeyears——youhavethemhere——andtheratesofincreaseinwages。
Plotadiagramshowingallthesethings。YouknowwhatImean？“
“Yes，sir，Iunderstand。“
“Andfindoutthewagespaidatourcompetingpoints。“
“Allright，Mr。Jack。Iknowwhatyouwant。Icangiveyouthenecessaryinformationinregardtothefirstthreepointsalmostatonce。Itwilltakesomedays，however，togetthewagesofourcompetingpoints。“
“Allright，oldboy。Carryon！“saidJack，andwiththesamesmileonhisfacehepassedoutoftheofficeintotheshops。
Itamusedhimslightlytoobservethechangeintheattitudeandbearingofhismen。Theywouldnotlookathimfairlyintheface。
EvenSnoopySykesandMacnamaraavoidedhisglance。Buthehadforeveryonehisusualcheeryword。Whyshouldhenot？Thesechapshadnohatredforhim，norheforthem。Hehadcometounderstandunionmethodsofdisciplineandrecognisedfullythedemandsforloyaltyandobedienceimposeduponitsmembersbytheorganisation。
Thesemenofhiswereboundtotheunionbysolemnobligations。Heborethemnoill-willonthatscore。Ratherherespectedthemthemoreforit。Ifafightwasinevitable，hewoulddohisbesttobeatthembuthewouldallownospiritofhatredtochangehismindtowardthemnorcloudhisj
