sweep out the shop, too?” He leaned forward, his nose jutting at me, and said impressively, “ Mr. Shane, we shall make that come literally true; we’ll have men working in two places at once before we’re through.”

“Okay.”

“In the meantime, there are certain old-fashioned fundamental principles on which we shall start. I shall be here at seven thirty in the morning.”

I should have known. Man, being mass, possesses inertia, mentally as well as physically, and therefore offers a certain amount of resistance to being kicked around. That applies to printers as well as to people. But at that time I was too worried. I gave Dr. Hudson full authority.

He was there at seven thirty the next morning, as he had said. At eight, the printers were standing around the time-clock, waiting for it to click the hour. It clicked, but the man nearest it was smoking a cigarette. He punched his card and then stood there, finishing the cigarette.

Dr. Hudson stepped up. “Gentlemen,” he said, “it is now four minutes past eight. Starting-time is eight o’clock.” He looked at his watch and compared it with the clock. “Please do your visiting and your smoking on your own time,” he said coldly.

Well, it bothered me a little. I’d never handled them that way⁠—and anyway, who cared about five minutes? The men would set just so much type, or do so much work. If they lost five minutes in one place, they generally made it up somewhere else. But this was Dr. Hudson’s job.

It was nice that there had been no insolence⁠—only a couple of raised eyebrows. Dr. Hudson’s gesture had had its effect. They knew now who was boss.

For the next few days they kept their heads up. Production did not improve much, but I personally had not expected it to do that. I think Dr. Hudson had not expected it, either.