Page:Ralph Paine--The Steam-Shovel Man.djvu/214

 "Did he really want to see me?"

"Sure. You are the prize disturbance of the Isthmus." Colonel Gunther was in consultation with two of his division engineers when the steam-shovel man led Walter in by the arm. Shoving aside a mass of blue-prints and typewritten data, the colonel stepped forward and heartily exclaimed:

"Why, here is the young man who was so handy with the broomstick! I am delighted to know that your latest voyage has turned out so well. I understand that you bagged General Quesada as an incident of the adventure."

Walter blushed and replied:

"I had a lucky chance to get square with him, sir."

"The lad used his head, colonel," put in Devlin, with a broad grin. "It's head-work that counts on the Isthmus, if you please. I have heard you say it yourself."

"I can't thank you enough. I wasn't worth all that trouble," said Walter.

"Oh, perhaps you were," smiled the colonel. "That remains to be seen. Devlin told me