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From his pocket Jimmy drew a half-dozen envelopes, and taking the contents

from them one by one laid them on the desk before Mr. Compton. On the letter-

heads of half a dozen large out-of-town manufacturers in various lines were brief

but eulogistic comments upon the work done in their plants by Mr. James

Torrance, Jr. As he was reading them Mr. Compton glanced up by chance to see

that the face of the applicant was slightly flushed, which he thought undoubtedly

due to the fact that the other knew he was reading the words of praise contained

in the letters, whereas the truth of the matter was that Jimmy's color was

heightened by a feeling of guilt.

These are very good," said Mr. Compton, looking up from the letters. "I don't

know that I need go any further. A great deal depends on a man's personality in a

position of this sort, and from your appearance I should imagine that you're all

right along that line and you seem to have had the right kind of experience. Now,

what arrangement can we make?"

Jimmy had given the matter of pay considerable thought, but the trouble was

that he did not know what an efficiency expert might be expected to demand. He

recalled vaguely that the one his father had employed got something like ten

dollars a day, or one hundred a day, Jimmy couldn't remember which, and so he

was afraid that he might ask too much and lose the opportunity, or too little and

reveal that he had no knowledge of the value of such services.

"I would rather leave that to you," he said. "What do you think the work would be

worth to you?"

Do you expect to continue in this line of work?" asked Mr. Compton. "When this

job is finished you would want to go somewhere else, I suppose?"

Jimmy saw an opening and leaped for it. "Oh, no!" he replied. "On the contrary, I

wouldn't mind working into a permanent position, and if you think there might be

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The Efficiency Expert