Troublesome often, and quick to demur,

Still remaining the boys we were,

Yet soothed and blest by the love of her:

"Just like a man!"

[Pg 50]

[Pg 50]

CLINCHING THE BOLT

It needed just an extra turn to make the bolt secure,

A few more minutes on the job and then the work was sure;

But he begrudged the extra turn, and when the task was through,

The man was back for more repairs in just a day or two.

Two men there are in every place, and one is only fair,

The other gives the extra turn to every bolt that's there;

One man is slip-shod in his work and eager to be quit,

The other never leaves a task until he's sure of it.

The difference 'twixt good and bad is not so very much,

A few more minutes at the task, an extra turn or touch,

A final test that all is right—and yet the men are few

Who seem to think it worth their while these extra things to do.

[Pg 51]

 Prev. P 46/85 next