A word from Boglin, backed by Skeelty's tacit consent, would induce the men to go to any length in injuring the _Millville Tribune_ and all concerned in its welfare.
Considering these facts, Mr.Merrick shrewdly suspected that the dynamite explosion had been the work of the mill hands, yet why it was harmlessly exploded in a field was a factor that puzzled him exceedingly.

He concluded, from what information he possessed, that they had merely intended this as a warning, which if disregarded might be followed by a more serious catastrophe.
The idea that such a danger threatened his nieces made the old gentleman distinctly nervous.
There were ways to evade further molestation from the lawless element at the mill.

The Hon.

Ojoy could be conciliated; Thursday Smith discharged; or the girls could abandon their journalistic enterprise altogether.
Such alternatives were mortifying to consider, but his girls must be protected from harm at any cost.
While he was still considering the problem, the girls and Arthur having driven to the office, as usual, Joe Wegg rode over from Thompson's Crossing on his sorrel mare for a chat with his old friend and benefactor.

It was this same young man--still a boy in years--who had once owned the Wegg Farm and disposed of it to Mr.Merrick.
Joe was something of a mechanical genius and, when his father died, longed to make his way in the great world.