“Send him in.” Luke got to his feet and extended his hand as Archie Rowland entered the room. “Good to see you, Archie. Close the door and have a seat.”

The older man did exactly that.

“What can I do for you?”

Archie frowned. “Well, there are some issues with the route that we need to go over. Problems have developed, and even though we’ve completed work up here for the winter, this must be dealt with before we start up again in the spring.”

Luke nodded. “Sounds serious.”

“It is. It might very well be that someone within our own people means to see us fail.”

Theodore listened at the door, hoping to learn the reason for Archie Rowland’s surprise visit. With the line work closed down for the winter, Rowland was supposed to be in St. Paul, working with the others on the final route to connect the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad to Duluth.

It was difficult to hear what was being said, however. He heard Rowland say something about failure, but the men were speaking in such hushed whispers that it made hearing impossible. Theodore had to find a way into that office.

He took up his box of notepaper and a pencil. Perhaps Luke would want a record of the matter. He knocked lightly and opened the door. Luke glanced his way.

“I thought perhaps you might like me to record the details of the meeting?” He held up the paper.

“That might be for the best,” Luke told Rowland. “If things are as bad as you suggest, we need to make sure we explore every possible angle, and having notes would make that easier.”

Rowland nodded. “I agree.”

Theodore smiled and took a seat on a wooden chair. “Please feel free to continue.” He pulled paper from the box, then closed the lid and wrote the date across the top of the page.

“Well, as I was saying,” Rowland said, “some changes to the route created problems for us. We’re not sure how the numbers were altered or if it was simply oversight on the part of the engineers and builders. We haven’t yet had an opportunity to see the work orders and the final route layout. Once we’re able to get a look at that, we’ll know if it was an accident or deliberate.”

“I suppose we can’t ignore the possibility of it being deliberate,” Luke replied. “Superior, Wisconsin, has made it more than clear that they believe the railroad should belong to them. If they’ve managed to get men hired into positions where changes to the route can be made, then we’re in some real trouble. What with all the problems we already have trying to lay a route that won’t be encumbered by the black muck and quicksand, or swallowed whole by the lakes themselves, this is a grievous situation.”