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Industrial Hygiene
Improving Worker Health through
an Operational Risk Approach
Sustainable Improvements in
Environment Safety and Health
Series Editor
Frances Alston
The Legal Aspects of Industrial Hygiene and Safety, Kurt W. Dreger [2018]
Frances Alston
Emily J. Millikin
Willie Piispanen
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
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vii
viii Contents
References.............................................................................................................. 173
Index....................................................................................................................... 175
Preface
Over the past century, the discipline of industrial hygiene has focused on protect-
ing employees from hazards in the work environment. Since the passage of the
Williams–Steiger Act of 1970, the industrial hygienist has played a key role in the
prevention of injuries and illnesses in the workplace. Anticipating, recognizing, and
controlling hazards is the favored approach used by industrial hygienists in protect-
ing the worker from hazards in the workplace. Consequently, the industrial hygien-
ist must have the knowledge and skills to analyze and understand risks, along with
understanding how to effectively mitigate and control hazards. In many cases, haz-
ards in the workplace exhibit more than one risk factor.
The hazard identification and control process is based on effectively understand-
ing the inner relationship between the three process elements of hazard identifica-
tion, analysis, and control. Physical hazards are the most commonly encountered
hazards in the workplace; however, chemical, biological, or radiological hazards may
also be present, either singularly or in combination with other hazards.
Traditional industrial hygiene has been focused on collecting and analyzing
data in order to identify and characterize a variety of workplace hazards. Although
today’s industrial hygienist is taught various methods and techniques on how to rec-
ognize and manage occupational hazards, it is generally a knowledge and skill-based
approach to hazard recognition and control that is used to help render workplaces
free of hazards. Each workplace and situation is unique, and the industrial hygien-
ist must develop and adapt scientifically-based methods to understand and control
hazards. However, when industrial hygienists work in the field, and as they inter-
act with the workers, they must understand how to communicate effectively with
workers and management when gathering, evaluating, and communicating sampling
and monitoring results, and conclusions. Both the industrial hygiene program and
the implementation of the program in the field should be evaluated and improved
where feasible, to ensure compliance to the most current requirements, standards,
and safety practices, and to ensure improvement is in alignment with a risk-based
philosophy and approach. Often, goals and steps needed to complete improvement
initiatives are written into a continuous improvement plan for industrial hygiene. The
value of such improvements can be realized and equated into additional methods and
avenues for risk reduction.
Industrial hygiene is not an exact science, and is influenced by people, profes-
sional judgment, science, and mathematics; it is a profession driven by both art and
science. Often, the industrial hygiene discipline is viewed as a specialized function,
and the industrial hygienist is frequently viewed as a consultant, although he or she
is an integral functioning part of the team. The practicing industrial hygienist is
tasked with assisting management in achieving a reduction in workplace injuries
and illnesses in a corporate environment that is increasingly looking for more cost-
effective and efficient methods of conducting business. At times, these efficiencies
may target a reduction in the amount of labor needed to perform a job, less expen-
sive materials to use in their manufacturing processes, and more efficient methods
xiii
xiv Preface
The approaches and methods described in this book are designed to assist the
industrial hygienist in managing workplace risks, including risks associated with
anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and hazard control processes. A focus on risk
reduction or prevention will move a company closer to the goal of an injury-free
workplace, while improving methods and techniques used by the industrial hygienist
for implementing an effective worker protection program.
Authors
Frances Alston has been effective in facilitating the integration of environment
safety, health, and quality programs and policies as a core business function while
leading a staff of business, scientific, and technical professionals. She is skilled in
providing technical expertise in regulatory and compliance arenas, as well as deter-
mining necessary and sufficient program requirements to ensure employee and pub-
lic safety, including environmental stewardship and sustainability. Dr. Alston also
has extensive knowledge and experience in assessing programs and cultures to deter-
mine areas for improvement and develop strategies for improvement.
Dr. Alston holds a BS degree in industrial hygiene and safety/chemistry, an MS
degree in hazardous and waste materials management/environmental engineering,
an MSE in systems engineering/engineering management, and a PhD in industrial
and systems engineering.
Dr. Alston is a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Management and
holds certifications as a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and a Professional
Engineering Manager. Her research interests include investigating and implementing
ways to design work cultures that facilitate trust.
xv
xvi Authors
xvii
http://taylorandfrancis.com
1 Occupational Safety and
Health in the Workplace
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Long before there were safety and health and industrial hygiene professionals,
with varying degrees and certifications, the field of occupational safety and health
existed. Most safety professionals recognize that one of the earliest forms of leg-
islation associated with the safety profession was the Massachusetts Factory Act
of 1877. The Massachusetts Factory Act created an inspection process for factory
equipment, such as machinery, elevators, and workplace fire exits. Over the next cen-
tury, additional programs and legislation were introduced to improve environmental
and health conditions in the workplace.
In 1913, Congress created the Department of Labor, with a focus on promoting
the health and welfare of workers, improving workplace conditions, and ensuring
workplace benefits. In 1935, the Social Security Act was enacted, which allowed the
funding of state health departments and industrial health programs. The culmina-
tion of these efforts resulted in President Nixon approving the Williams–Steiger Act
of 1970, often referred to as the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which was
intended to ensure that workers had safe and healthy working conditions.
The U.S. Congress determined that personal injuries and illnesses, originating
from workplace conditions, imposed a substantial burden on, and a hindrance to,
interstate commerce (across states). This burden was viewed in terms of lost produc-
tion, wage loss, medical expenses, and disability compensation payments. Congress
declared its purpose and policy, through the exercise of its powers, to regulate com-
merce among the several states and with foreign nations, and to provide, for the
general welfare of every working man and woman in the nation, safe and health-
ful working conditions and to preserve our human resources. This was a profound
piece of legislation because the governing body of the United States recognized that
harming their people, in the course of doing business, was not acceptable and could
ultimately lead to damaging the fundamental statehood of the country. As a result,
Congress directed the focus of the Occupational Safety and Health Act to:
1
2 Industrial Hygiene
Over the past four decades, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), individual state agencies, industries and academics, and every workplace
have seen a significant decrease in the number of work-related fatalities. Worker
fatalities have decreased from approximately 38 worker deaths per day to about 13
worker deaths per day in 2015 (OSHA 2017). The occupational safety and health
Occupational Safety and Health in the Workplace 3
professional may or may not be an industrial hygienist, but the industrial hygiene
discipline has traditionally been viewed as a specialized subset of the safety and
health profession. The profession is typically focused on implementing those goals
of the Occupational Safety and Health Act that involve determining the relationship
between diseases and work in environmental conditions; implementing processes
and procedures for identifying, analyzing, and controlling workplace hazards; moni-
toring to ensure compliance with regulatory standards; and promoting the perfor-
mance of work in a safe and compliant manner.
Since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the industrial
hygiene profession has significantly grown, and is expected to continue to grow,
consistent with a shift in public opinion regarding the acceptance of health risk from
activities performed at work and at home. As society has become more educated
on the impacts of industry on human health and the environment, there has been
a decrease in the acceptance of this risk by workers and the public. The accepted
standard of performance has grown beyond compliance, but now also focuses on
improving existing processes and creating a workplace free of injury and illness.
No matter what the industry, the workforce has greater access to information related
to health risks from chemicals and other hazards associated with the work environ-
ment. In addition, more industries are being regulated to not only minimize the
health impacts to the workforce, but also decrease the likelihood of impacting the
environment. As we progress into the twenty-first century, decreasing risks to human
health and the environment is projected to continue to grow and evolve, and the role
of the industrial hygienist must also evolve to address the growing needs of society,
companies, industries, and the workforce.
The first tier of the hierarchy addresses the most basic need of people, and workers,
which is physical well-being. A person cannot or will not move forward, or be driven
to move forward, in achieving goals and objectives and improving their mental state if
fundamental needs, such as food, water, and sleep, are not met. A human being may not
be able to work on a consistent basis if his or her psychological and physiological needs
are not met. One needs to look no further than the recent disaster in Flint, Michigan
(Genesee County Board of Commisioners 2015), and the inadvertent cause of lead con-
tamination in residential water. The ability for people to achieve the most fundamental
step of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was impacted; consequently, residents must live,
for many years, with ramifications that their most basic need as a human being was
taken from their lives and families. It will be very difficult for residents, and their fami-
lies, to move forward and feel safe when drinking water from their home.
The need for humans to feel safe was recognized in the writings of Maslow in
1954. In order for workers to progress through the hierarchy of needs and become
all that they can become, the safety needs, the second step in the process, must be
fulfilled. Therefore, workplace safety is an integral component of a leader’s ability
to motivate and influence workers. Workplace safety enhances the ability for work-
ers to become active, productive, and contributing team members that are capable of
solving problems and complete work tasks.
Once their physiological needs are met, the second tier of the hierarchy of needs
focuses on people’s safety and the security of their surroundings, whether it is to pre-
serve meeting the first hierarchy of need or to improve their life. Not only is safety
recognized as being important to the well-being of the human, but it is also impor-
tant in other aspects of a human’s life. For example, without achieving a safe work
environment, workers cannot become motivated to develop a sense of belonging, as
part of a team, without the fundamental premise of a safe work environment. The
industrial hygiene professional is one facet of a company or institution that assists
in achieving and maintaining a safe work environment that meets the needs of, and
protects the worker.
Over the past four decades, the role of the industrial hygiene professional has
evolved. Below are some examples of the roles and responsibilities of the industrial
hygienist in today’s modern work environment.
• Facilitator and sponsor for safe work activities. Often, the industrial hygiene
professional works to facilitate communications between management and
the workforce with respect to safety initiatives and concerns.
A good industrial hygienist establishes company goals and standards that not only
comply with regulatory requirements, but also surpass those standards to promote a
robust and improved safety program. The industrial hygienist is in a position to be
a leader in the promotion of improving standards for workers, for the company, and
across the industry. It is also worth noting that as the need for industrial hygienist
professionals grow, so too does the professional liability associated with the position.
Within the past 10 years, a trend has started to emerge with respect to the
level of accountability and liability associated with the position. For many years,
the industrial hygiene profession was thought of as another work position that did
not require additional training or skills—as opposed to those recognized as being
required for engineers, operations and maintenance (skill-based specialties) lead-
ers, or the performance of research and development activities. Since the passage
of the Occupational Safety and Health Act; Resource, Conservation, and Recovery
Act (RCRA); and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA), the liability of the industrial hygiene position has signif-
icantly increased. Safety and health practices associated with standard industrial
hazards are generally associated with a well-defined source and waste stream that
may not be adequate to protect workers who are performing remediation work which
often lacks well defined contaminants and contamination. Because many of these
waste sites originated when safety and health requirements did not require a full
understanding of hazards the worker could be exposed to, they present challenges
to the industrial hygiene professional because of the need to protect workers from
the additive and synergistic health effects from multiple contaminants. It is up to the
industrial hygiene professional to clearly understand the professional risk, as well as
human health risks, posed by work activities and the overall work environment. As
such, the skill set of the industrial hygienist must address this growing need for a
technically defensible, risk-based approach to industrial hygiene.
TABLE 1.1
Example Industrial Hygiene Program Tenets
Perform work with integrity and in a Ensure that workers are aware of
quality manner. hazards posed when performing
work.
Trust, and the establishment of trust, is Facilitate to ensure that joint
a key attribute in the performance of ownership of the safety program
the safety and health and industrial between management and the
hygiene discipline. workforce exists.
Verification and validation of Promote workplace and job
compliance with state and federal satisfaction working as a team.
regulations is required to ensure that
work is being compliantly conducted.
Strive to improve working conditions to Work products are produced on
minimize health risks posed to schedule and under budget.
workers.
Build and implement a program that is Workplace injuries and illnesses are
protective of the workforce. reduced.
Continuous improvement
a large part of the industrial hygiene discipline because processes and procedures
associated with the hazard identification and control process can be used to signifi-
cantly reduce the health risk posed by a work activity or toxicity of contaminants.
Included in this functional element is the implementation of processes that define the
methods by which industrial hygienists will evaluate and determine the health risk
associated with the work and necessary controls to mitigate the hazards, along with
how to perform the collection of sampling and monitoring information. Ultimately,
the health risk posed by conditions that remain after applying the hazard identifica-
tion and control process will then be considered by workers when they are deter-
mining whether to accept the risk with performing the job as defined, or provide
feedback as to alternative methods for work performance. The workers ultimately
determining whether they are willing to accept the health risk posed by the work
activity drives the need, up front, for the industrial hygienist to integrate the worker
into the hazard identification and control process.
work environment (e.g., nuclear or chemical weapons programs). A key aspect of the
instrumentation and calibration program is understanding quality assurance require-
ments that may be invoked because of the industry in which the program is imple-
mented. For example, an instrumentation and calibration program may be required
to meet elements of the Nuclear Quality Assurance requirements if it is implemented
in a company or industry that has adopted the Nuclear Quality Assurance-1 standard.
• Basic training received as a new hire. Most companies have some type
of mandatory training required as part of the hiring onboarding process.
Generally, this training may consist of company policies and procedures
related to human resource topics, security, safety and health policies, and
return to work.
• Job-specific training.
• Training received by the industrial hygienist as part of the industrial hygiene
qualification and continuing education process. If training is provided as
part of a qualification process, as an industrial hygienist, the training may
10 Industrial Hygiene
In many companies, the industrial hygienist teaches general safety and health
classes, along with classes that may be skill specific, and industrial hygiene topics
such as confined space or respiratory protection. Health risks to the worker, associ-
ated with the topic that is being instructed, should be effectively communicated to
further emphasize the importance of correctly performing the work activity.
1.4.7 Continuous Improvement
Industrial hygienists should always seek to improve both the performance and the
quality of their work. Continuous improvement can be demonstrated across all
industrial hygiene functional elements. In particular, improvements in the hazard
identification and control process can lead to a reduction in the number of unsafe
work practices. Continuous improvement can occur on both an individual perfor-
mance basis and across the company. Many companies have safety initiatives that
are tailored to focus on reducing injuries associated with a specific work function,
for example, safe driving campaigns. In addition, companies will also sponsor safety
campaigns that may focus on improving behaviors across all work functions and
groups. Continuous improvement within the industrial hygiene discipline often refers
to improving the performance of work activities related to the industrial hygiene
functional element or a subelement (i.e., exposure assessment process).
The peer took his settlement with a very bad grace; but he had to
take it, and there was an end of him.
“Avenant,” whispered the Fair, on the evening of their wedding
day, “I have been vain, spoiled, perhaps untruthful. But I wished to
tell you—you can put me to sleep on the middle shelf of your
cupboard.”
“It has been converted into a closet for skeletons,” he said. “I was
a bachelor then.”
THE LOST NOTES
The faculty of music is generally, I believe, inimical to the
development of all the other faculties. Sufficient to itself is the
composing gift. There was scarcely ever yet a born musician, I do
declare, who, outside his birthright, was not a born ass. I say it with
the less irreverence, because my uncle was patently one of the rare
exceptions which prove the rule. He knew his Shakespeare as well
as his musical-glasses—better than, in fact; for he was a staunch
Baconian. This was all the odder because—as was both early and
late impressed upon me—he had a strong sense of humour.
Perhaps an eternal study of the hieroglyphics of the leger lines was
responsible for his craze; for craze I still insist it was, in spite of the
way he took to convince me of the value of cryptograms. I was an
obstinate pupil, I confess, and withstood to the end the fire of all the
big guns which he—together with my friend, Chaunt, who was in the
same line—brought to bear upon me.
Well, I was honest, at least; for I was my uncle’s sole provisional
legatee, and heir presumptive to whatever small fortune he had
amassed during his career. And day by day, as the breach between
us widened, I saw my prospect of the succession attenuating, and
would not budge from my position. No, Shakespeare was
Shakespeare, I said, and Bacon, Bacon; and not all the cyphers in
the world should convince me that any profit was to be gained by
either imagining or unravelling a single one of them.
“What, no profit!” roared my uncle. “But I will persuade you, young
man, of your mistake before I’m done with you. Hum-ti-diddledidee!
No profit, hey? H’m—well!”
Then I saw that the end was come. And, indeed, it was an open
quarrel between us, and I was forbidden to call upon him again.
I was sorry for this, because, in his more frolicsome and
uncontroversial moments, he was a genial companion, unless or
until one inadvertently touched on the theme, when at once he
exploded. Professionally, he could be quite a rollicking blade, and his
settings of plantation songs were owned to be nothing less than lyric
inspirations. Pantomime, too, in the light of his incidental music, had
acquired something more than a classical complexion; and, in the
domain of knockabout extravaganza, not only did the score of “The
Girl who Knew a Thing or Two” owe to him its most refined numbers,
but also the libretto, it was whispered, its best Attic bonnes-bouches.
However, all that good company I must now forgo—though Chaunt
tried vainly to heal the breach between us—and in the end the old
man died, without any visible relenting towards me.
I felt his loss pretty keenly, though it is no callousness in me to
admit that our long separation had somewhat dulled the edge of my
attachment. I expected, of course, no testamentary consideration
from him, and was only more surprised than uplifted to receive one
morning a request from his lawyers to visit them at my convenience.
So I went, soberly enough, and introduced myself.
“No,” said the partner to whom I was admitted, in answer to a
question of mine: “I am not in a position to inform you who is the
principal beneficiary under our friend’s will. I can only tell you—what
a few days before his death he confided to us, and what, I think,
under the circumstances, you are entitled to learn—that he had quite
recently, feeling his end approaching, realized on the bulk of his
capital, converted the net result into a certain number—five, I think
he mentioned—of Bank of England notes, and… burned ’em, for all
we know to the contrary.”
“Burned them!” I murmured aghast.
“I don’t say so,” corrected the lawyer drily. “I only say, you know,
that we are not instructed to the contrary. Your uncle” (he coughed
slightly) “had his eccentricities. Perhaps he swallowed ’em; perhaps
gave ’em away at the gate. Our dealings are, beyond yourself, solely
with the residuary legatee, who is, or was, his housekeeper. For her
benefit, moreover, the furniture and effects of our late client are to be
sold, always excepting a few more personal articles, which, together
with a sealed enclosure, we are desired to hand over to you.”
He signified, indeed, my bequest as he spoke. It lay on a table
behind him: A bound volume of minutes of the Baconian Society; a
volume of Ignatius Donnelly’s Great Cryptogram; a Chippendale tea-
caddy (which, I was softened to think, the old man had often known
me to admire); a large piece of foolscap paper twisted into a cone,
and a penny with which to furnish myself with a mourning ring out of
a cracker.
I blushed to my ears, regarding the show; and then, to convince
this person of my good-humoured sanity, giggled like an idiot. He did
not even smile in reply, the self-important ass, but, with a manner of
starchy condescension, as to a wastrel who was getting all his
deserts, rose from his chair, unlocked a safe, took an ordinary sealed
envelope from it, handed it to me, and informed me that, upon giving
him a receipt, I was at liberty to remove the lot.
“Thanks,” I said, grinding my astral teeth. “Am I to open this in your
presence?”
“Quite inessential,” he answered; and, upon ascertaining that I
should like a cab called, sent for one.
“Good morning,” he said, when at last it was announced (he had
not spoken a word in the interval): “I wish you good morning,” in the
morally patronizing tone of a governor discharging a prisoner.
I responded coldly; tried, for no reason at all, to look threatening;
failed utterly, and went out giggling again. Quite savagely I threw my
goods upon the seat, snapped out my address, closed the apron
upon my abasement, and sat slunk into the cavity behind, like a
salted and malignant snail.
Presently I thumped the books malevolently. The dear old man
was grotesque beyond reason. Really he needn’t have left life cutting
a somersault, as it were.
But, as I cooled outwardly, a warmer thought would intrude. It
drew, somehow, from the heart of that little enclosure lying at the
moment in my pocket. It was ridiculous, of course, to expect anything
of it but some further development of a rather unkind jest. My uncle’s
professional connexion with burlesque had rather warped, it would
appear, his sense of humour. Still, I could not but recall that story of
the conversion of his capital into notes: and an envelope——!
Bah! (I wriggled savagely). It was idiotic beyond measure so to
flatter myself. Our recent relations had precluded for ever any such
possibility. The holocaust, rather! The gift to a chance passer-by, as
suggested by that fool of a lawyer! I stared out of the window,
humming viciously, and telling myself it was only what I ought to
expect; that such a vagary was distinctly in accordance with the
traditions of low comedy. It will be observed that I was very
contemptuous of buffoonery as a profession. Paradoxically, a joke is
never played so low as when it is played on our lofty selves.
Nevertheless, I was justified, it appeared. It may be asked, Why
did I not at once settle the matter by opening the envelope in the
cab? Well, I just temporized with my gluttony, till, like the greedy boy,
I could examine my box in private—only to find that the rats had
devoured all my cake. It was not till I was shut into my sitting-room
that I dared at length to break the seal, and to withdraw——
Even as it came out, with no suggestion of a reassuring crackle, I
realized my fate. And this was it: please to examine it carefully—
Now, what do you make of it? “Ex nihilo nihil fit,” I think you will say
with me. It was literally thus, carefully penned in the middle of a
single sheet of music-paper—a phrase, or motif, I suppose it would
be called—an undeveloped memorandum, in fact—nothing else
whatever. I let the thing drop from my hand.
No doubt there was some capping jest here, some sneer, some
vindictive sarcasm. I was not musician enough to tell, even had I had
spirit for the endeavour. It was unworthy, at least, of the old man—
much more, or less, than I deserved. I had been his favourite once.
Strange how the idée fixe could corrode an otherwise tractable
reason. In justice to myself I must insist that quite half my
disappointment was in the realization that such dislike, due to such a
trifle, could have come to usurp the old affection.
By and by I rose dismally, and carried the jest to the piano. (Half a
crown a day my landlady exacted from me, if I so much as thumped
on the old wreck with one finger, which was the extent of my talent.)
Well, I was reckless, and the theme appeared ridiculously simple.
But I could make nothing of it—not though Mrs. Dexter came up in
the midst, and congratulated me on my performance.
When she was gone I took the thing to my chair again, and
resumed its study despondently. And presently Chaunt came in.
“Hullo!” he said: “how’s the blooming legatee?”
“Pretty blooming, thanks,” I said. “Would you like to speculate in
my reversion? Half a crown down to Mrs. Dexter, and the use of the
tin kettle for the day.”
“Done,” he said, “so far as the piano’s concerned. Let’s see what
you’ve got there.”
He had known of my prospective visit to the lawyers, and had
dropped in to congratulate me on that performance. I acquainted him
with the result; showed him the books, and the tea-caddy, and the
penny, and the remnants of foolscap—finally, handed him the
crowning jest for inspection.
“Pretty thin joke, isn’t it?” I growled dolefully. “Curse the money,
anyhow! But I didn’t think it of the old man. I suppose you can make
no more of that than I can?”
He was squinting at the paper as he held it up, and rubbing his
jaw, stuck out at an angle, grittily.
“H’m!” he said, quite suddenly, “I’d go out for a walk and revive
myself, if I were you. I intend to hold you to that piano, for my part;
and you wouldn’t be edified.”
“No,” I said: “I’ve had enough of music for a lifetime or so! I fancy
I’ll go, if you won’t think me rude.”
“On the contrary,” he murmured, in an absorbed way; and I left
him.
I took a longish spin, and returned, on the whole refreshed, in a
couple of hours. He was still there; but he had finished, it appeared,
with the piano.
“Well,” he said, rising and yawning, “you’ve been a deuce of a time
gone; but here you are”—and he held out to me indifferently a little
crackling bundle.
Without a word I took it from his hand—parted, stretched, and
explored it.
“Good God!” I gasped: “five notes of a thousand apiece!”
He was rolling a cigarette.
“Yes,” he drawled, “that’s the figure, I believe.”
“For me?”
“For you—from your uncle.”
“But—how?”
He lighted, took a serene puff or two, drew the jest from his
pocket, and, throwing it on a chair, “You’ll have to allow some value
to cryptograms at last,” he said, and sat down to enjoy himself.
“Chaunt!”
“O,” he said, “it was a bagatelle. An ass might have brayed it out at
sight.”
“Please, I am something less than an ass. Please will you interpret
for me?” I said humbly.
He neighed out—I beg his pardon—a great laugh at last.
“O,” he cried: “your uncle was true blue; he stuck to his guns; but I
never really supposed he meant to disinherit you, Johnny. You
always had the first place in his heart, for all your obstinacy. He took
his own way to convince you, that was all. Pretty poor stuff it is, I’m
bound to confess; but enough to run your capacities to extinction.
Here, hand it over.”
“Don’t be hard on me,” I protested, giving him the paper. “If I’m all
that you say, it was as good as cutting me off with a penny.”
“No,” he answered: “because he knew very well that you’d apply to
me to help you out of the difficulty.”
“Well, help me,” I said, “and, in the matter of Bacon, I’ll promise to
be a fool convinced against my will.”
“No doubt,” he answered drily, and came and sat beside me. “Look
here,” he said; and I looked:—
“You know your notes, anyhow,” said he. “Well, you’ve only got to
read off these into their alphabetical equivalents, and cut the result
into perfectly obvious lengths. It’s child’s play so far; and, indeed, in
everything, unless this rum-looking metronome beat, or whatever it
may be, bothers you for a moment.”