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vi Preface

What Is New in the 17th Edition?

The 17th edition includes the following changes:
• All new Business Currents examples that call out the practical applications
of cost accounting in the real world.
• The Recall and Review exercises are now matched with similar end-of-
chapter exercises.
• The addition of critical thinking components to certain end-of-chapter
exercises and problems.
• The use of icons next to certain exercises and problems that relate back to
the appropriate Recall and Review exercises and Self-Study problems.
• The inclusion of an integrated example of a skateboard manufacturer that
continues throughout the first three job-order costing chapters.
• New coverage on enterprise resource planning systems has been added.
• Increased coverage of activity-based costing.

What Are the Features of the 17th Edition?

The 17th edition includes several features that facilitate the learning process
for the student and allow the instructor to teach with ease.

Practical Applications
A Business Currents feature calls out the practical applications of cost
accounting in the real world. This feature illustrates how cost accounting
concepts from the chapter are practiced in business today.

CengageNOW
Online homework is now a possibility with CengageNOW. CengageNOW is a
powerful course management and online homework tool that provides
robust instructor control and customization to optimize the student
learning experience and meet desired outcomes. CengageNOW offers
auto-graded homework and test bank, easy-to-use assignment options,
and “Smart Entry” to eliminate common data entry errors. Additional
algorithmic problems have been authored to give more flexibility in
assigning homework.

Directed Assignments
At specific points within each chapter, students are directed to appropriate
end-of-chapter assignments. This allows students to work practice items
without completing the entire chapter. Each of these points includes a Recall
and Review Exercise with its solution at the end of the chapter. These exer-
cises are referenced to similar end-of-chapter exercises.

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 Preface vii

Self-Study Problems
Two demonstration problems are included at the end of each chapter, with a
step-by-step explanation of how to solve them. These Self-Study Problems
are constructed from difficult concepts in the chapter and reinforce the tech-
niques and procedures discussed in the chapter. An added feature is end-of-
chapter problems that reference students back to Self-Study Problems that
are similar in topic and difficulty.

End-of-Chapter Materials
The end-of-chapter questions, exercises, problems, and mini-cases have been
carefully written, revised, added to, and verified to reflect the coverage as it
appears in the chapters. There has been a concerted effort to provide the
instructor with a wide choice of subject matter, degree of difficulty, and criti-
cal thinking opportunities when assigning end-of-chapter materials. Where
appropriate, comprehensive review problems have been added that cover con-
cepts from more than one chapter. Additionally, selected problems may be
solved using spreadsheet software.

Integrated Learning Objectives

Learning objectives begin each chapter. Each learning objective is indicated
in the text where first discussed. All end-of-chapter exercises, problems, and
mini-cases are identified by learning objectives.

Key Terms
Key terms are highlighted as they are introduced. They are listed, along with
page references, at the end of each chapter. A comprehensive glossary is
included at the end of the book providing definitions for all the key terms.

Appendices
The Institute of Management Accountants “Statement of Ethical Professional
Practice” is included in an appendix at the end of Chapter 1. An appendix at
the end of Chapter 8 illustrates the four-variance and three-variance methods
of analyzing factory overhead.

What Supplementary Materials

Are Available?
A complete package of supplementary materials is available with the 17th edition
of Principles of Cost Accounting to assist both instructors and students. The package
includes materials that have been carefully prepared and reviewed.

Available to Instructors
All instructor resources are available online on the Instructor Companion
Website at http://login.cengage.com.

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
viii Preface

Solutions Manual. The Solutions Manual contains the answers to all end-of-
chapter questions, exercises, problems, and mini-cases. The solutions are
author-written and have been verified multiple times for numerical accuracy
and consistency.

Test Bank. The test bank helps instructors efficiently assess their students’
understanding with problems and questions that reflect the material presented.
The Test Bank offers a variety of question types and has also been tagged to
distinguish difficulty level, learning objective, and AACSB and IMA standards.
Test bank files in Word format, along with versions to import into your LMS,
are available on the Instructor Companion Website. Cognero Test Banks are
available via Single Sign-on account at http://login.cengage.com.

Cengage Learning Testing Powered By Cognero. Cengage’s new test gener-

ator software, Cognero, allows authoring, editing, and managing of test bank
content from anywhere with internet access. It also allows for creation of
multiple test versions in an instant, or for delivery of tests from your Learning
Management System.
PowerPoint Presentations. Each presentation enhances lectures and clarifies
difficult concepts with concise slides designed to capture and keep your
students’ attention. These chapter-by-chapter slides are ideal as guides for
student note-taking and study.
Instructor Spreadsheet Templates. Increase student awareness and familiar-
ity with basic software applications by utilizing the spreadsheet templates.
These templates accompany many end-of-chapter items to assist students in
completing the problem. The Instructor Spreadsheet Templates show the
completed spreadsheet solutions in an easy-to-use format. Selected problems
that have an accompanying template are designated with a spreadsheet icon.
Instructor Companion Website. Access your needed supplements immedi-
ately with the companion website. This text-specific website organizes
resources by chapter and all instructor materials are password protected.
Access the site by going to http://login.cengage.com to create an account or
sign-in to your current account.

Available to Students
All student resources are available online on the Student Companion
Website. To access the text companion website, simply go to www.cengage
brain.com, search for the text ISBN or author’s last name and click on the
“Access Now” icon under Study Tools. Resources are organized at both the
chapter and book level.
Student Spreadsheet Templates. Familiarize yourself with current spread-
sheet software while completing your homework assignments easily
with these Student Spreadsheet Templates. These templates accompany
many end-of-chapter items to assist students in completing the problem.

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 Preface ix

Selected problems that have an accompanying template are designated with a

spreadsheet icon.
Experience Accounting Videos. Highlight progressive companies and allow
you to effectively visualize critical chapter concepts—enhancing what you
learn in class! The Experience Accounting Videos are available within the
Study Tools and Personalized Study Plan in CengageNOW. They can also
be bundled at no additional cost with new copies of the text or purchased sepa-
rately. You can access the videos at www.cengage.com/accounting/eav.
Key Term Testing. Test your knowledge of the key terms that are outlined in
the text through our online flashcards and crossword puzzles.

Acknowledgments
The authors and publisher would like to thank the following review participants
who helped us think about the many dimensions of this revision by providing
constructive comments and suggestions:

Angela Kirkendall
South Puget Sound Community College
Charles Kee
Kingsborough Community College
Cindy Bleasdale
Hilbert College
David Bland
Cape Fear Community College
David Forester
Haywood Community College
Frances Ford
Spalding University
Jamie Payton
Gadsden State Community College
Jeanine Metzler
Northampton Community College
Kevin Rosenberg
Southeastern Community College
Lana Tuss
Chemeketa Community College
Lecia Berven
Iowa Lakes Community College
Leslie Faistl
Surry Community College

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
x Preface

Marina Grau
Houston Community College
Marjorie York
Kennebec Valley Community College
Nancy Lee Howard
Mt. Hood Community College
Paul Keller
SUNY College at Old Westbury
Scott Wallace
Blue Mountain Community College
Shannon Ogden
Black River Technical College
Sharon Burnett
West Texas A&M University
Spencer Miller
Eastern Idaho Technical College
Stacey Mirinaviciene
Keuka College
Sue Castaldi
Albertus Magnus College
Theresa Laws-Dahl
Blackhawk Technical College
Theresa Meza
James Sprunt Community College

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 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ED VANDERBECK was a professor of accountancy at Xavier University in

Cincinnati, Ohio for 32 years and chair of the Department of Accountancy for
24 of those years. Professor VanDerbeck specialized in teaching cost accounting
to accounting majors and managerial accounting to undergraduate and MBA stu-
dents. He also taught at the two-year college level at SUNY–Delhi. He has a
BA in Accounting from Binghamton University (formerly SUNY–Binghamton)
and an MS in Business Administration from the University of Albany (formerly
SUNY–Albany). He is licensed as a CPA (inactive) in the state of Ohio.
Professor VanDerbeck has worked as an internal revenue agent and performed
a faculty internship at what was formerly the Big Eight accounting firm of
Touche-Ross. He has served as a developmental editor and marketing manager
for accounting publications with South-Western College Publishing. Professor
VanDerbeck resides in San Diego, California, and is a kayaker, swimmer, tennis
player, and student of casino gaming strategies.

MARIA R. MITCHELL is an associate professor of accountancy at Thomas

More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. She teaches cost and advanced
accounting courses for accounting majors and introductory accounting courses
for traditional students and those in the college’s adult and professional pro-
gram. Prior to starting her academic career full-time, she worked on the audit
staff at KPMG and for a global industrial products company where she was
responsible for financial reporting and assisted with activities-based costing
implementation projects. She has also been an adjunct instructor at Xavier
University and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.
Professor Mitchell is a CPA in the state of Ohio, has an MBA from Xavier
University, and a BS in Accounting from Northern Kentucky University. Outside
the classroom, she enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, cooking, and genealogy.

xi
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 Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 BRIEF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Introduction to Cost Accounting 1

Chapter 2 Accounting for Materials 67

Chapter 3 Accounting for Labor 131

Chapter 4 Accounting for Factory Overhead 181

Chapter 5 Process Cost Accounting—General

Procedures 255

Chapter 6 Process Cost Accounting—Additional

Procedures; Accounting for Joint Products
and By-Products 311

Chapter 7 The Master Budget and Flexible Budgeting 365

Chapter 8 Standard Cost Accounting—Materials, Labor,

and Factory Overhead 413

Chapter 9 Cost Accounting for Service Businesses, the

Balanced Scorecard, and Quality Costs 485

Chapter 10 Cost Analysis for Management Decision

Making 523

Glossary 575

Index 591

xiii
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 Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
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 CONTENTS

1 Introduction to Cost Accounting 1

1.1 Uses of Cost Accounting Information 5
1.1a Determining Product Costs and Pricing 5
1.1b Planning and Control 6
1.2 Professional Ethics, CMA Certification, and Corporate
Governance 10
1.3 Relationship of Cost Accounting to Financial and Management
Accounting 11
1.3a Costs of Goods Sold 13
1.3b Inventories 14
1.4 Elements of Manufacturing Costs 17
1.4a Direct Materials 17
1.4b Direct Labor 17
1.4c Factory Overhead 18
1.4d Summary of Manufacturing Costs 18
1.4e Flow of Costs 19
1.5 Illustration of Accounting for Manufacturing Costs 19
1.6 Cost Accounting Systems 29
1.6a Special Order 30
1.6b Continuous or Mass Production 30
1.6c Combination of Systems 32
1.6d Standard Costing 32
1.7 Illustration of a Job Order Cost System 32
1.7a Work in Process in the Manufacturing Statement 36
Appendix: IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice 38

2 Accounting for Materials 67

2.1 Materials Control 68
2.1a Physical Control of Materials 68
2.1b Controlling the Investment in Materials 71

xv
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xvi Contents

2.2 Materials Control Procedures 76

2.2a Materials Control Personnel 76
2.2b Control during Procurement 77
2.2c Control during Storage and Issuance 82
2.2d Computerized Materials Control 84
2.3 Accounting for Materials 85
2.3a Determining the Cost of Materials Issued 86
2.3b Accounting Procedures 92
2.4 Just-in-Time Materials Control 98
2.4a JIT and Cost Control 101
2.4b JIT and Cost Flows 101
2.5 Scrap, Spoiled Goods, and Defective Work 103
2.5a Scrap Materials 104
2.5b Spoiled and Defective Work 105

3 Accounting for Labor 131

3.1 Wage Plans 132
3.1a Hourly-Rate Plan 133
3.1b Piece-Rate Plan 133
3.1c Modified Wage Plans 134
3.2 Controlling Labor Cost 135
3.2a Labor Time Records 135
3.2b Payroll Function 136
3.3 Accounting for Labor Costs and Employers’
Payroll Taxes 140
3.3a Employers’ Payroll Taxes 143
3.3b Illustration of Accounting for Labor Costs 144
3.4 Payroll Accrual 149
3.5 Special Labor Cost Problems 152
3.5a Shift Premium 153
3.5b Employee Pension Costs 153
3.5c Bonuses 155
3.5d Vacation and Holiday Pay 155
3.5e Accounting for Bonuses, Vacations, and Holiday Pay 156

4 Accounting for Factory Overhead 181

4.1 Identifying Cost Behavior Patterns 182
4.2 Analyzing Semivariable Factory Overhead Costs 184
4.2a Observation Method 185
4.2b High-Low Method 185
4.2c Scattergraph Method 187
4.2d Limitations of High-Low and Scattergraph Methods 188

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 Contents xvii

4.2e Least-Squares Regression Method 189

4.3 Budgeting Factory Overhead Costs 191
4.4 Accounting for Actual Factory Overhead 192
4.4a Factory Overhead Analysis Spreadsheets 194
4.4b Schedule of Fixed Costs 195
4.4c General Factory Overhead Expenses 197
4.4d Summary of Factory Overhead 197
4.5 Distributing Service Department Expenses 197
4.6 Applying Factory Overhead to Production 205
4.6a Direct Labor Cost Method 208
4.6b Direct Labor Hour Method 208
4.6c Machine Hour Method 209
4.6d Activity-based Costing Method 210
4.7 Accounting for Actual and Applied Factory Overhead 213

5 Process Cost Accounting—General

Procedures 255
5.1 Comparison of Basic Cost Systems 256
5.1a Materials and Labor Costs 256
5.1b Factory Overhead Costs 258
5.2 Product Cost in a Process Cost System 258
5.2a Nondepartmentalized Factory 259
5.2b Departmentalized Factory 259
5.3 Work in Process Inventories 259
5.4 Cost of Production Summary—One Department, No Beginning
Inventory 263
5.5 Cost of Production Summary—One Department Beginning
Inventory 266
5.6 Cost of Production Summary—Multiple Departments, No
Beginning Inventory 269
5.7 Cost of Production Summary—Multiple Departments, Beginning
Inventory 279
5.8 Changes in Prior Department’s Unit Transfer Cost 286

6 Process Cost Accounting—Additional

Procedures; Accounting for Joint
Products and By-Products 311
6.1 Equivalent Production–Materials Not Uniformly Applied 311
6.1a Materials Added at Beginning of Process 312
6.1b Materials Added at End of Process 314
6.1c Materials Added at Different Stages of Process 317

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xviii Contents

6.2 Units Lost in Production 320

6.3 Units Gained in Production 323
6.4 Equivalent Production: First-In, First-Out Method 325
6.4a FIFO versus Weighted Average-Materials Added at
Beginning 325
6.4b FIFO versus Weighted Average-Materials Added at End 330
6.4c FIFO versus Weighted Average-Pros and Cons 333
6.5 Joint Products and By-Products 334
6.5a Accounting for Joint Products 335
6.5b Accounting for By-Products 338

7 The Master Budget and Flexible

Budgeting 365
7.1 Principles of Budgeting 366
7.2 Preparing the Master Budget 367
7.2a Sales Budget 369
7.2b Production Budget 370
7.2c Direct Materials Budget 373
7.2d Direct Labor Budget 374
7.2e Factory Overhead Budget 375
7.2f Cost of Goods Sold Budget 376
7.2g Selling and Administrative Expenses Budget 376
7.2h Budgeted Income Statement 376
7.2i Other Budgets 378
7.2j Evaluating Budget Performance 378
7.3 Flexible Budgeting 379
7.3a Preparing the Flexible Budget 381
7.3b Preparing a Performance Report Based on Flexible
Budgeting 382
7.4 Preparing the Flexible Budget for Factory Overhead 384
7.4a Using the Flexible Budget 386
7.4b Semivariable Costs 388
7.4c Service Department Budgets and Variances 388
7.4d Summary of the Budgeting Process 389

8 Standard Cost Accounting—Materials,

Labor, and Factory Overhead 413
8.1 Types of Standards 415
8.2 Standard Cost Procedures 416
8.2a Determination of Standard Costs for Materials and Labor 416
8.2b Recording Standard Costs for Materials and Labor 417

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 Contents xix

8.3 Determination of Variances 418

8.3a Alternative Method of Recording Materials Cost 424
8.4 Accounting for Variances 425
8.4a Alternative Method of Recording Materials Cost 425
8.4b Disposition of Standard Cost Variances 426
8.5 Interpreting Variances 429
8.6 Features of a Standard Cost Accounting System 432
8.7 Illustration of Standard Cost in a Departmentalized Factory Using
Process Costing 433
8.8 Analysis of Factory Overhead Standard Cost Variances 440
8.9 Two-Variance Method of Analysis 441
Appendix: Four-Variance and Three-Variance Methods of Analysis 447
Four-Variance Method of Analysis 447
Three-Variance Method of Analysis 449

9 Cost Accounting for Service Businesses,

the Balanced Scorecard, and Quality
Costs 485
9.1 Job Order Costing for Service Businesses 486
9.1a Job Cost Sheet for a Service Business 487
9.1b Choosing the Cost Allocation Base 488
9.1c Tracing Direct Costs to the Job 488
9.1d Cost Performance Report 488
9.2 Budgeting for Service Businesses 489
9.2a The Revenue Budget 490
9.2b The Labor Budget 490
9.2c The Overhead Budget 491
9.2d The Other Direct Expenses Budget 492
9.2e The Budgeted Income Statement 492
9.3 Activity-Based Costing in a Service Firm 493
9.3a Converting Indirect Costs to Direct Costs 494
9.3b Multiple Indirect Cost Pools 495
9.3c Job Cost Sheet—Activity-Based Costing 496
9.4 Allocations Using Simplified Costing versus Activity-Based
Costing 497
9.5 The Balanced Scorecard and Quality Costs 501
9.5a The Four Categories of a Balanced Scorecard 501
9.5b Guidelines for a Good Balanced Scorecard 503
9.5c The Balanced Scorecard Illustrated 504

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xx Contents

9.6 Meaning of the Cost of Quality 506

9.6a The Four Categories of a Cost of Quality Report 506
9.6b Prevention Costs 506
9.6c Appraisal Costs 506
9.6d Internal Failure Costs 507
9.6e External Failure Costs 508

10 Cost Analysis for Management Decision

Making 523
10.1 Variable Costing and Absorption Costing 524
10.1a Product Costs versus Period Costs 524
10.1b Illustration of Variable and Absorption Costing
Methods 525
10.2 Merits and Limitations of Variable Costing 530
10.3 Segment Reporting for Profitability Analysis 531
10.4 Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis 534
10.4a Break-Even Analysis 535
10.4b Break-Even Chart 538
10.4c Break-Even Analysis for Management Decisions 539
10.4d Effect of Sales Mix on Break-Even Analysis 541
10.5 Contribution Margin Ratio and Margin of Safety 543
10.6 Effect of Income Tax on Break-Even Point 545
10.7 Differential Analysis 546
10.7a Accept or Reject a Special Order 547
10.7b Make or Buy 548
10.8 Distribution Costs 549

Glossary 575
Index 591

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO COST
ACCOUNTING Learning
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you
should be able to:
LO1 Explain the uses of cost
accounting information.

LO2 Describe the ethical respon-

BUSINESS CURRENTS 1.1 sibilities and certification
Cost Accounting in Hollywood requirements for manage-
ment accountants, as well as
As Hollywood film budgets continue to grow, an article in corporate governance.
Bloomberg Businessweek reported that Universal Studio’s
Despicable Me 2 grossed more than $840 million globally, LO3 Describe the relationship of
cost accounting to financial
but cost only $76 million, making it one of the most prof-
and management
itable movies in the studio’s history. The film’s producer,
accounting.
Chris Meledandri, who also produced Dr. Seuss’ The
Lorax, is credited with successfully managing the film’s LO4 Identify the three basic ele-
budget. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dream- ments of manufacturing
works Animation SKG, announced plans to decrease the costs.
budgets of the company’s animated films by $30 million LO5 Illustrate basic cost
each, to an average cost of $120 million. accounting procedures.
This article raises several questions that may be
LO6 Distinguish between the two
answered using information introduced in this book: basic types of cost account-
• Which cost accounting system is best suited for ing systems.
accounting for the costs of producing a film? LO7 Illustrate a job order cost
• How does one determine which studio costs are system.
included in making a movie?
• What measures may be undertaken by other studios to
successfully reduce their budgets?

Source: Palmeri, Christopher, “Despicably Profitable,” Bloomberg

Businessweek, September 23, 2013, Issue 4347, p. 21–22.

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2 Principles of Cost Accounting

T he importance of cost accounting information to the successful operation of a

business has long been recognized. However, in the current global economic
environment, such information is more crucial than ever. Automobiles from South
Korea, compact fluorescent light bulbs from China, electronic equipment from
Japan, and aircraft from Europe are just a few examples of foreign-made products
that have provided stiff competition to U.S. manufacturers both at home and
abroad. As a result of these pressures, companies today are placing more emphasis
on controlling costs in an attempt to keep their products competitive. For example,
U.S. companies are outsourcing production and service activities to other coun-
tries, such as production operations in Honduras and Vietnam, and technical sup-
port call centers in the Philippines. However, as Business Currents 1.2 indicates,
some “offshore” manufacturing is headed back to the United States.

BUSINESS CURRENTS 1.2

“Reshoring” a Continuing Trend
Recently, Wal-mart announced plans to relocate $50 billion in
manufacturing to the United States and General Electric has begun
manufacturing in Louisville, Kentucky a hybrid water heater that was pre-
viously outsourced to a Chinese company. These are just a few examples
of the “reshoring” or “onshoring” efforts undertaken by an increasing
number of American businesses. Reasons cited for this shift include:
• Pay rates in China have increased at least 15% annually for the past
few years. In addition, there has been recent labor unrest in China.
• Oil prices have increased and become more uncertain, resulting in
higher shipping costs and energy costs in China, but domestic
energy prices are relatively less expensive;
• Companies want more control or protection for their intellectual
property;
• Productivity has increased in the United States due to automation;
• Because the customer base is located in the United States, there is a
desire to be closer to the customer;
• A declining dollar results in less advantageous exchange rates for
imports.

Sources: Kilzer, Lou, “Top U.S. Manufacturers Returning Jobs Back to States from
China,” McClatchy-Tribune Business News, published by The Pittsburgh Tribune-
Review, January 5, 2014.
Nash-Hoff, Michele, “How San Diego Reflects National Manufacturing Trends,” Industry
Week, January 24, 2014.
Northam, Jackie, “As Overseas Costs Rise, More U.S. Companies Are ‘Reshoring,’”
www.npr.org, January 22, 2014.

Cost accounting provides the detailed cost information that management

needs to control current operations and plan for the future. Figure 1-1
illustrates the production process for goods and services for which cost

Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 Chapter 1—Introduction to Cost Accounting 3

Figure 1-1 Production Process for Goods and Services

Inputs (factors of production) Outputs

Raw materials Natural resources Goods

Conversion process

Human resources Capital Services

accounting provides information. Management uses this information to decide

how to allocate resources to the most efficient and profitable areas of the
business.
All types of business entities—manufacturing, merchandising, and service
businesses—require cost accounting information systems to track their activi-
ties. Manufacturers convert purchased raw materials into finished goods by
using labor, technology, and facilities. Merchandisers purchase finished
goods for resale. They may be retailers, who sell products to individuals for
consumption, or wholesalers, who purchase goods from manufacturers and
sell to retailers. For-profit service businesses, such as health clubs, account-
ing firms, and NFL football teams, sell services rather than products. Not-
for-profit service agencies, such as charities, governmental agencies, and
some health care facilities, provide services at little or no cost to the user.
It is necessary for any organization to have a set of procedures in place to
provide the financial information needed by that organization. The accounting
information systems of manufacturers must be designed to accumulate
detailed cost data relating to the production process. Cost accounting systems
are accounting information systems used by manufacturers to track the costs
incurred to produce and sell their diverse product lines. While the cost account-
ing principles and procedures discussed in the text mostly emphasize manufac-
turers, many of the same principles apply to merchandising and service
businesses. Cost accounting is essential to the efficient operation of fast-food
restaurants, athletic teams, fine arts groups, hospitals, colleges, social welfare
agencies, and numerous other entities. Chapter 9 and other sections throughout
the text illustrate cost accounting systems for service businesses.
In many ways, the activities of a manufacturer are similar to those of a
merchandiser. They purchase, store, and sell goods; both must have efficient
management and adequate sources of capital; and they may employ hundreds
or thousands of workers. The manufacturing process itself highlights the

Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
 He soon picked out Tom Saunders, a big-boned, rather handsome
fellow, three inches taller than Clem, and built along the same lines
as the old skipper. But Tom’s strong, even powerful, face was marred
by the undeniable touch of liquor, and a cigarette trailed smoke
between his fingers. His companions laughed uproariously at his
jokes, and gave him an acclamation, which he seemed to enjoy
hugely.
“Clem Frobisher, by golly!”
As the cry went up from the assembled fellows, all of whom knew
Clem, Tom Saunders turned and came forward, cue in hand, with a
quick smile of delight. He stretched out a big hand toward Clem.
“Hello, cap’n! Say, you old chump, where you been hidin’? I——”
Under Clem’s steady, scornful gaze, his words of greeting faded.
His hand fell to his side. He stared in blank amazement, while a
portentous silence fell upon the others.
Then Clem made a sudden movement and plucked the cigarette
from Tom’s fingers. He tossed it into the corner.
“Tom,” he said quietly, “I hear that you claim to be filling my
shoes. How about it?”
“Hey?” Tom Saunders laid aside his billiard cue, still staring.
“What you mean?”
“You heard me!” snarled Clem, watching the other with grim
intentness.
“Say, what’s eatin’ you?” demanded Tom, in frowning wonder.
“Ain’t we allus been mighty good friends? What the devil are you
talkin’ about?”
“I’m talking about you,” said Clem, as he took a forward step.
“Tom, you used to be a prince of a fellow. You’re some scrapping
guy, too. Well, I been hearing a lot about you to-day. I hear, for one
thing, that you’re doing a lot o’ talking about fillin’ Clem Frobisher’s
shoes. I’m telling you right here that my shoes never left tracks in a
saloon! Get that?”
“Say, what’s the matter with you?” said Tom, with a scowl, seeing
beyond all doubt that his former hero was bent on trouble. “Do you
want to start somethin’?”
“When I get ready. I’ll start it quick enough,” snapped Clem. “Ed
Davis came over with me, and we’re going out in the Sadie to-night,
Tom, on a three-days’ trip—maybe longer. I want you to come
along.”
Tom was puzzled by this invitation, and was also half mollified.
“Why, Clem, I’d like to—darned if I wouldn’t! But we got a big
kelly game comin’ off to-night—dollar a corner——”
“And your dad’s house rent is owing,” said Clem quietly. “Will you
come or not?”
“Don’t see how I can——”
Like a flash, Clem’s right shot out. It drove fair and square to the
big fellow’s jaw. Tom went staggering back, and his friends surged
forward at Clem with a snarl of rage. Gripping the pool table behind
him, Tom Saunders turned on them hotly.
“Git back, you flatfoots! Keep out o’ this!”
“Bully for you, Tom!” said Clem approvingly. Then, as Tom turned,
Clem was in, with a leap, and the row began.
And, as a water-front row, it was historic. Tom Saunders was no
bluffer. He had size and brawn, he took punishment like a punching
bag, and he had a kick like a mule. When he started in to fight he
usually demolished everything in sight.
But from the start it was evident that he had no chance.
 Clem Frobisher in action was a whirlwind. If he lacked size, he
had a savage earnestness which won half his battles. He went into a
scrap heart and soul and body, for, if he had to fight, he wanted no
halfway measures. He was not a halfway man.
The battle was short, sharp, and furious. Foolishly, Tom drove for
Clem’s face and jaw, but Clem fought otherwise. He was out for
blood, figuratively speaking.
Taking a smack that brought a black eye, without a wince, he
broke through the other’s guard and slammed his fists into Tom’s
body time and again. Never had any one seen him go into a fight
with such savage, deadly fury. Within thirty seconds, Tom Saunders
was backed into a corner, mouthing oaths and lashing out half at
random, while Clem’s terrible right and left swings pounded over his
heart and stomach.
Unexpectedly, Clem shot up a swift uppercut that rocked Tom’s
head back. The other’s arms flew up, and Clem’s right bored into the
solar plexus. It was almost a finishing blow. Tom emitted a gasp,
and flung out his arms to save himself from going down. Clem
swung down his arm for the knock-out.
At that instant, the rage of Tom’s followers broke all bounds. One
of them came in, swinging a billiard cue, and aimed a blow that
would have resulted in the penitentiary had it landed. But it did not
land.
As the cue flashed up behind Clem, a lean figure came from
nowhere, apparently, and placed a blow under the fellow’s ear that
landed the would-be murderer under a table and kept him there.
Then Clem heard his chum’s voice ringing behind him:
“You fellers better scatter quick! There’s two cops headed this
way!”
Clem’s arm shot out. Tom Saunders groaned and collapsed. The
others were hastily streaming out the back entrance; and Clem,
gripping his late opponent’s collar, turned to Ed Davis with a panting
gasp of relief.
“Good boy, Ed! Pick up his feet, now—move fast!”
And, as the police entered by the front door, they vanished into
the alley at the rear, carrying the unconscious Tom Saunders
between them.
 IV.
“Shanghaied him, by thunder!”
Ed Davis grinned down at the sleeping Tom. The Sadie was
dancing to the lilting ground swells, at dawn, far out beyond Catalina
Island.
“Below there!” rang the voice of Clem, on deck above. “Ed, rouse
that fellow up, or I’ll do it myself!”
Ed, who was about to turn in, after standing watch all night,
shrugged his shoulders and grinned. Then he caught the sleeping
Tom Saunders by the leg, hauled him roughly out of the bunk, and,
planting two stinging blows, sent him up the tiny companionway
with a kick.
Furious, half awake, cursing, Saunders gained his balance on the
deck and stared at the ocean in blank bewilderment. Clem, at the
wheel, let out a roar.
“Wake up, you slob! Take one o’ them buckets and a broom, an’
wash down the decks!”
Tom stared at the pilot house, saw Clem’s battered features, and
comprehended at last. His heavy face contracted in anger.
“By thunder, I’ll make you sweat for this!” he burst forth, and
came on the run.
Clem slipped a loop over the wheel and met Tom halfway. Nor did
he waste any time or sympathy, for he was a captain, and his crew
was in mutiny. Before Tom could get within fighting distance, Clem
smashed him across the head with the butt end of a gaff. He reeled
back, caught at the rail, and clung there weakly.
 “I’ve a word to say to you, Tom Saunders,” remarked Clem
quietly, watching him for signs of further trouble. “You think you’re
something of a boss scrapper, and a deuce of a sporty chap. You’re
not. You’re a cheap, low-down drunken loafer!
“You keep away from your old father and mother as much as you
can, and you loaf around the water front, gambling and fighting and
drinking. Well, you’re going to get your fill o’ fighting this trip,
believe me! You’re going to realize that you got a blamed sight
better home than any pool room will furnish——”
Tom, partly recovered from that stunning blow, leaped in again.
Clem raised the gaff, then dropped it. He saw that Tom was a
glutton for punishment, and determined to administer it. Yet he
admired deeply the dogged courage of the other.
Cool, confident, smiling, for a good ten minutes he smashed Tom
Saunders about the deck. At the end of that time Tom collapsed,
both eyes pulling, and his face hammered black and blue. Clem
caught up a canvas bucket, trailed it over the side, and sluiced Tom
with cold salt water until Tom sat up, gasping and half drowned.
“If you’ve had enough, get busy and clean them decks!” snapped
Clem.
Tom had not had enough, as his curses showed, but he set to
work cleaning the decks. During breakfast, he eyed Clem in sullen
silence, and after breakfast Clem set him to work cleaning out the
fish boxes and untangling lines and leaders.
Shortly afterward, Clem caught sight of a flock of gulls far to the
south, and headed the Sadie for them. Where the gulls were there
were yellowtail, and skipjack also. Calling Tom, he put him to work
at the outriggers.
These were long ten-foot poles, set into sockets just abaft the
pilot house, and projecting over the rails. From each pole were set
out three hundred-yard lines, the outermost of which bore automatic
strikers, the others bearing hooks and minnows.
Five minutes later they got the first strike, and then the fun
waxed fast and furious. Clem let out a yell for Ed Davis, and they
began to haul in fifteen and twenty-pound yellowtail as fast as the
trolling lines could be drawn taut. As Clem and Tom hauled in the
fighting, darting, leaping fish, Ed gaffed them.
By noon they had over twenty, with a few barracuda and
skipjacks. Then Clem hauled about for San Clemente, looped the
wheel, and settled down with the others to lunch.
“When you get the dishes washed up, Tom,” said Ed Davis, “you’d
better clean one of them barracuda for supper. Then give that cabin
a good cleaning and then——”
“Say, you fellers are almighty fresh!” said Tom Saunders, feeling
his black-and-blue eyes tenderly. “How long is this thing goin’ to
last?”
“Until we get ready to quit,” said Davis, grinning pleasantly. “Your
proud spirit needs a whole lot o’ chastening, friend Tom.”
“Well, what’s the idea? What have I ever done to you guys?”
“Nothing,” broke in Clem coldly. “But you’re becoming a pretty
worthless sort of citizen, Tom. If I had a father and mother like
yours, I’d try and make something of myself, instead of hanging
around——”
“Yes, you’re a beaut!” sneered Tom. “’Cause you’re a city guy,
now, you’re all stuck up, hey?”
“I don’t think you quite understand.” Clem smiled slightly. “You’re
out of proportion with the real facts of life, Tom. Your outlook is
warped. Instead of seeing things as they are, you see them from the
viewpoint of your pool-room and saloon friends. Well, when we get
back to Pedro you’ll have forgotten all your dreams of being a tough
fighter and gambler and drinker. You’re really such a splendid chap
at bottom, Tom——”
With a snarl of fury, Tom Saunders leaped to his feet.
Unobserved, he had worked himself into position by the rack holding
the fish gaffs. With the rapidity of lightning, he seized one of the
ten-foot poles and made a vicious lunge for Clem.
Clem ducked. The curved, sharp, unbarbed steel missed his
shoulder by a hair’s breadth and tore through his flannel shirt. It
would have gone through his flesh quite as easily.
Before Tom could extricate the weapon Ed Davis was on him in
one leap.
Let it be understood that it was contrary to the natures both of
Davis and of Clem Frobisher to treat any one with the brutality which
they were displaying toward Tom Saunders. Yet it was not brutality.
They were both thinking, not of Tom, but of the two old people in
the vine-wreathed cottage.
Ed had mapped out a course, Clem had approved it, as had
Captain Ezra Saunders, and now the two partners were following it
rigidly. If it turned out badly, Tom would get no more than he
deserved; if it turned out well, so much the better.
Blinded though he was, however, Tom gave the lanky Iowan the
fight of his life. It was full seven minutes before Ed had his opponent
on the deck, and even then Tom still lashed out blindly at the figure
sitting on his chest. Not until Clem doused him anew with bucket
after bucket of water did he give in.
“All right,” he mumbled, rising unsteadily. “All right! You guys wait
till I can see, that’s all!”
“There’s no waiting aboard this hooker!” snapped Clem. “You get
for’ard and clean that fish, and do it right, see?”
 “I’ll do nothin’ o’ the sort!” returned Tom through his split lips.
“You can beat me up all you want—I ain’t goin’ to stir a foot.” A
volley of oaths escaped him.
Clem, his lips tight clenched, inspected him for a moment, then
turned to Ed.
“Get that bit of line out o’ the locker aft, Ed—the rope’s end that’s
tarred. Go after this guy, and give him a taste of deep-sea sailors’
life.”
For the rest of the afternoon Tom Saunders worked like a horse. A
bit of thin rope, tarred into a stiff club, is a wonderfully effective
inducement, when properly applied. Poor Tom made close
acquaintance with it.
“We’ll be off San Clemente at dawn, Ed,” said Clem that evening.
He and Ed Davis were eating fried barracuda while Tom conned the
helm. “It’ll be watch and watch all night, and we’ll have to keep him
awake and working till he drops.”
“Haze him, eh?”
“Haze him until he’s darned near dead!” And Clem compressed his
lips. “Ed, it’s an awful thing to do—but by golly it’s a whole lot more
awful to think o’ him breakin’ poor old Ma Saunders’ heart!”
“We’ll break him!” said Ed, nodding as he spoke. “We’ll kill or
cure, Clem—and I ain’t right sure which it’ll be.”
Neither was Clem, unfortunately.
 V.
Dawn came upon the sea—and fog.
The Sadie was somewhere off San Clemente, that desolate, rocky,
almost unknown island. The dense fog hid everything from view.
Clem, who would be on duty until eight o’clock, was seated
beside the pilot house, cutting off yellowtail heads to use as bait for
jewfish. The Sadie lay motionless on the oily waters, swinging
listlessly to the swell of the channel. Up in the bows was a huddled,
miserable figure—Tom Saunders, asleep at last.
That had been a terrible night for the shanghaied man.
Kept awake and at work, kept scrubbing, painting, untangling
lines, oiling the engines, driven to the work and kept at it by boot
and fist and rope’s end, Tom had finally given way.
When Clem took the deck, at four o’clock, the sight of Tom smote
his heart. Yet he drove him relentlessly. An hour later the end had
come.
Sobbing, praying, pleading, Tom had crept to him, begging for
sleep, begging for release from the torture. Even then Clem had
steeled himself, and had renewed his driving, but not for long. He
had not the heart.
Tom Saunders had been broken at last—had promised everything
and anything, had wept and prayed anew. At six o’clock, Clem had
told him to sleep, and he had dropped in a pitiable heap where he
stood.
“It’s a mean job,” thought Clem, as he baited the huge hooks on
his line. “But he’s had an hour’s rest now, so we’ll try him out.
Besides, he can stand a lot more—and it’s necessary. Kill or cure!”
 Accordingly, he awakened poor Tom by repeated sluices of water,
thrust a rod into his hand, bade him angle for a jewfish, and baited
his own line. Somewhat to Clem’s surprise, Tom said nothing
whatever, and did not rebel; but he sat on the rail, shivering, and
gazed miserably at the water.
A moment later, just as Clem was unreeling his line, he saw Tom
start to his feet, and heard the buzz of the automatic drag.
“Got one?” he cried. Tom merely nodded.
A glance showed Clem that the jewfish was running out ahead of
the launch, and he leaped to the engines.
“I’ll give her half speed!” he exclaimed swiftly. “Reel up as we get
over him.”
He noted that the fog seemed to have thickened rather than
diminished.
With the Sadie running slowly ahead, Clem regained the deck to
find Tom reeling in his line, the stubby, powerful rod bent almost
double. The jewfish, for all its great size, is not a wonderful fighter;
none the less, it was a good ten minutes before Tom got the fish
close to the surface.
Yet he seemed not a whit excited. He reeled mechanically; his
hands were blue with cold; he seemed broken in spirit. Clem
watched him with some anxiety, wondering if the hazing had been
carried too far.
“Here!” he exclaimed suddenly, as the line came in. “Take this
gaff, and bring him up, Tom! I’ll hold him at the surface!”
Clem thought he saw tears on the other’s cheeks.
The exchange was made. Tom took the gaff and stood on the rail,
clinging to a stay, bending over the water. Clem, taking the rod, was
astonished. The fish must be a four-hundred-pounder at least, he
decided. Then, peering over the side as he forced the jewfish up, he
saw the great oval mass below. The surface water broke into a mass
of foam.
Tom lunged with the gaff—lunged again—missed both times.
Then, with a muttered word of exasperation, he leaned far over and
caught the fish squarely.
He did not lift quickly enough, however, to get the fish out of
water. There was a surge and a swirl beneath, and a short cry broke
from Tom.
“Give me a hand——”
Before Clem could move, he saw Tom, hanging grimly to the gaff,
drawn out by the fish’s wide, circling sweep. In a flash, the dogged
San Pedro boy had his hold broken, had lost his balance—and was
overboard.
“By golly, he’s too cold and stiff to swim!” thought Clem swiftly.
He lifted his voice in a ringing shout:
“Ed! Ed! On deck! Man overboard!”
With the words, he caught up the life preserver hanging at the
rail and tossed it over the side. Then, his coat off, he leaped after it,
in wild fear lest his own driving tyranny had been carried so far that
Tom would have no strength left.
In that desperate fear, he came to the surface almost beside the
struggling figure of Tom Saunders. A few yards away was floating
the round life buoy. Catching Tom by the collar, Clem gained the
preserver in a few strokes, and bobbed Tom up inside it.
“Get your arms over the sides—that’s right! Now take a turn of
the line about your arms. Good!”
Satisfied that Tom was sure to float, Clem turned on his side and
sent a glance around for the Sadie. With a shock, he remembered
that her engines were set at half speed.
She was gone in the fog!
Stilling the momentary panic that seized him, Clem lifted his voice
in a shout. He knew that Ed Davis would be on deck by this time,
but at sight of the swirls of fog, that hid the water ten feet away, his
heart sank.
“How you makin’ it, Tom?”
“All right,” said the other mechanically. “I lost the fish, I guess.”
“I guess you did.” Clem chuckled. “Can you give a yell?”
Tom emitted a feeble cry, that betrayed his weakness more than
words could have done. A wave broke over them, and Clem took his
weight off the preserver, allowing it to float higher. It could not well
sustain them both.
Also, there was a choppy sea running—the island current cutting
up the long, easy ground swell. It was hard swimming, and the
water was cold.
“What on earth’s the matter with Ed?” exclaimed Clem anxiously.
“We ought to hear the horn——Ah! There it is! Thank goodness!”
Muffled, but unmistakable, the blast of the Sadie’s foghorn
pierced its way to them. Clem shouted again and again. Ed was on
the job!
“It don’t seem to be gettin’ much closer,” muttered Tom.
Clem listened. No—it was not growing closer. It was hard to tell
from which direction the sound came, but certainly the launch was
receding from them. Resting once more on the life preserver, Clem
bellowed for all he was worth.
“Better quit yellin’,” mumbled Tom. “It’ll tire you out quicker’n any
——”
 The rest was lost in a splutter as a wave lapped over them. Clem
again released the life buoy, which lifted Tom well above the water.
Ridding himself of his clothes, Clem swam more easily, but he felt
the chill of the water keenly. Owing to the choppy back lash of the
waves, it was impossible to float. He had to swim continually to hold
himself up.
“Hang on to the cork, ye blamed fool!” said Tom.
“I will, if I need to. I’m all right.”
The horn was sounding no longer!
Clem knew that their situation was desperate in the extreme.
Which way the island lay, no one could tell. They were in a spot
reached only by an occasional fishing boat. The fog would not lift
before noon. Unless Ed Davis found them by chance, they could not
both last—the preserver would only keep one man up.
Clem found himself becoming weakened by that continual
struggle.
How long he swam beside Tom, he never knew. It seemed like
days. He swam now on his side, now on his back. Change position
as he might, however, he could not get away from the choppy, short
seas. The sound of the foghorn came to them no more, and Clem
forbore to shout, knowing the effort useless unless Ed Davis came
close by them.
“How are you, Tom?” he said, resting on the preserver. A wave
broke over them. Clem hastily drew away, yet with an inward groan.
“All right,” responded Tom, lying nobly. “Catch on here.”
Clem smiled a little. The faintness of the other’s voice had told
him all he wanted to know. Tom was incapable of any exertion.
“And I’m responsible for Tom’s condition,” was the thought that
drove into Clem’s heart with paralyzing truth. He called up his
reserve strength and breasted the waves, but the effort wasted him
alarmingly. His limbs were stiff, numbed. He prayed for the Sadie,
but she came not.
“Tom,” said Clem, as he turned, swimming beside the buoy and
watching Tom’s white, stern-clenched face, “we’ve hazed you pretty
hard this trip, but it was for your own good. Ed and I came to Pedro,
and found——” A wave plunged over him. Clem fought it down,
gasping.
“We found your dad ten years older than he was a month or two
ago. Ma didn’t say much, but she was pretty hard hit—and it was
your fault, Tom. You’ve been running with the wrong crowd, and
because you’re a good deal above them in every way they’ve toadied
to you and got you on the down grade to their level. Ed and I——”
Again a great quantity of green water curled over him. The crest
swallowed him. Desperate, Clem lost his head, and flurried wildly,
frantically, wasting precious strength. When he emerged, half
strangled, his own danger frightened him into coolness.
“Grab hold o’ the buoy, you fool!” growled Tom weakly.
“Shut up!” gasped Clem. “Listen! I want you to understand why
we acted as we did, Tom. Your drinking and loafing and general
cussedness has darned near wrecked your——”
Once more a smother of water dragged him down. He fought
against the wild impulse to grab the buoy, but he struggled up to
find Tom’s hand on his arm.
“Git aboard here——”
“Quit!” snarled Clem, flinging back and breaking the other’s hold.
He gazed at Tom with desperate, convulsed features. He knew he
could not last long. His strength was going fast. “We can’t, both
hang on there, you idiot! It—it won’t hold—more’n one—and——”
 “Then I’ll drop!” And Tom tried to heave himself up and release
the lashing about his arms. He failed, through very stiffness and
weakness.
“No, you won’t—you go back home and—tell ma that—that——”
Clem went under, fought frantically, felt the terrible weakness
overpower him. Then he caught a breath of blessed air again. “So
long—cut out—the booze——”
With a groan, Clem found his strength gone. He seemed to
collapse utterly. He felt the water close over him, choking,
strangling, smothering—and then he knew nothing more.
A moment afterward the Sadie poked her nose out of the fog,
almost above Tom.
 VI.
“Golly! I thought I was gone——”
Clem opened his eyes and stared.
He found himself in the cabin of the Sadie. Above him was
standing Ed Davis; and Clem, feeling himself almost naked, knew
that his chum had been working over him.
“You were blamed near gone!” exclaimed Ed anxiously. “I got the
water out of you, though. How do you feel?”
“Tired. Where’s Tom?”
“Up above. He’s all right—kind o’ went to pieces when I got you
aboard.”
Ed heaped blankets about Clem. Then he continued swiftly:
“I got some coffee on the fire now. Say! Do you know what that
cuss done?”
“Who—Tom?”
“Yep! I found him hangin’ on to your collar—both o’ you danged
near drowned, by thunder! He made me haul you up first, too! Say,
what happened? I ain’t understood yet how you come overboard
——”
“Get the coffee,” muttered Clem, closing his eyes. “Talk later.”
With a mutter of self-accusation, Ed rushed away.
Clem lay in a coma of exhaustion. He felt a gradual warmth steal
through him, and realized that he was safe enough; but he was too
weary to move. A moment later he caught a step at his side, and
opened his eyes, thinking that Ed had returned.
 Instead, however, he saw Tom Saunders. The big fellow, staring
at Clem with wild eyes, lowered himself to the edge of the bunk. He
was white and shaken. As he met the gaze of Clem he broke down,
and lowered his face in his arms, sobbing unrestrainedly.
Clem wondered, but was too weak to speak for the moment. At
length Tom lifted his head.
“Thank Heaven, you’re safe!” he mumbled. “Say, Clem. I——”
“Thanks, old man,” broke in Clem, putting out a hand. “Ed told
me how you held me up—it was fine work——”
“Oh, shut your blamed mouth!” growled Tom, sitting up. “I got
somethin’ to say—you shut up till I get through!”
Clem watched him, waiting in puzzled silence.
“You know what you said when—when you was goin’ down?”
blurted out Tom. “About ma and dad—and what you——”
“I know,” said Clem. “Well?”
Tom’s white face flushed slightly.
“Clem, it’s darned hard to explain—but just then, when you went
down, an’ I seen how you was givin’ up so’s I could go back—it kind
o’ made me realize that you’d meant every darned word o’ what you
said. I hadn’t thought of it that way before—but it came to me all of
a heap—well, I can’t say any more, Clem—only I want to tell you
that I’ve been a darned fool, and——”
“Say, you two guys better drink this coffee in a hurry,” broke in
the voice of Ed Davis, who had paused for a moment behind Tom,
listening.
He came forward with two steaming cups of coffee, handed one
to Tom, and helped Clem to put down the hot fluid in the other. With
a sigh of increasing comfort, Clem fell back in the bunk and smiled
faintly, his hand touching that of Tom.
 “Ed,” he said, “head the old hooker for Pedro, full speed! When
we get in to-night——”
“When we get in to-night,” broke in Ed, with a wide grin, “do you
know what I’m goin’ to do?”
“What?” asked Clem, with a smile.
“I’m goin’ to eat one o’ Ma Saunders’ pies—all by myself.”
“And I’ll be there to help,” said Tom.
In his handgrip and in his eyes there was that which told Clem
more than words could say. Tom Saunders was headed home.
 ENTOMBED MINERS RESCUED

T HE nine miners who had been entombed for a week in the

Foster Tunnel of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, at
Coaldale, Pennsylvania, were taken out alive. Though the men had
crouched in water most of the time, and had subsisted partly on
wax, they were able to walk to the ambulance.
Eleven miners were entombed when water and culm broke into
the tunnel. Two who were nearer the mouth of the tunnel were
saved after a few hours. Gangs, working in relays of four hours, dug
through the fallen coal and rock in order to make an opening
through which the other nine could be rescued.
 HEN “Rube” Reynolds crawled out of bed and began to
dress, it was near to noontime. Within his head, to all
feeling, a gigantic, throbbing trip hammer was
seemingly striving to pound its way through his skull
with regular, painful thumps. His lips felt parched and
drawn, and a sickish, bitter taste stayed upon his
tongue, as if his mouth was crammed with coarse, moldy earth, and
by no means of futile gulping could he swallow the stuff.
Out of the confused muddle of his brain flashed a thought of
morning practice.
“Guess’ll have to skip breakfast to get out to the field on time,” he
thought.
But a glance at his watch, lying upon the bureau, made him
aware that haste was useless; for probably at that moment his
fellow members of the Sox were leaving the ball park for their
homes and boarding places. Again he had missed a morning session
on the home grounds of the Sox, and he sullenly wondered what
Manager Kineally would say.
Slowly he continued to don his clothes. At times the bed, the
chairs, and other articles of furniture seemed to be dancing and
whirling weirdly about the room; and when he leaned forward to
lace his shoes, his throbbing head pained as though it would burst.
 Moving to the bureau he pulled out a lower drawer and brought
forth a bottle partially filled with a brownish liquid. To his lips he
tipped it, and for several seconds his Adam’s apple bobbed
convulsively to a gurgling accompaniment.
Barely at the halfway mark, between twenty and thirty years,
Reynolds had already reached the stage where a morning drink
seemed a necessity. He lowered the bottle, its contents emptied by
half, to the bureau top; and an artificial sense of buoyancy pervaded
his being. The throbbing pain in his head was deadened to a dull
ache, and the burning flavor of the liquor upon his tongue had
washed away the moldy taste.
He dully pondered as to what had taken place on the previous
evening, but his remembrances of events occurring after eleven
o’clock or thereabouts on the night before were decidedly limited.
Some one had escorted him to the front door of his lodging house;
he had dizzily ascended the stairs and managed to open the door of
his room—that was all he could recall.
A gentle tapping on the door broke in upon his thoughts.
“What is it?” he grunted.
“Mr. Kineally wishes to see you,” was the reply. The voice
belonged to his landlady.
Reynolds hesitated momentarily. He was tempted to have the
landlady say that he was not at home. But what was the use!
Kineally would “bawl him out” later; so why not have it over with!
“All right! Send him up!” Reynolds answered.
He had hardly time to whisk the bottle from the bureau to its
place in the drawer when an imperative rapping threatened the door
panel.
“Come in!” he called.
 As the door swung inward a big, brawny form filled the doorway,
almost from casing to casing. The square-jawed visage of Owen
Kineally, with its twinkling eyes and smiling lips, had appeared on
sporting pages the country over; but now the smile was missing. His
eyebrows were puckered forward, as Reynolds had sometimes seen
them when Kineally took a parting shot at a nearsighted, obstinate
umpire.
The big manager remained standing, his gaze upon the ball
player.
“G’ morning!” Reynolds greeted, as he continued the knotting of
his scarf.
“Good afternoon!” retorted the manager. And he added: “You’re
fined fifty dollars.”
Reynolds whirled about.
“What for?” he demanded, his voice raised to nearly a shout.
“For not showing up at morning practice, and for drunkenness
last night. You’re half drunk now.”
“You’re a——” Reynolds hesitated to speak the word.
His lips were curled back in an ugly snarl, and he glared
rebelliously into the steady, piercing eyes of the manager. Silently
they faced each other—Reynolds, the tiger; Kineally, the lion. Both
were equally tall, though the manager was stockier than his black-
eyed, dark-complexioned pitcher. Kineally removed his panama and
combed his fingers through his reddish-brown hair.
“Your face is as flushed as if you had a fever,” he said. “Your eyes
are bloodshot, and late hours have smooched half-moons of charcoal
under them, so’s any one could tell that you are traveling straight
plumb to the dogs!”
Reynolds muttered inarticulately.