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PALGRAVE STUDIES IN GOVERNANCE,
LEADERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY

Social Responsibility
and Corporate
Governance
Volume 1: Preconditions
for Integration
Edited by
Matjaž Mulej · Grażyna O’Sullivan · Tjaša Štrukelj
Palgrave Studies in Governance, Leadership
and Responsibility

Series Editors
Simon Robinson
Leeds Business School
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds, UK

William Sun
Leeds Business School
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds, UK

Georgiana Grigore
Henley Business School
University of Reading
Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK

Alin Stancu
Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Bucharest, Romania
The fall-out from many high profile crises in governance and leadership
in recent decades, from banking to healthcare, continues to be felt around
the world. Major reports have questioned the values and behaviour, not
just of individual organizations but of professionals, industries and polit-
ical leadership. These reports raise questions about business corporations
and also public service institutions. In response this new series aims
to explore the broad principles of governance and leadership and how
these are embodied in different contexts, opening up the possibility of
developing new theories and approaches that are fuelled by interdisci-
plinary approaches. The purpose of the series is to highlight critical reflec-
tion and empirical research which can enable dialogue across sectors,
focusing on theory, value and the practice of governance, leadership and
responsibility.
Written from a global context, the series is unique in bringing lead-
ership and governance together. The King III report connects these two
fields by identifying leadership as one of the three principles of effec-
tive governance however most courses in business schools have tradi-
tionally treated these as separate subjects. Increasingly, and in particular
with the case of executive education, business schools are recognizing the
need to develop and produce responsible leaders. The series will there-
fore encourage critical exploration between these two areas and as such
explore sociological and philosophical perspectives.

More information about this series at


http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15192
Matjaž Mulej · Grażyna O’Sullivan ·
Tjaša Štrukelj
Editors

Social Responsibility
and Corporate
Governance
Volume 1: Preconditions for
Integration
Editors
Matjaž Mulej Grażyna O’Sullivan
Faculty of Economics and Business Faculty of Management
University of Maribor University of Natural Sciences and Human
Maribor, Slovenia Siedlce, Poland

Tjaša Štrukelj
Faculty of Economics and Business
University of Maribor
Maribor, Slovenia

ISSN 2662-1304 ISSN 2662-1312 (electronic)


Palgrave Studies in Governance, Leadership and Responsibility
ISBN 978-3-030-44171-5 ISBN 978-3-030-44172-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44172-2

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2020
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher,
whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting,
reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical
way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software,
or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland
AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Foreword

In 2008 the world experienced its new global socio-economic crisis. Over
the next ten years the root of the crisis, i.e. the neoliberal global monopo-
lization replacing the expected free market (Vitali et al. 2011) has proved
to be dangerous for humankind. Companies have decisive powers over
governments (Perkins 2012). With documents passed by United Nations,
e.g. Global Compact (UNO 2000), and by International Standard Orga-
nization, such as ISO 26000 (ISO 2010) the humankind responded to
this crisis globally clearly: social responsibility must replace the decisive
persons’ and organizations’ reigning lack of

• Responsibility for their influences on humans and nature, i.e. society


(rather than bosses’ irresponsibility as the untouchable ones, and
subordinates’ irresponsibility as the non-influential ones);
• Ethics of interdependence (rather than bosses’ ethics of independence
as the untouchable ones, and subordinates’ ethics of dependence as the
non-influential ones);

v
vi Foreword

• Holistic aproach (rather than bosses’ onesidedness as the untouchable


ones, and subordinates’ onesidedness as the non-influential ones; both
groups have usual narrowly specialized professional education, and
they lack a holistic approach by interdisciplinary creative cooperation
therefore).

Thus, the humankind acknowledged via its global bodies that

• The corporate social responsibility is the way out from the current
humankind’s blind alley; and
• The way out of this blind alley starts in corporations as the most
influential units of the global society.
• Therefore a socially responsible corporate governance offers the clue
by implementing the ISO 26000. Unfortunately, many do not use
ISO 26000 in their research on social responsibility (see references
in e.g. Hrast et al., editors, 15 conference proceedings on http://
www.irdo.si/; Potočan and Nedelko 2015; Potočan et al. 2019a, b;
Lebe and Mulej, editors 2014; Mulej and Dyck, editors 2014—four
volumes; Mulej et al., editors 2016—three volumes in Slovene; Mulej
et al., editors 2019; Štrukelj and Gajšt 2019; Štrukelj and Sternad
Zabukovšek 2019; Štrukelj et al. 2020a, b; Zore 2015).

Via ISO 26000, humankind requires a holistic approach based on inter-


dependence; it comprises seven core subjects (ISO 2010, p. 4): (1) organ-
isational governance, (2) human rights, (3) labour practices, (4) the
environment, (5) fair operating practices, (6) consumer issues, and (7)
community involvement and development (Fig. 1). ISO 26000 exposes
seven principles of social responsibility as VCEN (i.e. values, culture,
ethics, and norms) (ISO 2010, p. 7): (1) accountability, (2) transparency,
(3) ethical behaviour, (4) respect for stakeholder interests, (5) respect for
the rule of law, (6) respect for international norms of behaviour, and (7)
respect for human rights (ISO 2010, pp. 10–14).
Organizations that use these principles when dealing with these
core subjects, have serious human and economic advantages; socially
responsible behaviour prevents costs of e.g. strikes, under-used creativity
and innovativeness of co-workers, losing and replacing good employes,
Foreword vii

Holistic approach

6.8*
Community 6.3*
involvement
and Human rights
development

6.7* 6.2* 6.4*


Consumer Organisational
issues Labour
governance practices
(consumer (consequently (employment)
rights) management)

6.6*
Fair operating 6.5*
practices The
(ethical and environment
responsible
behaviour)

Interdependence

Fig. 1 7 core subjects and two linking categories of social responsibility in ISO
26000 (Notes The figures denote the clause numbers in ISO 26000. When an
explanation is written in parentheses—addition Tjaša Štrukelj Source ISO 2010,
p. 4. Editors’ presentation based on publicly available information)

suppliers and customers, absentism and presentism, ruined natural envi-


ronment, curing humans and environment, etc., including global socio-
economic crises, (local and global) revolutions and wars, refugees, etc.
Such costs are prevented, hence one must discover results in opportunity
cost and benefit analysis (which authors only point to, here).
This double-blind reviewed scientific monograph addresses all seven
core subjects with contributions from central Europe, which is less
frequently heard as the West:

• Chapters 1 and 8 discuss organizational governance (p. 6.2 in Fig. 1);


• Chapter 2 discusses environment (p. 6.5 in Fig. 1);
• Chapter 3 discusses labour practices (p. 6.4 in Fig. 1);
• Chapter 4 discusses community involvement and development (p. 6.8
in Fig. 1);
• Chapter 5 discusses human rights (p. 6.3 in Fig. 1);
• Chapter 6 discusses fair operating practices (p. 6.6 in Fig. 1);
• Chapter 7 discusses consumer issues (p. 6.7 in Fig. 1).
viii Foreword

In synergy, chapters are interdependent due to their differences,


completing each other up; they hence make a step towards the holistic
approach together (a fully holistic approach ought to consider totally all
existing attributes, which reaches beyond human capacities even in an
interdisciplinary team work; authors’ limitations to single professions and
perspectives cause fictitiously holistic approaches; therefore one should
use a ‘dialectical system’ leading to ‘requisite holism’ by covering all and
only crucial perspectives, relations and synergies (Mulej 1974, 1979;
Mulej et al. 2013).
Thus, the editors and authors offer humans more awareness and prac-
tice of social responsibility in and via the corporate governance with these
books. Editors and authors talk to academics, other scholars, students
and practitioners in organizations and local communities. The point
addresses increasing of human creativity and wellbeing.

Maribor, Slovenia Prof. Emer. Dr., Dr. Matjaž Mulej


Assist. Prof. Dr. Tjaša Štrukelj

References
ISO. (2010). ISO 26000 Social Responsibility. Discovering ISO 26000
(online). Switzerland: ISO—International Organization for Standard-
ization. Available at: http://www.iso.org/iso/discovering_iso_26000.
pdf. Accessed 05 November 2011.
Lebe, S. S., & Mulej, M. (Eds.), (2014). Special Issue: Tourism Manage-
ment Based on Systems-Thinking, Holism and Social Responsibility.
Kybernetes, 43(3–4).
Mulej, M. (1974). Dialektična teorija sistemov in ljudski reki. Naše
gospodarstvo, 21(3–4), 207–212.
Mulej, M. (1979). Ustvarjalno delo in dialektična teorija sistemov. Celje:
Razvojni Center.
Mulej, M., & Čagran, B. (Eds.), (2016). Uveljavljanje družbene odgov-
ornosti v vzgoji in izobraževanju. Knjižna zbirka Nehajte sovražiti svoje
otroke in vnuke, tretja knjiga. Maribor: IRDO Inštitut za razvoj
Foreword ix

družbene odgovornosti Maribor in Kulturni center Maribor, zbirka


Frontier books.
Mulej, M., & Dyck, R. (Eds.), (2014). Social Responsibility Beyond
Neoliberalism and Charity. Volumen 1–4. USA (Shirjah, UAE):
Bentham Science Publishers.
Mulej, M. et al. (2013). (Božičnik, S., Čančer, V., Hrast, A., Jurše, K.,
Kajzer, Š., Knez-Riedl, J., Jere Lazanski, T., Mlakar, T., Mulej, N.,
Potočan, V., Risopoulos, F., Rosi, B., Steiner, G., Štrukelj, T., Uršič,
D., Ženko, Z.). Dialectical Systems Thinking and the Law of Requisite
Holism Concerning Innovation. Litchfield Park: Emergent Publications.
Mulej, M., & Hrast, A. (Eds.), (2016). Informacije za odločanje družbeno
odgovornih. Knjižna zbirka Nehajte sovražiti svoje otroke in vnuke,
druga knjiga. Maribor: IRDO Inštitut za razvoj družbene odgov-
ornosti Maribor in Kulturni center Maribor, zbirka Frontier books.
Mulej, M., Merhar, V., & Žakelj, V. (Eds.), (2016). Družbeno-ekonomski
okvir in osebne lastnosti družbeno odgovornih. Knjižna zbirka Nehajte
sovražiti svoje otroke in vnuke, prva knjiga. Maribor: IRDO Inštitut
za razvoj družbene odgovornosti Maribor in Kulturni center Maribor,
zbirka Frontier books.
Mulej, M., Merhar, V., & Žakelj, V. (Eds.), (2019). Uvod v politično
ekonomijo družbeno odgovorne družbe. Knjižna zbirka Frontier.
Maribor: Kulturni center Maribor.
Perkins, J. (2012). Izpovedi ekonomskega morilca [Confessions of an
Economic Hit Man]. Ljubljana: Sanje.
Potočan, V., Mulej, M., & Nedelko, Z. (2019a). Interdependences of
Duality, Systems Theories and Cybernetics in Business Systems. In
Cybernetics and System: Social and Business Decisions (pp. 133–139).
Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Potočan, V., Mulej, M., & Nedelko, Z. (2019b). How Economic
Crises Effect Employees’ Attitudes Towards Socially Responsible
Behaviour—Case of Slovenia. In Corporate Social Responsibility and
Business Ethics in Central and Eastern Europe (pp. 152–178). Baden-
Baden: Nomos.
Potočan, V., & Nedelko, Z. (2015). A New Socio-Economic Order:
Evidence About Employees’ Values’ Influence on Corporate Social
x Foreword

Responsibility. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 32(2), 230–


239.
Štrukelj, T., & Gajšt, N. (2019). Indispensability of Socially Respon-
sible Business Policy. In P. Golinska-Dawson & M. Spychała (Eds.),
Corporate Social Responsibility in the Manufacturing and Services Sectors
(pp. 93–125). Germany: Springer.
Štrukelj, T., Mulej, M., & Sternad Zabukovšek, S. (2020). Socially
Responsible Culture and Personal Values as Organizational Compet-
itiveness Factors. In Z. Nedelko & M. Brzozowski (Eds.), Recent
Advances in the Roles of Cultural and Personal Values in Organizational
Behavior (Advances in Human Resources Management and Organiza-
tional Development Book Series) (pp. 81–101). Hershey: IGI Global.
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1013-1.ch005.
Štrukelj, T., Nikolić, J., Zlatanović, D., & Sternad Zabukovšek, S.
(2020). A Strategic Model for Sustainable Business Policy Develop-
ment. Sustainability, 12(2), 1–28.
Štrukelj, T., & Sternad Zabukovšek, S. (2019). Enterprise Values
and Enterprise Policy Interdependence. Ekonomska istraživanja—
Economics Research, 32(1), 2829–2849. https://doi.org/10.1080/133
1677X.2019.1650654.
UNO (2000). UN Global Compact. Available at: https://www.unglobalc
ompact.org/.
Vitali, S., Glattfelder, J. B., & Battiston, S. (2011). The Network
of Global Corporate Control. PLoS One 6(10), e25995. . Avail-
able at: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.
pone.0025995. Accessed 15 January 2015.
Zore, M. (2015). Krepitev inovativnosti podjetij z razvojem družbene
odgovornosti. Doktorska disertacija. Univerza v Mariboru,
Ekonomsko-poslovna fakulteta, Maribor.
Contents

1 Enterprise Policy/Governance, as a Core Subject


of Social Responsibility, for Enterprise Stakeholders’
Well-Being 1
Tjaša Štrukelj, Matjaž Mulej, and Simona Šarotar Žižek
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Research Method 2
1.3 Human Beings in the Contemporary
Circumstances 5
1.4 Corporate Governance as a Core Subject of Social
Responsibility 11
1.5 Enterprise Stakeholders’ Well-Being 15
1.6 Practice Recommendations: Our Proposition
for Strategy of Promotion of Social Responsibilitys 21
1.7 Conclusions 25
References 28

xi
xii Contents

2 The Role of CSR and Corporate Governance


in the Sustainable Development of the World 45
Grażyna O’Sullivan
2.1 The Structure and Selected Challenges
of the Chapter 45
2.2 Perception of CSR and CG 47
2.3 Ethics as the Base of CSR and CG 50
2.3.1 CSR Principles as Ethical Principles 52
2.3.2 Ethical Roots and Goals of Corporate
Governance 57
2.3.3 CG and CSR in UK 61
2.3.4 CG and CRS in Poland 64
2.3.5 Ethical Roots of CG: Scandals 66
2.4 The Birth of the New Economy and the New
Model of Business 67
2.4.1 The State of the Modern
World—Diagnosis 67
2.4.2 From Newton to Einstein—The Shift
in the Vision of the World and Economics 70
2.4.3 Some New Models of Business Focused
on Suppliers and Customers 75
2.5 Success with Hope—Some Examples of Truly
Responsible Companies 79
2.5.1 Łuksja—The Example of Good Practice
in a Medium-Sized Polish Enterprise 79
2.5.2 Severn Trent Water UK—A Mature
Example of a Socially Responsible
Organization 85
2.6 Conclusions 89
References 91

3 Corporate Social Responsibility as a Tool for Creating


Employee Involvement 95
Edyta Bombiak
3.1 Introduction 95
Contents xiii

3.2 The Essence and Meaning of Employee


Involvement 96
3.3 Internal CSR as a Significant Dimension
of the Organization Functioning 100
3.4 Responsible Human Resource Management 103
3.5 Employee Volunteering as a Social Tool
of Building Engagement 110
3.6 Conclusions 116
References 118

4 Concern for Sustainable Treatment of Commons:


An Obligation for Future Corporate Governance
in Public and Private Sector 125
Jernej Belak and Andreja Primec
4.1 Introduction 125
4.2 Institutional Perspective of Managing
the Commons 129
4.3 Informal and Formal Measures of Business Ethics
and Credibility Implementation 133
4.3.1 Slovenian Corporate Governance Code 135
4.3.2 Statement of Corporate Governance
as Important Formal Measure
of Corporate Social Responsibility
Implementation 136
4.4 Specific Characteristics of Governance
and Management of Organisations, Public Sector
Companies 139
4.5 Services of General Economic Interest 142
4.6 Governance of State-Owned Companies 143
4.7 Concern for Sustainable Governing the Commons 147
4.8 Inclusion of the Right to Drinking Water
in the Slovenian Constitution 148
4.9 Property Rights Regimes 150
4.10 The Water Regulatory Framework 151
4.11 Conclusions 153
References 155
xiv Contents

5 Model of the Code of Ethical Cooperation Between


Millennials and the Employers 161
Magdalena Graczyk-Kucharska and Małgorzata Spychała
5.1 Introduction 161
5.2 Literature—Ethical Code
of Cooperation—Problems of Millennials
and Employers’ Cooperation 162
5.3 The Needs of the Millennium Generation—Own
Research 169
5.3.1 The Scope of Research 169
5.3.2 Analysis of the Challenges
of the Millennium Generation
in the Workplace 169
5.3.3 Motivators of the Millennium Generation 171
5.3.4 Demotivators of the Millennium
Generation 173
5.4 Code of Ethics Between Millennials Generation
and Employers 175
5.5 Conclusions 178
References 179

6 Social Responsibility—Either with Precariat


or with Employees’ and Citizens’ Ownership? 183
Matjaž Mulej and Dejan Avsec
6.1 Introduction 183
6.2 Briefly About the Relation Between Social
Responsibility, Precarious Employment
and Survival of the Current Humankind’s
Civilization 184
6.3 A Possible Innovation of Rewarding
and Ownership of Employees
and Citizens—A Precondition for Acceptability
of the 4th Industrial Revolution 186
6.4 Crisis, Social Order, and Renewal
of the Ownership Model 187
Contents xv

6.5 The Essence of the Ownership-Based Stimulation


of Employees and Citizens 188
6.6 The Employees’ and Citizens’ Ownership—The
Financial Organization Viewpoint 191
6.7 The Owner-Employees’ Payment Model 193
6.8 Preconditions for Organizations to Be Appealing
to Potential Owners-Workers and Citizens
Investors in ESOP and USOP 194
6.9 USOMID and ‘6 Thinking Hats’—Supportive
of the Briefed Attributes of Modern Requisitely
Holistic Behavior 197
6.10 National Strategy on Social Responsibility
in Slovenia—A First Draft 201
6.11 Movement for Social Responsibility—Ten
Demands for Social Responsibility 202
6.11.1 Preamble 202
6.11.2 The Ten Demands 203
6.12 Conclusions 204
References 205

7 Integral Andragogy as the Selected Driving Force


of the CSR Development in the twenty-first century 209
Dana Bernardová, Kateřina Ivanová, Markéta Vitoslavská,
and Michaela Rudolfová
7.1 Introduction 209
7.2 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
as the Backbone of Regional Development 211
7.3 The Concept of CSR and Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) 213
7.4 Andragogy as a Scientific Discipline 218
7.5 Teaching, Education and CSR 221
7.6 Integral Andragogy as a Scientific Tool
for Increasing CSR 227
xvi Contents

7.7 Integral Andragogy as a Practical Tool


for Increasing CSR 233
7.8 Conclusions and Recommendations for Practice 238
References 242

8 Implementation of IT Governance: How Can


a Common IT Strategy Create a Cooperation Network? 249
Elvira Kuhn
8.1 Introduction 249
8.2 Essential Tasks for the Implementation of ITG
with the Goal to Support CSR 251
8.3 ITG for Common Actions to Improve
Win-Win-Situations 257
8.3.1 Advantages of Common Organisational
Infrastructure for ITG 258
8.4 ITG-Subtasks Aimed to Handle Risk 263
8.5 ITG—Strategies 267
8.6 ITG—Cost-Benefit-Analysis 273
8.7 ITG—Meta-Platform and Sub-platforms 281
8.8 Cooperation and Synergies 282
8.9 Cooperation and Risks 283
8.10 Conclusions 284
References 285

Index 289
Notes on Contributors

Dejan Avsec earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maribor, Faculty
of Economics in the field of organization science in 1987. He is a
retired bank manager and a lecturer in finance. He was a member of
the governing board of the regional Chamber of Economy, a member or
head of supervisory and governing boards, a member of the innovation
commission of the Ministry for Science and Technology, the head of the
habilitation commission at the University of Maribor, and also a member
of the establishing board dealing with the formation and establishment
of the Stock Exchange in Ljubljana.
Jernej Belak has Ph.D. and is an Associate Professor at the Depart-
ment for Strategic Management and Enterprise Policy at the Faculty
of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Slovenia. In his
academic, research, and scientific work, he deals with the problems of
business ethics and its implementation as well as with the problems of
corporate governance quality. Embracing the topic of business ethics,
organizational culture, credibility, and philosophy within the field of
corporate governance and strategic management, he published several
scientific articles and monographs as well as attended various scientific

xvii
xviii Notes on Contributors

conferences. He is the head of the Institute for Corporate Governance


and Strategic Management at the Faculty of Economics and Business,
University of Maribor, Slovenia.
Dana Bernardová studied Andragogy at the Faculty of Philosophy at
the Palacky University in Olomouc. At the Moravian college she focuses
on the corporate social responsibility, human resources management,
soft skills; participates in research projects; teaches; conducts soft skills
training; and leads project CSR teaching in direct co-operation with
SMEs. In 2017, a team of scientific experts of the innovation voucher
led a questionnaire for the CSR index for all types of organizations. She
is currently testing it.
Edyta Bombiak holds a Ph.D. in Economics. She works at the posi-
tion of Assistant Professor and is currently the Director of the Institute
of Management and Quality Sciences at the Faculty of Social Sciences
of the Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities (UPH).
Her research interests lie in human resource management. She is an
author and a co-author of over 90 publications—Polish- and English-
language publications—concerning the theoretical and practical aspects
of contemporary enterprises’ realization of the HR function, including
sustainable human resource management and HR risk management.
Magdalena Graczyk-Kucharska, Ph.D. Eng. took part in several
domestic and international projects also in international internships
at the University of California Berkeley and Matej Bel University.
Her scientific and research work area focuses on the use of modern
technologies in the era of process automation and its impact on
Human Resources Management including in the process of knowledge
management in smart organizations.
Kateřina Ivanová studied Andragogy at the Faculty of Philosophy at
the Palacky University in Olomouc. Habilitation proceedings were
defended in two fields—sociology and social medicine. At the Mora-
vian college, she focuses on the ethical foundations of social responsibility
and methodology of sociological research for business practice, conducts
scientific research projects, and teaches business ethics and methodology.
On the topic of CSR, she conducts research activities, publishes expert
Notes on Contributors xix

reports, and lectures to students. In 2017, she was a member of a team


of scientific experts in the innovation voucher that created a CSR index
for all types of organizations. She is currently testing it.
Elvira Kuhn is a professor at the Institute/department of business
informatics, Faculty of economy, University of applied sciences, Trier,
Germany. Her interests are in the fields of research: Organization under
aspects of Agility, Antifragility and Adaptivity, IT-Architecture, Infor-
mation Management, special in Cooperative Network, and Change
Management. She has implemented many innovated projects and work-
shops for Urban Development, and has numerous publications in the
whole world.
Matjaž Mulej retired from the University of Maribor, Slovenia, as
Professor Emeritus in Systems and Innovation Theory. He has more than
2200 publications in more than 40 countries and close to 1200 cita-
tions. He was visiting professor abroad for 15 semesters including Cornell
University and other universities in Austria, China, Germany, Mexico,
and the United States. He has served as consultant or speaker in and
for organizations about 500 times in six countries. He is a member of 3
international academies of science and arts.
Grażyna O’Sullivan is currently a Visiting Professor to several Euro-
pean Universities (notably in France and Germany) and specializes in
Business Ethics, CSR, and Corporate Governance. She is the author
of numerous publications in Poland and abroad and is involved in
internationalization at universities as initiator and organizer of interna-
tional events such as International Week, Meetings with Business, and
international conferences and workshops.
Andreja Primec is a Ph.D., graduate lawyer, and a member of Depart-
ment of Business Law at Faculty of Economics and Business, Univer-
sity of Maribor. She started her professional career at the High Court of
Maribor. After receiving bar examination, she joined the Department of
Business Law, first as an assistant and currently is an associated professor
for business law. Her basic fields of professional and scientific research
work are business law, international business law, the European Union
law, intellectual property law, corporate governance, and corporate social
xx Notes on Contributors

responsibility. She has published several scientific articles and has partic-
ipated in various professional and scientific conferences in Slovenia and
abroad.
Michaela Rudolfová is currently doing her Ph.D. research at the
Faculty of Philosophy at the Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech
Republic. While being a philology student, she has been focusing on
texts dealing with various aspects of business and economy, including
ethics. During her time at Moravian Business College Olomouc, Czech
Republic, she helped students with CSR projects. She continues to use
this experience in her current teaching activities.
Simona Šarotar Žižek is an Associate Professor at the University of
Maribor, Faculty of Economics and Business and is specialized in Human
Resource Management. She is the head of the Institute of Management
and Organization, conducts seminars/workshops, and works as a consul-
tant. She is the (co)author of +40 scientific articles, +100 conference
papers, +3 monographs, and +80 monographs’ chapters. She was the
leader of and has participated in several international projects. She is a
member of the basic research programme Adapting the Slovenian Economy
and her Developmental Identity to the EU .
Małgorzata Spychała is an Assistant Professor at Poznan University of
Technology, Faculty of Engineering Management, Poland. Her area of
research is related to workers’ and managers’ occupational competencies
in different organizations. She was a participant of the project “Com-
bining Ethics, Environment and Profitability in Business” (CEEP), which
was an Intensive Erasmus Program and took place in Finland, Hungary,
and Germany. She is an editor of monographies: “CSR theory and
practice”, 2012; and Golińska P., Spychała M., (ed.) “Corporate Social
Responsibility in the Manufacturing and Services Sectors”, Springer,
2019. She is the author of numerous publications about business ethics
in Polish and English.
Tjaša Štrukelj is an Assistant Professor of corporate governance and
strategic management at the University of Maribor, Faculty of Economics
and Business, Slovenia. She is a member of the international research
groups and participates in the research program Entrepreneurship for
Notes on Contributors xxi

Innovative Society. She is also a certified Leader for Corporate Social


Responsibility and Sustainable Development.
Markéta Vitoslavská graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the
Palacky University in Olomouc where she has started her doctoral studies
in the field of Andragogy. Her dissertation thesis focuses on Organiza-
tional Structure. Currently, she works as a Human Resources Manager at
Moravian Business College and also teaches Human Resources Manage-
ment there.
List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 The seven core subjects of social responsibility


and the all-linking concepts holistic approach and
interdependence (*The figures denote the clause
numbers in ISO 26000. When an explanation is written
in parentheses—addition Tjaša Štrukelj) (Source ISO
26000 [2010, p. 4]. Authors’ presentation based on
publicly available information) 8
Fig. 1.2 The relationship between challenge and skills (*Channel
flow occurs only when challenges and skills are relatively
balanced) (Source Own; based on Csikszentmihalyi
[2002, pp. 74 and 252]) 17
Fig. 5.1 Examples of Millennial behaviors and features (Source
Own; based on Stein [2013], Kilber et al. [2014], and
Gabrini [2016]) 165
Fig. 5.2 Discrepancies in the ranking of motivators for Millennials
in the assessment of students and Employers (Source
Own research) 172
Fig. 5.3 Discrepancies in the ranking of demotivators for
Millennials in the assessment of students and Employers
(Source Own research) 174

xxiii
xxiv List of Figures

Fig. 5.4 Values, Motivators and Demotivators of Millennials’


Code of Ethics (Source Own research) 176
Fig. 7.1 The relation of the nature, content and scope of the
concept of CSR to individual disciplines (Source Pokorná
2012, p. 175) 228
Fig. 7.2 Thematic analysis of the concept of CSR in relation to
individual disciplines (Source Pokorná 2012, p. 142) 229
Fig. 8.1 SWOT analysis and strategies (Source Own research) 271
Fig. 8.2 Portfolio-analysis—actual state (Source Own research) 272
Fig. 8.3 Portfolio-analysis—wished state (Source Own research) 273
List of Tables

Table 1.1 The principles of stakeholder interests, enterprise


developmental, economic and social (SIEDES)
responsible (enterprise) business policy 14
Table 3.1 Chosen pro-social practices in HRM 104
Table 3.2 Forms of employee volunteering 111
Table 5.1 Costs of employees’ departures 163
Table 5.2 Examples of ethical behaviors in HRM phases 168
Table 5.3 Scope of research 170
Table 6.1 Difference between leaders of different levels of
excellence 196
Table 6.2 Only the level 5 leader combines the following
attributes 196
Table 6.3 Attributes of leaders in terms of holism 197
Table 6.4 Comparison of essence of DST and 6 TH 198
Table 6.5 Shared points of the essence of DST and 6 TH 198
Table 6.6 Essence of each of the six thinking hats 198
Table 6.7 Synergy of USOMID/SREDIM and 6 TH
methodologies in procedure of USOMID 199
Table 7.1 Did you know the concept of CSR before the event
was realised? 234
Table 7.2 The overall distribution of weights 237

xxv
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
“Now the knife.”
“Hain’t got one.”
“I know better. Throw it down or I’ll make a finish of you—do you
hear?”
Tony pulled out a long knife and flung it upon the ground by the
revolver.
Then, as Dick stooped to pick them up he improved the opportunity
to take to his heels and run like a deer up the trail.
“By gracious, they are a sweet lot of cowards!” exclaimed Dick.
“Never saw their equal. What in the world shall I do about that girl,
though? Strange that I should meet her again away out here. I can’t
imagine what it means.”
He was hurrying along up the trail as these thoughts flashed over
him, for he had no notion of deserting Clara Eglinton, in spite of the
fact that she had deserted him.
There was evidently trouble ahead for himself, too, unless he could
keep out of the way of the man Mudd.
More puzzled than ever to know what it all meant, Dick made the
best time he could up the trail, but his wet clothes seemed to hold
him back and it seemed to him that he had never run so slow as he
was running now.
For a few moments he could hear the clatter of the horses’ hoofs
upon the stony trail and once he heard Mudd give a shout.
Then, after a few moments of silence, other horses were heard—
there seemed to be several of them. Then the sounds suddenly died
away and all was still.
Dick followed on, a good deal perplexed.
He had no idea where the trail was going to lead him, but he knew
enough about the Bad Lands to be quite well aware that to be lost in
them meant simply death.
Even the Indians avoid these dreary wastes. For a hundred miles
east and twice as much west Doctor Dan had told him that there was
not a ranch or a house of any kind and it was just as bad if he went
north, as he seemed to be going now.
“If it wasn’t for Miss Eglinton I would go straight down the mountain
and try to get back to camp by the trail we followed,” thought Dick,
“yet I can’t run away and leave the poor girl in the hands of those
scoundrels. What in the world shall I do, anyhow? I’m blest if I know.”
He pushed on for a short distance further, passing into a dark
canyon where the cliffs towered on either side of him.
There was nothing to be seen or heard of the horses here, either.
They seemed to have utterly vanished. With many windings the
canyon led off up the mountain; it was broken by cross canyons,
dark, narrow passages opening off every few yards.
Dick soon saw that the case was absolutely hopeless, for the horses
might have taken to any of these canyons.
He came to the conclusion that Martin Mudd and Tony must have
had horses concealed near by and had mounted them when they
started away from the scene of the fight.
“This won’t do,” exclaimed Dick, stopping short at last. “I must go
back. I must go straight down to the foot of the mountain and try to
get back to camp and rely upon Doctor Dan to help me find that girl.”
This was a wise resolve, no doubt, but Dick soon found that it was
one thing to come to it and quite another to carry it out.
He calculated that he was about three hundred yards away from the
entrance of the canyon and he expected to spend five or ten minutes
getting back, but, after he had walked twenty, he still found himself
between those towering walls of rock, the dark canyon still winding
on.
Dick stopped again, a horrible fear coming over him.
“I’m lost already. That’s what’s the matter,” he muttered. “What in the
world am I to do?”
And, indeed, the situation was anything but pleasant.
The little moonlight which found its way down into the canyon did no
more than to enable Dick to keep from stumbling.
The entrances to all the cross canyons looked alike. It was the
easiest thing in the world to mistake one for the other and Dick knew
that this was just what he must have done.
He hurriedly retraced his steps, trying to determine which of the
many openings was the correct one and at last settled upon one a
little wider than the rest and undertook to follow that.
He was doomed to disappointment, however, for after going a short
distance down on the down grade the trail through the canyon
suddenly began to ascend, growing steeper and steeper every
moment, but Dick continued to follow it, for he could see more light
ahead and a cold damp wind came rushing down the canyon and
both of these signs made him fancy that he must be pretty close to
the lake.
“If I can only strike it I don’t want anything better,” he thought; “then
all I’ve got to do is to follow the shore around till I come to the camp.”
He had not far to go before he knew that he was right, for suddenly
he passed out of the canyon and came upon the shore of the lake.
Within a few rods of the end of the canyon stood an old, ruinous log
hut, in the window of which a light burned.
There were four horses hobbled near-by cropping the grass which
grew over a level stretch that extended back toward the rocks, being
the only trace of any green thing which Dick had seen since he
entered the Bad Lands.
“That’s where they are,” he muttered. “I’ve run them down at last.”
He hesitated a moment and then started to walk over to the hut.
“I’m bound to help that girl if I can,” thought Dick. “Those fellows are
such a lot of cowards that——”
Suddenly two hands were clapped upon his shoulders from behind
and Dick found himself whirled violently around to face Martin Mudd.
“That’s the talk. Glad you came around,” chuckled the man. “It’s
dollars in my pocket to do you up, Dick Darrell, and don’t you forget it
you are going to be done.”
CHAPTER VIII.
A NEW ARRIVAL FROM THE LAKE.

If Dick had been fool enough to show fight then there is no doubt that
he would have been killed outright, for the man Mudd got him by the
throat with his left hand and at the same time tried his old game of
whipping out a knife and holding it over Dick’s heart.
“Hold on!” cried Dick. “Hold on, there, Mr. Mudd. Aren’t you making a
mistake?”
Dick spoke with amazing calmness considering the circumstances.
No one to have heard him would have dreamed of the excitement he
was laboring under just then.
“No mistake at all,” laughed Mudd. “Mebbe you think I am mad?”
“You act that way. I don’t know you and you can’t possibly know me.
I’m only a poor assistant in the National Museum. If you are working
for money I don’t see where you expect to gain anything by sticking
that knife into me.”
This remark and the coolness with which it was uttered undoubtedly
saved Dick’s life.
Martin Mudd immediately changed his tune.
“Say,” he exclaimed, “you give me an idea, young feller. I am working
for money every time and the man who bids the highest for my
services is the man who gets them—mebbe you’d like to bid.”
“I’ll make a bid for my life, you bet,” said Dick. “Suppose you explain
the situation. I’ll be blest if I understand it at all.”
“That’s business,” replied Mr. Mudd, looking over at the hut; “just
drop that gun of yours while I hold you as you are. Don’t try to use it
on me now, boy, for if you do by the piper who played before Moses
I’ll bury this knife in your heart.”
Dick threw the revolver down on the ground. There was no chance to
use it with that terrible grip on his throat.
“That’s right,” said Mudd, kicking the revolver off to some distance.
“Now we can talk. Promise me that you won’t make a move and I’ll
let go your throat.”
“I promise,” said Dick. “There’s no sense in our quarreling. We don’t
know each other. What I want to find out is what all this is about.”
Martin Mudd let go and leaned back against the rocks, indulging in a
hearty laugh.
“Of course we don’t know each other—that’s got nothing to do with
it,” he said. “Now, look here, young Darrell, suppose I could put you
in the way of picking up a big fortune—say a million and over. What
about that?”
“Honestly?” asked Dick.
“Yes, honestly. Oh, I’m not joking. I’m in dead earnest. How much will
you give?”
“I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars the day I come into the
money,” replied Dick, but when he said it he had not the faintest
notion that Martin Mudd’s singular words were anything more than a
bluff.
“Humph! Well, that’s business, but perhaps you’ll make it more.”
“A hundred thousand dollars is a good lump of money,” said Dick.
“You were going to explain about this. Do it, and——”
“Not now. You are the highest bidder by a lot. Will you sign a paper
to that effect?”
“Certainly I will if you will let me read it before I sign.”
“You shall draw it up yourself.”
“That’s satisfactory. Now what?”
“Where’s your camp? You were coming up here monster hunting. I
know. Thought you would find that big prehistoric monster Ike Izard
claimed to have seen. Ha! Ha! What fools your scientists are.”
“Not quite so big fools as you may think,” replied Dick. “I’ve seen that
same monster all right.”
“Rats! Rubbish! Come on to the hut. We’ll talk this thing over. I—
merciful mother of Moses! Look there!”
Suddenly the water of Izard Lake, close to where they stood, began
to boil in the same old fashion, and all at once a huge head, shaped
like a crocodile’s, was thrust out.
It was not the Plesiosaurus at all, but a monster of an entirely
different sort.
Its vast body was covered with great scales, its huge eyes seemed
to reflect back the moonlight. It opened its cavernous mouth fully a
yard long and uttered a hissing roar which seemed to shake the very
earth as it made a rush shoreward, directly for the place where Dick
and Martin Mudd stood.
The effect was to break up Dick’s little session with that eccentric
individual on the instant, for Mudd gave a wild yell of terror, took to
his heels and ran toward the hut, leaving Dick to shift for himself.
But Dick was not running away.
He was altogether too much interested in this wonderful monster.
Without an instant’s hesitation he scrambled up on the rocks behind
him, stopping and looking back when he had gained a flat ledge
about ten feet up from the ground.
Undoubtedly he then witnessed a sight which no other man had ever
seen before, unless it might be some Indian wandering through this
part of the Bad Lands.
Without paying the least attention to Dick the monster came up out
of the water entirely and went waddling along the shore on four little
stumpy legs, dragging behind it a thick, scaly tail fully thirty feet in
length and taking his course toward the hut.
Martin Mudd looked back and saw it coming. The hut door flew open
and Bill Struthers and the man Tony came rushing out.
“Gee whiz! What’s that? Have I got ’em again?” Tony yelled and he
made a bee line for the horses.
“Not without me. I don’t stay here none now,” shouted Struthers,
following him.
“Hold on. Hold on, you fools. Get your guns and shoot the critter.
Don’t go off and leave me so,” Martin Mudd called out at the top of
his lungs.
But his companions paid no attention to him.
Cutting the hobbles, they flung themselves on their horses and went
dashing up the lake shore.
Mudd paused for a moment, looked back and hesitated.
At the same instant the lake monster treated him to another taste of
that tremendous hissing roar, alongside of which the bellow of the
Plesiosaurus was sweet music.
It was too much for Mr. Mudd. He went bounding toward the
remaining horses, which stood half paralyzed with fear.
In a moment he was astride one of them and dashing away after the
others, while the monster, without altering its course, kept steadily on
toward the hut.
“Great Scott! What’s going to become of Clara Eglinton?” thought
Dick. “Is she tied up in there a prisoner all alone?”
CHAPTER IX.
WHAT MONSTER IS COMING NOW?

No such thought as fear, no idea of holding back, ever entered Dick


Darrell’s head.
He scrambled down off the rocks and ran at full speed over the
grass, giving that moving nightmare a wide berth and by a semi-
circular course making for the hut.
The monster moved very slowly, seeming to have but slight powers
of locomotion on land, although Dick never doubted that in the water
it would show itself lively enough.
“If it was to rise up on that tail and fall on the hut it would crush it to
splinters,” thought Dick, “but I don’t believe it has any such idea.”
He had almost reached the hut now. There was no back door, as he
had expected to see, so he started to run around in front.
He had almost gained the door when, to his astonishment, he
suddenly heard his name shouted from off on the lake.
“Dick! Dick!”
Dick turned and faced the monster, and, looking over and beyond
him, saw Charley paddling the rubber canoe for all he was worth.
“Hello, Dick! What in thunder are you doing there?” yelled Charley.
“Look on the shore! Don’t you see?”
Bang! Bang!
At the same instant two rifle shots rang out in quick succession and
Dick saw Doctor Dan running along the shore toward the monster.
He fired again as Dick caught sight of him. The bullet struck the
monster’s tail, but glanced off as though it had come against an iron
wall.
The shots, however, had their effect, for the report of the gun
seemed to startle the huge creature.
It stopped, turned its head and looked back, and, with another roar,
waddled to the water and slipped in with a tremendous splash, the
commotion nearly swamping the rubber canoe, which Charley drove
up on the beach heedless of any ill effect the sharp stones might
have on the bottom.
An instant later and it was all over.
The monster had disappeared and Dick, Doctor Dan and Charley
Nicholson stood together on the shore.
We pass over the explanations which naturally followed.
Charley was fairly wild with joy at the meeting.
“I gave you up for dead, sure,” he said, “but Doctor Dan wouldn’t
have it. It was he who insisted upon getting the canoe out and
coming to look for you. What sort of a creature was it, Dick? I
thought I must have gone mad when I first saw it crawling up on the
shore.”
But Dick was in no mood to talk science then.
He hastily explained about Clara and they hurried toward the hut,
fully expecting to find her a prisoner inside.
To their astonishment the hut proved to be unoccupied.
There could be no mistake about it, either, for the interior consisted
of but a single room.
There were several bunks against the wall and on a table in the
middle of the room was a whisky bottle and three glasses, but there
was absolutely nothing to show that Clara had ever been there.
“Well, where’s your girl, Dick?” asked Charley, staring around.
“Strange. That horse out there is certainly the one she rode,” replied
Dick, and the horrible fear seized him that Martin Mudd might have
made way with Clara on the road up to the lake.
They searched in all directions, shouting Miss Eglinton’s name, but
all to no purpose.
Then they returned to the hut and began discussing the new
monster, as a matter of course.
“In some respects it resembles the Ichthyosaurus,” said Dick, “but
still its short legs don’t fill the bill at all in that direction. It is probably
entirely unknown to science.”
“And immensely valuable if it could only be taken alive,” said Dr.
Dan.
“I wish I had either one of those monsters in a tank in New York or
Chicago and could charge ten cents a head to show them,” cried
Charley. “I shouldn’t want any better fortune than that.”
“They can never be taken alive,” said Dick, decidedly. “It is the
merest nonsense to think of such a thing. This is a wonderful place,
though, Doc. If the National Museum will only take possession of this
lake there may be money in these discoveries for some of us yet.”
“Do you think they will?” asked Doctor Dan.
“I’m sure of it. The land must belong to the government as it is.”
“It undoubtedly does,” replied the guide. “Well, there may be
something in it for Ike Izard and myself, after all. Now, then, what are
we going to do?”
“I don’t leave here till I know what has become of Miss Eglinton,”
said Dick, decidedly.
“Let me see,” said Dr. Dan. “I know that name. She must be the
daughter of Colonel Eglinton, who owns a big gold mine back here in
the mountains over toward the Black Hills.”
“No doubt of it, from what I heard that fellow Mudd say,” replied Dick.
“But let’s think what we had better do.”
Doctor Dan gave one of his short laughs. “If you want to find her I
can tell you how,” he said.
“Tell it, then, for gracious sake!” cried Charley.
“Mount that horse, turn his head toward the canyon and give him
free rein. I’ll bet you what you like he’ll take you straight to the place
where they halted. If you knew these mustangs of ours as well as I
do you would say the same thing.”
“It’s a splendid idea and we’ll try it right now!” cried Dick. “Shall we
pack the canoe on behind the saddle?”
“I think we had better. It may hold three but it will never hold four in
case we find the girl. I can work my way back to camp through the
canyons all right, don’t you be afraid of that.”
Doctor Dan then caught the horse, which Dick mounted, after the
canoe had been folded up and placed behind the saddle.
He then started, Charley and Doctor Dan following behind.
Dick threw the bridle down on the horse’s neck and the sure-footed
little mustang walked straight toward the entrance of the canyon, but
instead of turning into it, kept on under the cliffs.
“Hello! It seems they didn’t come the way you thought they did after
all!” exclaimed Doctor Dan; “probably there is another canyon just
beyond here and——”
“Gee! There it comes again!” broke out Charley, pointing off on the
lake.
The water had begun a furious commotion close to the shore.
Dick stopped the horse and all remained staring at it for a minute or
more, but as yet nothing appeared.
CHAPTER X.
EXPLORING AROUND THE LAKE.

If Dick and Doctor Dan expected to see a new monster come up out
of the lake that was the time they got left.
Charley said from the first that nothing was coming and he was right.
“It’s not old P. D.,” he declared; “that isn’t the way he boils the pot.”
Doctor Dan looked a bit puzzled.
“Might I inquire,” he asked in his stately way, “what you mean by old
P. D.?”
“Why, certainly,” replied Charley. “Life is altogether too short to say
Plesiosaurus Dolichodeirus every time and even Plesiosaurus
without the doli-what’s-its-name takes too long, so from this time on I
shall speak of our rubber-necked friend as old P. D.”
“Exactly,” said Doctor Dan. “Now that I know I shall remember. I am
not familiar with the scientific names of these monsters. I expect to
see something. Watch! It will come. On this very spot Ike Izard and I
saw the water boil like this.”
“And nothing came of it?” asked Charley.
“Nothing then. The monster did not rise.”
“No, nor no monster will rise this time,” said Charley, emphatically.
“You’ll see.”
“I think I know what you are driving at,” said Dick. “You are thinking
of the underground lake we talked about.”
Charley nodded.
Doctor Dan looked puzzled, not understanding what that had to do
with the boiling of the water which still continued.
They watched the troubled surface of the lake for several minutes.
The boiling grew less and less until finally it ceased altogether,
nothing having appeared.
“There you are,” said Charley, triumphantly. “Just as I said.”
“Your idea is, I suppose,” said Dick, “that the water is running off into
the underground lake?”
“My idea is,” said Charley, “that under the mountain on the left here
is a big cavern at a lower level than this lake and that between it and
the lake is a deep hole. When the hole is full of water it discharges
into the cavern gradually by a small outlet, when it gets down to a
certain level the water of Izard Lake runs down into the hole until the
equilibrium is restored.”
“Right,” said Dick. “Just what I think, exactly.”
“It’s too deep for me,” said Doctor Dan, shaking his head.
“What, the theory or the hole?” laughed Dick.
“Both. I should have to see the hole before I believed in it and I don’t
understand the theory of all.”
“If we could only stay here and watch we would find that the boiling
takes place at regular intervals and continues just so long,” added
Charley. “We can investigate this later on if you say so, Dick.”
“By all means,” replied Dick, “but now we must be on the move. I
shall never rest until I have found Clara Eglinton and I only hope
Doctor Dan’s theory proves correct.”
“About the horse?” replied Doctor Dan. “You will find it entirely
correct. If I am not up on science I am on horses. Give that mare her
head and she will take us to the place where they turned off with the
lady sure; that is, if there is any such place. As I understand the
situation, you are not actually sure that Mudd captured her at all.”
“Well, I have only his word for it,” said Dick, “and that don’t amount to
much, I own.”
They now moved on. The mare led the way into the pass through
which Dick had come, continuing along about half the distance to the
trail up the mountain, when she suddenly turned and stopped short
up against the solid ledge.
“Well!” exclaimed Doctor Dan, “this is queer!”
The place into which the mare had turned was a sort of niche in the
rocky wall, crescent shaped and perhaps forty feet deep.
There was no break anywhere and the rocks towered to a height of
several hundred feet above their heads.
“What’s the matter with the beast? What does she stop here for?”
demanded Dick.
But Doctor Dan could give no satisfactory answer to this question.
He dismounted and made a long and careful examination of the
place without discovering anything to explain the conduct of the
mare.
“It beats me,” he said at last, “but one thing is certain there is no way
through that ledge.”
“Perhaps they just halted here for some purpose or other,” said Dick.
“I think we had better push on. The mare may give us another steer.”
But the mare did nothing of the sort. They continued on to the trail
and then down the mountain to the alkali plains.
Doctor Dan’s knowledge of the country came in play here, for he
recognized the place and led the way to their old trail up the
mountain, which began about half a mile further along.
It seemed useless to spend any more time then looking for Clara
Eglinton, so they continued on to the camp, where Doctor Dan
cooked a splendid breakfast, having shot an antelope just before
they turned off from the plain.
The remainder of the day passed without any notable adventure.
In the afternoon the rubber boat was launched again and Dick and
Charley pulled across the lake to the hut, leaving Doctor Dan to go
on an exploring expedition along the shore on his own account.
The hut was still deserted and there was no sign that Mudd and his
companions had returned.
The boys on the way back pulled around to the place where the
singular boiling of the water had occurred.
All was placid enough now, but just as they were turning away the
boiling began again.
The boys watched it until it ceased, the time being exactly ten
minutes.
After it was over they waited around for half an hour more, but the
phenomenon was not repeated.
“We must come over and spend the day here soon,” declared Dick.
“My theory is that if an underground lake really exists that is where
old P. D. and the other monster have their holdout and we must
contrive some way to get down into it. Maybe the underground
passage I went through connects with your cavern, Charley. What do
you say to following it up and trying to find out?”
“That’s the idea, exactly,” said Charley. “We know from your
discovery that there is a small underground lake, so what’s to hinder
there being a big one? We’ll take that in to-morrow and the event will
prove that I am right.”
On the way back to camp Charley thought that he caught sight of the
head of old P. D. lifted for a single instant above the water, but Dick
did not see it and Charley could not feel quite sure.
When they got back to camp they found that Doctor Dan had already
returned and had supper ready.
“I’ve got great news to tell you, boys,” he exclaimed. “I’ve seen old P.
D. again and this time on the land. What do you say to that?”
“Hooray!” cried Dick. “Here’s another discovery of the habits of old P.
D. It gives me hope that we may succeed in capturing him yet.”
“There’s a chance for us,” said Doctor Dan, “and I can show you just
how it can be done if you will follow me around the lake shore to a
place where I was to-day.”
He had scarcely made the remark when the same old bellow was
heard off on the lake.
All hands ran down to the shore and looked off upon the water, but
not a thing could they see of old P. D.
CHAPTER XI.
THE LETTER ON THE TABLE.

“He’s around here somewhere,” said Dick. “There’s no mistaking that


melodious voice, but where?”
Suddenly another strange sound broke upon the air; half scream,
half roar, and then a tremendous splash was heard over in the
direction of the next cove.
The boys and Doctor Dan, seizing their rifles, ran that way, but
before they got to the bend of the rocks they were able to see what
was going on.
It was such a combat as probably no man on earth ever witnessed
before.
There was old P. D. and a monster precisely similar to the one the
boys had seen on the other side of the lake hard at it, and a
bellowing and roaring broke upon the air that was fairly deafening.
The Plesiosaurus would rear its ugly head far above the water and
strike with lightning rapidity at its antagonist, which would dodge and
then dart forward, squirting up two vast streams of water out of holes
in each side of its huge snout, snapping its crocodile-like jaws and
displaying its terrible teeth.
For about twenty seconds the boys were treated to this wonderful
exhibition and then, with a fearful splash, monster No. 2 leaped half
its length out of the water, caught old P. D. by the neck and dragged
him down out of sight.
“By gracious!” cried Charley. “That’s great!”
“Tremendous!” echoed Dick. “Who on earth ever saw the like?”
“I’ll bet on old P. D. every time,” chuckled Doctor Dan, relaxing his
gravity for once and indulging in a hearty laugh. “It don’t seem to
strike you as comical as it does me, boys. It’s one of the funniest
things I ever saw.”
Dick failed to see where the laugh came in, but he said nothing and
for some time they stood watching for the reappearance of the
monsters, but the moments passed and they did not come to the
surface again.
“There must be more than one Plesiosaurus,” remarked Dick, as
they sat at supper; “by the way, Doctor, you were going to tell us of
your discovery and how we could capture old P. D.”
“Why, there is a cove around on the western shore that has a very
narrow entrance,” replied Doctor Dan. “There are great stones
scattered all around there and there is one that I am sure would
choke up the entrance if it was dropped between the ledges. Now if
we could rig up some sort of a snare in the cove with the ropes we
have brought and then pry the boulder over into the break and choke
it up we would have our friend P. D. hard and fast.”
“Always providing he is obliging enough to go into the cove and run
into our snare,” said Dick. “Well, we will take a look at it in the
morning and see what we can make out of it. I’m dead tired now and
I’m going to turn in.”
The tents had been moved further up the bank and as Doctor Dan
had agreed to watch until morning Dick and Charley now wrapped
themselves up in their blankets and put in a good night undisturbed.
Doctor Dan had no news to report in the morning and after breakfast
he went up on the ledges, wrapped himself in his blankets and went
to sleep there, telling the boys that they need not trouble their heads
about him, but just do whatever they pleased.
“Let’s try the underground passage, Dick,” said Charley. “I’m wild to
know if my theory is correct.”
“If I knew where we could dive and strike it I’d say yes in a minute,”
replied Dick, “but I could never locate the place and I don’t care
about running the horses around to the other trail without Doctor
Dan.”
“I suppose that means we are to go across the lake again and see
what we can find of the girl?”
“That’s what we ought to do.”
“Then by all means let’s do it. Duty first and pleasure afterward. How
long do you intend to stop up here, anyhow?”
“Oh, a day or two. If we fail entirely I think I shall try to persuade
Doctor Dan to take me on to Mr. Eglinton’s mine and see if Clara is
safe there.”
“That means time lost. How about telegraphing Professor Poynter?”
“We can do that from the mine just as well as from Node Ranch. No
doubt there is a line through to there.”
“The girl is a nuisance,” declared Charley. “I really believe you are
ready to fall in love with her, Dick.”
“I’m ready to help her if she needs help and to save her from that
scoundrel Mudd,” declared Dick, “but don’t let’s do any more talking
until we have made a start.”
The boat was soon stretched and the seats placed and the boys
then carried it down to the lake and got in.
It was not a pleasant craft to navigate, but Charley had become quite
skillful with the paddle and they were soon making good headway
across the lake.
“If we happen to run into old P. D. or his enemy there’s going to be
an interesting time of it,” observed Dick. “You don’t say a word about
that, Charley, but I know you are thinking about it all the same.”
“And why not?” replied Charley. “Of course I’m thinking about it, but
what’s the use talking? We have just got to take our chances. When
I’m out on an expedition like this I don’t believe in showing the white
feather. It isn’t my style nor yours, either, Dick.”
“If it was mine you bet I wouldn’t be here,” said Dick, “but the danger
is real just the same.”

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