The Jet Visitor (Jet, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 12, 1921 Page: 7 of 8
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THE JKT VIIITOR
rs
At
By FRANCIS LYNDE
THE BOSS It BACK ON THI JOB ""
Srnopsle— Oreham Norcroaa railroad unuw and hti secretary Jimmy
Dodda are maroontd at Sand Creek aldlnf with a' young lady Sheila Macrae
and her amall eoualn Maleie Ann Unseen they witness a peculiar train hold-
up In which a apodal ear la carried off Norcroaa recognises tha car aa that
of John Chad wick financial manata whom ha waa to moat at Portal City
Ha and Dodda raacua Chadwtck Tha latter oltara Norcroaa tha management
of tha Pioneer Short Una which la In the hands of aaatarn speculators headed
by Breckenrklge Dunton praoldcnt of tlw Una Norcroaa learning that Sheila
Macrae la stopping at Portal City accept Dodda overhear! conversation be-
tween Rufua Hatch and Guetave Hanckal Portal City flnanclara In which
they admit complicity In Chadwlck'a kidnaping their object baln( to keep
Chadwlck from attending a meeting of dlractora to reorganlaa the Pioneer
Short Line which would Jeopardise their Intareeta To curb the monopoly con-
trolled by Hatch and Henckal the Red Tower earporatlon Norcroaa forma the
Citizens' Storage and Warehouse company He begins to manlfeat a deep
Interest In Sheila Macrae Dodda learnt that Sheila la married -but living
apart from bar huaband Norcroaa doea not know thla The Boss dlaappears'
report haa It that be baa resigned and gone east
CHAPTER VII— Continued -
I told hr about the wreck and said
waa afraid be hadn't got back yet
I heard something that sounded like
a muffled and half-Impatient "Oh
dear!" and then the went on "I hare
Just had phone message from Mr
Cantrell the editor of the Moun-
taineer Be culled the house to try
to Bnd Major Kendrlck Be has heard
something which may explain about
llr Norcross He said be didn't want
to put It on the wire"
That was enough for me TU go
Tight over to the Mountaineer office"
1 told her and In Just about two
hakes of a dead lamb's tall I was
standing at Mr Cantrell's elbow In
There Was a Plot of Soma Kind"
his little den on the third floor of the
' newspaper building across the avenue
"Mrs Macrae telephoned you?" he
asked pushing bis buuch of copy pa-
per aside
''Yes Just minute ago"
TU give you what I have and you
may do what you please with It One
of our young men — Branderby— has
discovered— In some way that be didn't
are to explain over the phone — that
there was a plot of some kind con-
cocted In the back room of a dive on
lower Nevada avenue on the nlgbt
Sir Norcross disappeared From what
Branderby says I take It that the
plot was overheard In part at least
by some habitue of the place who was
too drunk to get It entirely straight
and Intelligible The plotters were
four of donation's men and as
Branderby got It they were planning
to steal a locomotive Do you know
anything about that?"
"I do The engine was stolen all
right thnt very night Klrgnn our
master-mechanic has known It was
one but he has been keeping quiet
In hopes he'd be able to find tha em
Sine without making any public stir
about it"
"The story as It has been handed
on to Branderby Is pretty badly mud-
dled" the editor went on "There
waa something In It about an attempt
to wreck and rob the Fast Mall and
something else about sending a note
to somebody at the Bullard — a note
that 'would do the business' was the
way It was put"
: "That note was sent to Mr Nor-
cross I" I broke In "excitedly taking a
running Jump at the guess
"If you will wait until Branderby
comes In he mny be able to give you
more of the particulars" Cantrell was
beginning to say -but good gosh I —
I couldn't wait I was scared stiff
for fear I shouldn't be able to get
bark to the round-house before Klrgan
started out on that engine-rescuing
trip -
"That's enough" I gasped 'Tm
gonel" and I tumbled down the two
flights of stairs and sprinted for the
railroad yard reaching 'the round-
house not one half-second too soon
Klrgnn was there with Oorcber and
two Bremen They bad s light engine
out on the tank track and were fill-
ing her with water
"They took Mr Norcross with them
on the Ten-8lxteen I" was all I could
say and then I guest my late electric
knock-out got In Its work to pay for
the quick sprint down from the news-
paper oftVe for I keeled over Into
Klrgan'a arms and' sort of half fainted
It seemed
Because when I came to right good
again Klrgnn bad me up on the Are-
man's box with an arm around me to
hold me there': Billy Oorcher was on
the other side of the cab niggling at
the throttle and the light engine was
clicking It oft about fifty miles an
hour on the straight piece of track
between Portal City and Arroyo
CHAPTER VIII
A Close Call
At the "Y" siding we stopped— with-
out going on to the gravel track where
Oorcher had seen the lost 1016— and
Klrgan and I got off with a lantern
Thla was because on the way down
I bad managed to tell the big master-mechanic-
about the Cantrell talk
though I hadn't succeeded In making
him believe that It accounted for Mr
Norcross" drop-out Just the same he
humored me by having Billy Gorcher
stop and now he was trying to make
me take It sort of slow and easy as
we stumbled out toward the stem of
the "Y" That was Kirgan's way He
was as hard as nails with a gang of
men but he could be as soft-hearted
as any woman when a fellow was all
In And he knew I wasn't bait "at
myself yet physically
"Dont get too 'much hope up Jim-
mle" he was saying as we humped
along around the crooking track of
the "Y" "We ain't goln' to find any-
thing out yonder but a rusty loggia'
track and that broken mil con
nectlon You see I've been here be
forehand I know"
He was as right as could be When
we reached the end of the "Y" there1
was the broken connection Just as
he'd said The old gaw-niiil track wns
still there leading off In the dark up
the gulch but the two switch rails
had been taken out and the switch
itself was as rusty as If It hadn't been
used In years
"What you heard from Mr Cantrell
may have been all true enough" Klr-
gan said whUe I stood swallowing
bard and staring down at the broken
rail connection "only It didn't have
anything to do with the big boss Them
thugs was probably plannln' to wreck
the Mall all right end they came
down here to do It The Lord only
knows why they didn't do It p'raps
tLere wnsn't time enough after they'd
got the 'Sixteen In on the gravel
track"
I only Just about half heard what
he was saying He bad the lantern
and Its light fell squarely upon a
cross-tie s foot or two beyond where
we were standing It was the last
tie In the empty string from which
the two rails had been taken up to
break the connection with the lighter
saw-mill track steel and what I was
Jooklng at was a fresh spike bole
fresh beyond all question or doubt
because there was a clean new splinter
of the wood sticking up beside it-
splinter that had been broken out
when the spike was pulled
I took the lantern from Klrgan in
my one good hand and he stood there
waiting for me while I walked on
out to the chopped-off end of the snw
mill track examining the loose ties
as I went along There were fresh
spike holes In some of the others
Just one here and there But that was
enough After I had knelt to bold
the lantern close to the rails of the
rusty timber track I knew my hunch
was all right
"Come here Mart I" I called and
when he came'I showed him the new
holes and new wheel-marks on the
old rusty rails of the timber track
that proved as clear as dayllglit that
an engine or a tram had been over
them away this aide of the rains and
the snows that bad rusted them
Klrgan didn't say a word — not to
me He Just took one look at the
rubbed rails and then yelled back to
Oorcher to run out on the "Y" Wbat
followed went like clockwork There
were tools a spike-puller and a driv
ing-maul on the light engine's tender
and while the two firemen were throw
ing them off Klrgan made a couple
of swift measurements with his pocket
tape
"These two right here boys" he
ordered Indicating a pair of rails in
the other leg of the "X" and in less
than no time the two rails were up
and relald to bridge the gap of the
broken connection
I suppose we poked slong Into the
black heart of the Timber range for
as much as Ave or six miles before
the engine headlight showed us the
remains of the old saw-mill camp ly
ing in a little pocket-like valley from
the aides of which all the milt timber
had- been cut The camp had been
long deserted There were perhaps a
doten shacks of all sites ahd shapes
and with a single exception they were
all dilapidated and dismantled some
with the roofs falling In 1
The one exception was the stout log
building which had probably served as
the mill-gang commissary and store
The ties at this end of the line were
so rotten with age that our engine
was grinding a good half of them to
powder aa she edged up and a little
below the switch that had formerly
led In to the-mlll Klrgan gave Oorcher
the stop signal
After we hod piled off there wasn't
any question raised as to what we
should do Klrgan had taken a ham
mer from Coroner's tool-box and be
was the one who led the way straight
across the little creek and up the hill
to the commissary
When we reached the building we
found the windows all boarded up and
the door fastened with a strong hasp
and a bright new brass padlock— the
only new thins In sight Klrgan swung
his hammer Just once and the lock
went spinning off down the slope and
fell with a splash Into the creek Then
he pushed the door open with his foot
and shoved In and for Just one half-
second I waa afraid to follow — afraid
of what we might And In that gloomy-
looking log warehouse with Its blinded
windows oul locked door
While I was nerving myself and
stumbling over the threshold behind
Klrgan with the lantern I beard the
boss' voice and It wasn't the voice of
any dead man not by a long shot!
From what be said and the way he
was trimming It up with hot ones
It was evident that he took us for
some ether crowd that he'd been
cussing out before '
The light of the lantern showed as
a long roomr bare of furnishings and
dark and musty from having been
shut up so tight In the far end there
were a couple of bunks built against
the log wall On -what had once been
the counter of the commissary 'there
was a lot of canned stuff ana) a box
of crackers that hod been broken open
and on a bench by the door there was
a bucket of water and a tin cup
The boss was sitting up In one of
the bunks and he was still tearing off
language In ' strips at us when we
closed on him He recognised Klrgan
first and then Oorcher I guess he
couldn't see me very well because
I was holding the lantern When
he found out who we were he
stopped swearing and got up out of
the bunk to put his hand on Mart
Kirgan's shoulder That was the
only break be made to show that he
was a man like the rest of us The
next minute he was the big boss
again rapping out his orders as If he
had Just pushed his desk button to
call us In -
"Xou've got an engine here I sup
pose?" he snapped at Klrgan "Then
we'd get out of this quick What day
of the week Is It?"
I told him It was Friday and by
his asking that I knew be must have
It Wasnt the Voice of Any Dead Man
been so roughly handled that he had
lost count of time The next order
was shot at the two firemen
"You boys kick that packing-box to
pieces and then pull the straw-out of
that bunk and touch t match to It
We'll make sure that they'll never
lock anybody else up In this d— d dog-
hole" -
The two young huskies obeyed the
order promptly In half minute
the dry slab stuff that the bunks were
built of was ablaze and the boss
herded us to tbedoor and a minute
or so later we were all climbing Into
the cab of the waiting engine
- We bad to run so slowly down the
old track to the "X that there waa
plenty of chance for the -boss to'talk
If be had wanted to But apparently
be didn't want to- He aat on the
fireman's seat with an arm back of
me to hold me on Just aa Klrgan had
sat on the way up and never opened
his head except once to ask me what
was the matter with my wrapped-up
band When I told him he made no
comment and didn't speak again until
we had stopped on the g of the "Y"
to let Klrgan and his three helpers
put the borrowed rails back Into place
'You say It's Friday" be began ab
ruptly -"What's been going pn since
Monday night Jlmmiel"
J boiled It down for him into Just
as few words as possible about the
letter he had left for Mr Van Brltt
how everybody thought he had re
signed how Mrs 8bella and the major
were two of the few who weren t will-
ing to believe It how Mr Chadwlck
had been out of reach bow the rail-
road outfit was flopping around like a
chicken with Its bead chopped off
how President Dunton had appointed
a new general manager who was ex
pected now on any train how Oorcher
had discovered the lost 1010 on the
old disused gravel-pit track a mile be-
low us and to wind up with I slipped
him Mr Chadwlck'a telegram which
had come Just as I was finishing my
supper In the Bullard grill-room and
those tiro others that bad come on
the knock-out night nd which had
been In my pocket ever since
He heard me through without say
ing a word and when I gave him the
telegrams he read them by the light
of the gauge lamp— also without say-
ing anything But when the men had
the "Y" rails replaced he took hold
of things again with a Jerk
"Klrgan you'll want to see to get-
ting that dead engine out of the gravel
pit yourself Take one of the firemen
and go to It It's a short mile and
you can walk In Jlmmle and I want
to get back to Portal City In a hurry
and Gorcher will take us" And then
to Oorcher: "We'll run to Bantn ahead
of Number Eighteen and get orders
there Move lively Billy time's pre
cious"
We made Bnnta at a record clip
While he waa' In the Bnnta wire office
getting orders for Portal City Mr Nor
cross took the time-card out of Its
cage In the cab and fell to studying
It by the light of the gauge lamp
Gorcher came back pretty soon with
his clearance which gave him the
right to run to Arroyo as first section
of Number Eighteen
Tne boss blew up like a Roman
candle when he saw that train order
It meant that we were to take the
siding at Arroyo with the freight thnt
wns Just behind us and wait there
for the westbound "Flyer" the "Flyer'
being due in Portal City from the east
at 9:13 and due to leave there coin'
Ing west at 920 I didn't realize at
the moment why the boss was so
sizzling anxious to cut out the delay
which would be Imposed on ns by the
watt at Arroyo but the anxiety was
there all right
"Billy It'a eighteen miles to Portal
and you've got twenty minutes to make
It against the 'Flyer's' leaving time
he ripped out "Can you do HI"
Gorcher said be could If be didn't
bave to lose any more time getting
bis order changed
"Let her go I" snapped the boss
Tm taking all the responsibility"
That waa enough for Gorcher and
the way we hustled out of the Banta
yard was a caution In exactly eight
minutes out of Banta we tore over the
switches at Arroyo That left US ten
miles to go and twelve minutes In
which to make them It was easy
A yardman let us In on the spur at
the end of the headquarters building
and the boss was oft In half a Jiffy
"Come along with me Jlmmle" he
commanded quickly and I couldn't
Imagine why he wag In such a tearing
hurry- Pushing through the platform
crowd made up of people who were
getting off the "Flyer" and those who
were waiting to get on he led the way
straight upstairs to our offices
Of course there was nobody there
at that time of night and the place
was all dark until we switched the
electrics on Tbcre waa a little lava'
tory off the third room of the suite
and Mr Norcross went In and washed
bs face and bands In a minute or
two be came out put on his office
cont opened up his desk lighted a
cigar andsat down at the desk as
though he had Just come In from a
late dinner at the club And still he
had me guessing
The guess didn't have to wait long
While I was making s bluff at uncov
ering my typewriter and getting ready
for business there was a heavy step
In the hall and a red-faced portly
gentleman with fat eyes and little-dose-cropped
English slde-whlskers
came bulging In He had a light top-
coat on bis arm and his tan gloves
were an exact match for his spats
"Qood evening" he said nodding
sort of brusquely at the boss Tm
looking tor tbe general manager's of
fice"
"You're found It" said the boss
crisply
The tan-gloved gentleman looked
first at me and then at Mr Norcross
"You are tbe chief clerk perhaps r
he suggested pitching the query In
tha general direction of the big desk
"Hardly" was tbe curt rejoinder
'My name la Norcross What can I
do for you?"
If I didn't hate slang so bad I
should say that the portly man looked
as If he were going to throw a fit
'Not— not Graham Norcross T he
stammered
Well yes I am "Graham'— to my
friends Anything else!"
The portly gentlemun subsided Into
chair
"There Is some misunderstanding
about this" he suid bis voice thicken
ing a little — with anger I thought
'My name Is Dlsmuke and I am the
general manager of this railroad"
'I wouldn't dispute tbe name but
your title Is away off" said Mr Nor
cross as cool as a handful of dry
snow "Who appointed you If I may
ask?" 1
President Dunton and the board of
directors of course"
"The same authority appointed me
something like three months ago" was
the calm reply "So far as I know
am still at the head of the com
pany's staff In Portal City"
The gentleman who had named him
self Dlsmuke puffed out his cheeks and
looked as If he were about to ex
plode'
"This Is a devil of s mess!" he
rspped out "I understood — we all
understood In New York— that you had
resigned I"
Well I haven't" retorted the boss
shortly And then he stuck the knife
In good and deep and twisted U around
"mere is a commercial telegraph wire
In the Hotel Bullard where I suppose
you will put up Mr Dlsmuke and I'm
sure you will find It entirely et your
service If yon have anything further
to say to me I hope It will keep untIL
after -this office ojmmis In the morning
I am very busy Just now"
I mighty nearly gasped This Dls
muke was the new general manager
appointed doubtless In all good fulth
by the president and sent out to take
charge of things And here was the
boss practically ordering him out of
the office— telling hlin that his room
was better than his company!
The portly man got out of bis chair
puffing like a steam-engine
'Weil see about this!" he threat
ened "Xou've been here three months
and you haven't done anything but
muddle things until the stock of the
company Isn't worth much more than
the pnper It's printed on I If I can
get a clear wire to New Xork you'll
hnve word from President Dunton to-
morrow morning telling you where you
get off I"
To this Mr Norcross tnnde no reply
whatever and the heavy-footed gentle
man stumped out saying things to
himself that wouldn't look very well
In print When the hall door below
gave a big slam to let us know that
he was still going the boss looked
across at me with a sour grin wrin
kling around his eyes
"Now you know why I made Gorcher
break all the rules of the service get-
ting here Jlmmle" he said "Pos-
session Is nine points of the law and
In this case It was rather Important
that Mr Dlsmuke shouldn't find the
outfit without a head and these offices
of ours unoccupied" He rose stretched
his arms over his head like a tired
boy and reached for tbe golf rap he
kept to wear aben be went out to
knock around In the shops and yard
"Let's go up to the hotel and see If
we can break Into the cafe Jlmmle
he finished up "Later on we'll wire
Mr Chadwlck but that can wait
haven't bad a square meal In four
days"
With everybody supposing be hod
resigned and left the country I guess
there were all kinds of a nine-minutes'
wonder In Portal City and all along
the Short Line when the word went
out that Mr Norcross was back on the
Job and running It pretty much the
same us if nothing had happened
After supper on the night of his
return from the hide-out he had sent
It long-code message to Mr Chadwlck
and a short one to President Dunton
and though I didn't see the reply to
either I guess Mr Chndwlck's an
swer at least wag the right kind be
cause our track renewlngcampalgn
went into commission aguln with' a
slam and all the reform pol Teles took
a sure-enough fresh start and began to
hump themselves with Juncmnn work
ing the newspnpers to a finish
We heard nothing further from Mr
Dlsmuke the portly gentlemnn In the
tnn spats though he still stayed on at
the Bullard We saw him occasional'
ly at meal times and twice he was
eating at the same table with Hatch
and Henckel That placed him all
right for us though I guess he didn't
need much placing
I wondered a little at first that Mr
Norcross didn't take the clue that
Branderby the Mountaineer reporter
had given us and tear loose on the
gang that had trapped him He didn't
or didn't seem to From the first hour
of the first day he was up to his neck
pushing things for the' new company
formed for the purpose of putting Red
Tower out of business and be wouldn't
take a minute's time for anything else
Of course It says Itself that Hatch
never made any mors proposals a boot
selling tbe Red Tower plants to taa
Citizens' Storage Warehouse people
after the boas got back That more
went Into the discard In a hurry and
the Consolidation outfit was busy get-
ting Into Its fighting clothes and try-
ing to chock the wheels of the C 8
A W with all sorts of legal obstacles
Franchise contracts with the rail-
rood were flashed up and Injunctions
were prayed tor Ripley waded In
and what little sleep he got for a week
or two was In Pullman can snatched
while he was rushing around and try '
Ing to keep his new clients the C a
t W folks out of Jail for contempt
of court He did It Little and quiet
and smooth-spoken he could put the
legal leather Into the biggest bullies
the other side could hire Luckily
we were an Interstate corporation and
when the local courts proved crooked
Ripley would find some way to Jerk
the case out of them and put It up to
some Federal Judge "
Around home In Portal City things
were Just simmering Between two
days as you might say and right
soon after Mr Norcross got back ws
acquired a new chum on the head-
"Your Title Is Away Off" Said Mr
Norcross
quarters force He wns a young fel
low named Tarbell who looked and
talked and acted like a cow-punch Just
In from riding line He waa carried on
Mr Van Brltt'a payroll as an "extra" or
relief telegraph operator though wo
never beard of bis being sent out to
relieve nnvbodv
I sized this new young mnn up
right away for a "special" of some
snrtr and the proof that I was right
came one afternoon when Ripley
dropped In and fell Into a duilr to fan
himself with his straw hat like a man
who had Just put down a load that he
had been carrying about a mile and a
half farther than he had bargained to
'Thank the Lord the last of those
Injunction suits is oft the docket" he
snid drawing a long breath and wag-
ging his neat little head at the boss
I'll say one thing for the Hatch peo
ple Norcross i they're stubborn fighters"
"We'll bent 'em" predicted the boss
'They've got to let go- How about our
C S A W frltnds? Are tliey still
game?"
'Fine!" asserted the lawyer "The
stock Is over-subscribed everywhere
now and C S A W Is a going concern
The building boom Is on I venture
to say there are over two thousand
mechanics at work at the different
centers rushing up the buildings for
the new plants nt this moment You
ought to have a monument Norcross
It's the most original scheme for
breaking a monopoly that was ever
devised"
The boss was looking out of tha
window sort of sbsently chewing on
bis cigar which had gone out
"Rlplpy I wonder what you'd any If
I should tell you that the Idea la not
mine?" he snld after a little pause
"Not yours?" (
"No It or at least the germ of It
was given to me by a woman a wo-
man who knows no more about busi-
ness details than you do about driving
while elephants"
"I'd like to be made acquainted with
the lady" said Itlpley with a tired
little smile "Such gems are too
valuable to be wasted on mere lumber
yards and fruit packeries and grain
elevators and the like"
"You'll meet her some dny" taught
the boss with a sort of happy lilt In
his voice that fairly ninde me sick—
knowing what I did snd knowing that
he didn't know It Then he awltched
the subject abruptly: "About the
other matter Ripley: I know you've
been pretty busy but you've had Tar-
bell nenrly a week What have you
found out?"
Ripley briefed the general situation
as It stood on the night of the engine
theft In a few terse sentences Aside
from the fight on Red Tower Con-
solidated the new railroad policies
were threatening to upset all the time-
honored political traditions of the
machine-governed state An lection
was approaching and the railroad
vote and Influence must be whipped
into line As the grafters viewed It
the threatened revolution Was one-
man government and If that man
could be removed tbe danger would
vanish
"Far Gael's sake he carafair
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Harris, George A. The Jet Visitor (Jet, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 12, 1921, newspaper, May 12, 1921; Jet, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1713819/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.