Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-05-06

levers as steadily and as easily az q
well-broken horse would his reins. and
hauling the heavy thresher behind.
We took sou.hwesterly course. and
after crossing the Usage river. struck
some extensive wheat fields just be-
yond. Here the wheat Is bound and
piled In great stacks and the thresher
is run alongside them, and as fast as
one stack Is threshed the machine
moves to the next. We had good luck.
and in about a months time we came
to the Kansas line, which we struck
nearly parallel with Fort Scott, and
about $50 miles southwest from Jeffer-
sion City. We could have worked much
longer in Missouri, but we were anxious
to take only such jobs as lay in our d.
rect course across to Kansas. After
crossing the Kansas line we settled
down to business, and as the wheat
crop was unusually heavy this year,
business was plentiful, and the high
power OF our machine enabled us to
run the wheat through with surprising
rapidity, and we began to notice with
pleasure that our hitherto deplorably
fiat pocket books were beginning to
swell to quite a respectable size. Fort
Scott Is situated about twelve miles
from the border line between Kansas
and Missouri, and while we were
threshing in the vicinity of that place
Clayton and began to notice that our
third partner Gleason, appeared rather
strange, and that he was over at Fort
Scott almost every night, returning in
the small hours of the morning.
Where does he go?" asked Fisk, one
evening after Gleason had as usual
started off, leaving us to look after
everything alone. HE sneaks off
every night just this way, and / don't
ike it,
"Oh, WE'LL" l answered, "as long as
he uses us square it's none of our bust
ness where he goes
How do we know he is not up to some
game or other? Then, sinking his
voice little lower, he continued: We
don't know anything about this chap,
although he seems a good fellow
enough. He never says much about
himself to us, ard l think we had bet
ter keep our eyes open a little any
way"
How can he do us any harm?"
asked. HE has an interest in the
thing"
THAT is more than can tell" he re-
NIL thA,nhtf,.11xy I ,iy,lx hn MIL
bear watching all right"
"All right" l repeated, starting up.
"Tll go and fix the fire for the night,
and we'll pull out of this the first thing
in the morning. We had finished a
large stack that day and all hands had
one of us generally stayed with the
machine night and day. Just as l had
finished banking tie fire in the fire box
for the night, thought / heard slight
rustic in the straw like a step, at the
other end of the engine, but it was too
did not hear it again / concluded that
it was oaly a field mouse among the
straw. Gleason did not show up that
night In the morning by sunrise !
had roaring fire in the furnace, and
the steam had begun to make a little,
when / noticed it escaping in small
white clouds from the cylinder heads
This surprised me a little, for / knew
that they were all tight when we shut
down the night before, and l stepped
around to investigate, and upon a close
/ found that the cylinder
head had been unbolted and the pack
ing removed. The throttle had also
been tempered with, and it would not |
close tightly, thus letting the steam
escape into the cylinder and showing |
us the loss before we otherwise would |
have noticed it. fastened to the ten |
der, where the spare packing was kept, |
but it was gone. / was by this time |
made amore careful examination of the |
entire machine, but found nothing |
else disturbed. 1t was only too evident |
that some person or persons had re-
moved the rubber packing from the |
cylinder heads for the purpose of dis
aiding us. Who could it have been,
and what was their object, was more |
than we could understand, as there |
was no rival machine in the vicinity. |
While we were talking the matter over |
and wishing that Gleason would come,
a man in a lign. buggy drove rapidly |
up and asked: rs this the Gleason and |
Fisk OUTFIT"
Fisk quietly informed him that it
was.
Your other partner, Gleason" the |
man in the buggy began, has been in
vesting rather heavily in stocks or
of that Kind, on security of |
owned by the company, and
rs the investment has turned out badly,
and Gleason can't pay, I've been in
structed by the proper authorities to
ask you to settle the matter at once"
What have we got to do with his
Investments" asked Fisk, with a
scowl.
"One member of a firm binds the rest
IN Kansas" suavely remarked the
stranger.
And IL we refuse to settler" / asked
Then, I'll have to serve an attach
ment on the outfit, that's ALL" said the
man.
Let me see your papers," said Fisk,
stepping up to the side of the buggy.
The man unbuttoned his coat and be-
gan to tumble in his pockets. AS / did
20 I noticed a sheriff's shield ninnad IN |