The San Francisco call., 1903-01-25

watched the steaming liquid pour from
the empty tank. II was a dispiriting rev.
elation. but he only puffed leisurely on.
W hen Kate glanced his way. as she pres
entity did, disdainfully. McTerza raised
ms finger and pointed to the change she
had thrown at him.
What is it, sir?"
Mistake
he strikers pricked IN their ears.
There isn't any mistake. sir. told
you the cigars were ff.y cents each, re-
piied Kate Mulienix Rucker pushed
pack his coffee and sliding off his sto1l
walked forward
Change isn't right persisted Nc
Terra, looking at Kate MulloniX.
Why note"
You forgot TO take OUT p cents more
Tor that last cup of c. coffee" SIAM
mered the Reading man Kate took uo
the coin and handed quarter BACK fro
the register.
That's right put in Rucker promptly.
make the scab p-pay for what they
e-g-get. They're sp-p-p-pendng our
money" The hcsitatinE Reading man ap-
peared for the first time aware OF an en-
emy. interested for the irst time I'm the
abuse that had been continually heapel
on him since he came TO town He re-
turned Rucker 5 glare.
you call me scab. do you?" he said
at last and with the stutter all out Il
belong to labor order that counts thou
sands 10 your hundreds. Your scabs came
I'm end took our throttles on the Reading
why shouldn't We pull your latches out
here2 Your strike is beat my buck, and
Beading men beat ii. You had better look
for Job on threshing machine"
RUcSer jumped for McTerza and they
mixed like clouds in a cyclone For a
minute it was whirlwind and nothing
could be made of it; but when they could
be seen McTerza had the best man in our
camp pinned under a table with his throat
in one hand like the latch OF a throttle.
Nicholson at the same moment raising an
oak stool smashed it over McTerza-s head.
The fellow went fat as a dead man. but
he must have pulled up quick for when
Neighbor. rushing in. whirled Nicholson
into the street. the Reading man already
had his feet and q corner to work from.
Reed. the trainmaster. was right behind
the big master mechanic. Rucker was up,
but saw he was outnumbered.
Hurt. Mac?" asked Reed. running to-
ward the Reading man. The blow hal
certainly dazed him; his eyes rolled sea.
sick for a minute. then he stared straight
ahead
Look out" he muttered. pointing over
Reeds shoulder at Kate Mullenix. shes
going to faint" The trainmaster turned.
but Kate was over before her brother
Sinkers could reach her as he ran in.
Rucker moved toward the door. As he
passed McTerza he sputtered villainously =.
but Neighbours huge bulk was between
the two men.
Never mind" retorted McTerza. next
time I get you I'll ram a billiard c-c-c-cue
down your throat.
1t was the first intimation our fighting
men had that the Reading fellow could no
business. and the affair caused McTerz1
TO be inspected with some interest from
behind screens and cracker boxes as lie
sauntered up and down the street
The Reading men were hated; McTerza
was slated for the very worst of it, Ev-
erybody on both sides understood that
IL never l.
derstood anything for that matter. till it
was on him, and he dropped back into
his indifference and recklessness almost
at once. He even tried the short order
house again. That time Mrs. Mullenix
herself was in the saddle. There were
things in life which even McTerza didn't
banker after tackling more than once.
and one was q second interview with Mrs.
Mullenix. But the fellow must have made
an impression on even the redoubt.
able Mrs Mary, for she privately asked
Neighbor, as one might Of an honorable
adversary, for peaces sake to keep that
man away from her restaurant; so Nc
Terra was banned.
Oddly enough, McTerza had one friend
in the Mullenix family. On the strike
question the house Of Mulenix was di-
vided against itself. All held for the en-
gineers except the youngest member,
Sinkers. Sinkers was telegraph messen-
ger, and was strictly a company map.
He naturany saw great deal of the new
men, but Sinkers never took the slightest
interest in McTerza till he handled Ruck,
er. After that sinkers cultivated him
Sinkers would listen just as long as Nc
Terra would Stutter, and they became
fast friends long before the yard riots.
The day the carload of detectives Wa.
imported the fight was on. Scattering
collisions breaking here and there into
open fights showed the feeling but II
wasn't till Little Russia went out tha
things looked rocky for the company
property at McCloud. Little Russia hac
become a pretty big Russia at the time
Of the strike. The Russians had spread
up and down the line like tumbleweeds
and their first cousins, the Polacks
worked the company coal mines. At Nc.
Cloud they were as hard a crowd after
dark as you would find on the steppes
The Polacks, 400 OF them, struck while
the engineers were out, and the fat wen
into the fire with fash.
The night Of the trouble took even u,
by surprise, and the company was WHOLLY
unprepared. The engineers in the wors
OF the heat were accused Of the riotinR
but we had no more TO do with it thar
the Homesteaders. Our boys are Amerf
cans, and We don't fight with torches anc
kerosene. The company frnported tb.