Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1905-10-18

waiting to give Boston It's last chance.
with q clark hanging over the opera
tor In tho station telegraph ONCE to
catch the arst word Of encouragement:
IF the advisory board doesn't send
us something pretty solid. I'm going
Into this thing lame."'| said Kent, du.
sbiously. OF course, what Boston can
send us will be only corroborative;.
unfortunately we can't wire aftidavits.
But it will help. What We have 20
cured here lacks directness. #
1. : Necessarily" said Loring. but
I'm banking on the board. II we
don't get the ammunition before you
have to start, I can wire it to you ar
CASTOR. That gives us three hours to
60 and come on 4 . .s.. T !. SIS s +
''Yes; and il 1t comes to the worst
If the decision be unfayorable-it can
only embarrass us temporarily. This
is merely the preliminary hearing,
and nothing permanent can be estab-
lished until we have had a hearing on
the merits. and we can go armed to
that, at all events z-5s IT. II ss5 =
The general manager was looking
at his watch. and he shut the case with
snap. ,s,..>~ 49,. .&.z s:~~zs
: Don't you let It. come to that, as
long as you have a leg to stand on,
David" he said impassively. IAN in
terregnum of ten days might make it
exceedingly difficult for us to prove
anything" Then, as the telegraph ONCE
watcher came to the; door and rshook
his head as a sign that Boston was
still silent: ''Your time Is up. on
with you, and don't let Oleson scare
you when he gets 219 in motion. He
Is good runner, and you have clear
track s.>-
kent's after-memory of that dis
tance-devouring rush was blurred
picture of "a plunging, rocking, clamor-
ing engine gounding over mile after
mile Of the brown plain; of the end
less dizzying procession of oncoming
telegraph poles hurting like great
side-aung projectiles past the cab
Windows; of now and then a lonely
prairie station with waving semaphore
arms, sighted, passed and left behind
in whirling sand-cloud in one and
the same heartbeat. And for the
central figure in the picture, the one
constant quantity when all else was
mutable and shifting and indistinct,
the big, calm-eyed Norwegian on the
opposite box, hurting his huge ma
chine doggedly through space.
But at Juniberg, 81 miles out of Cas-
ton, there was a delay. Train No. II,
the eastbound time freight, had left
Juniberg at one o'clock, having ampls
time to make Lesterville, the next sta
ton east, before the light engine could
possibly overtake it.. But Lesterville
had not yet reported it's arrival; for
which cause the agent at Juniberg
was constrained to put out his stop
signal, and Kent's special came to a
stand at the platform.
Under the circumstances, there ap-
peared to be nothing for it but to wait
until the delayed No. II was heard
from; and Kent's first care was to re-
port to Loring, and to ask If there
were anything from Boston.
The reply was encouraging. A COM
plete denial Of everything, signed by
the proper officials. had been received
and repeated to Kent at Gaston-was
there now awaiting him. Kent saw
in anticipation the nicely calculated
scheme OF the junto crumbling into
small dust in the precise moment OF
fruition, and had sharp attack Of
ante-triumph which he had to walk
of in turns up and down the long plat
fern. But as the waiting grew longer
and the dragging minutes totaled the
quarter hour and then the half, he be-
gan to perspire again. - -.s:s
p. Half-past two came and went, and
still there was no hopeful word from
Lesterville. Kent had speech with
Oleson, watch in hand. Would the en-
gineer take the risk Of a rear-end COL
lision on a general managers order?
Oleson would obey orders ii the heav-
ems fell; and Kent flew to the wire
again. Hunnicott, at CASTOR, was be-
sought to gain time in the hearing
by. any and all means; and Loring was
&h0AAON " 0ukAOAAAC lAC 44Sh VI q kC6aIo
end smash-up. He did it promptly.
The light engine was to go on until it
should ''pick up" the delayed train be-
tween stations - .-a:+ ,~--. Il
The Janiberg man gave Oleson his
release and the order to proceed with
due care while the sounder was still
clicking further communication from
headquarters. Loring was providing
for the last contingency by sending
Kent the authority to requisition No.
It's engine for the completion of the
run in case the track should be
blocked, with the freight engine free
beyond the obstruction.
Having his shackles striker of, the
Norwegian proceeded with due care"
which is to say that he sent the eight
wheeler darting down the line toward
Lesterville at the rate Of a mile a min
ute. The mystery Of the delay was
solved at point halfway between
the two stations. A broken flange had
derailed three cars of the freight and
the block was impossible. %~zs. :
Armed with the general managers
mandatory wire, Kent ran forward to
the engine OF the freight train and
was shortly on his way again. But in
the 20-mile run to CASTOR more time
was lost by the numbering freight To-
connective, and It was 20 minutes past
three o'clock when the county seat
came in sight and Kent began to oscil-
late between two sharp-pointed horns
Of cruel dilemma. e .2zs5.
. BY dropping OF ct the street crossing
nearest the courthouse. he might still
be in time to get.a hearing with such
documentary backing @ he had been