Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-05-30
CHAPTER XVII.
THE NIGHT OF ALARMS.

II Editor Hildreth had said moth
ing in his evening edition about the
impending strike on the Trans West
ern, II was not because public interest
was waning. For "a fortnight the
newspapers in the territory tributary
to the road had been full Of strike talk.
and Hildreth had said his say. depre-
eating the threatened appeal to force
as fearlessly as he condemned the
mismanagement which was provoking
It.
BIT II was Kent who was RESPONSE
BILE for the dearth Of news on the eve
of the event Early In the morning
Of the last day of the month he had
sought out the editor and begged him
to close the columns Of the Evening
Argus to strike news, no matter what
should come in during the course OF
the day.
81 can't 60 into the reasons as
deeply now as hope to little later"
he had said, his secretive habit hold
ing good to the final fathom Of the
slipping hawser Of events. But you
must bear with me once more, and
whatever you hear between now and
the time you 60 to press, don't COM
ment on it. I have one more chance
to win out, and 1t hangs in balance
that feathers weight might tip the
wrong way. I'll be with you between
10 and IL tonight, and you can
safely save two columns Of the morn
ing paper for the sensation I'm going
to give you" ........ ...
1t was in fulfillment Of this promise
that Kent bestirred himself after he
had sent a wire to Ormsby, and MTosh
had settled down to the task OF
smoothing Callahan's way westward
over q division already twitching In
the preliminary rigor Of the strike
convulsion.
'T am going to set the fuse for the
newspaper explosion" he said to his
ally. Barring accidents. there is no
reason why we shouldn't begin to
figure definitely upon the result, Is
there?" = .
M'Tosh was leaning over Dispatch
er Donahue's shoulder. He had
slipped Donahue's fingers aside from
the key to cut in with peremptory,
&c. S." order suspending. in favor Of
the fast mail, the rule which requires
station operator to drop his board
on following section that is less than
ten minutes behind its file-leader.
"The fun Is beginning" said the
train-master. Fischer has his tip
from Durgan to keep Callahan's tall
lights in sight. With the mail tread
ing on their heels the gentlemen in
the Naught-seven will be chary about
pulling Patsy down too suddenly in
mid career. They have just passed
Morning Dew, and the operator re-
ports fischer for disregarding his
slow signal"
Cant you fix that?" asked Kent.
"Oh, yes; that is one Of the things
can fix. But there are going to be
plenty of Others"
still We must take something for
granted. Mr.. M'Tosh. What have to
do uptown won't wait until Callahan
has finished his run. I thought the
main difficulty was safely overcome"
| "Umph!" said the train-master;
"the troubles are barely getting them
selves born. You must remember that
we swapped horses at the last minute.
We were ready for the race to the east
Everybody on the Prairie Division had
been notified that special was to go
through tonight without stop from
Lesterville to A. & T. junction"
"Well?"
"Now we have 1t all to straighten
out by wire on another division:
meeting points to make, slow trains
to side-track, fool operators to hold
down; all on the dizzy edge Of a strike
that is making every man on the line
lose his balance But you go ahead
with your newspaper business. I'll
do what a man can here. And II you
come across that right-of-way agent,
wish you'd make II case Of assault
and battery and get him locked up.
I'm leery about him."
| Kent went his way obviously re-
Elective. In the moment of triumph,
when Durgan had announced the sue
cess of the bold change in the pro-
gramme, he had made light Of Hawks
escape But now he saw possibilities.
True, the junto was leaderless for the
moment, and Bucks had no very able
lieutenants. But Hawk would give the
alarm; and there was the rank and file
of the machine to reckon with. And
for weapons. the ring controlled the
police power of the state and of the
city. Let the word be passed that the
employees OF the Trans-Western were
kidnapping their receiver and the gov
ernor. and many things might happen
before Red" Callahan should finish
his long race to the westward.
Thinking Of these things, David Kent
walked uptown when he might have
taken a car When the toxin of panic
is in the air there is no antidote like
vigorous action.
Passing the Western Union central
Office, he stopped to send Ormsby a
second telegram, reporting progress
and asking him to be present in per-
son at the denouement to put the facts
on the wire at the earliest possible
instant of time. Everything depends
upon this" he added, when he had
made the message otherwise emphatic.
"If we miss the morning papers, we are
done"
While he was pocketing his change
at the receiving clerks pigeon-hole, a
cab ratified up with horse at gal
lop, and Stephen Hawk sprang out.
Kent saw him through the plate-glass
front and turned quickly to the public
writing desk, hoping to be overlooked.
He was. For once in q way the ex-
district attorney was too nearly ratified
to be fully alert to his surroundings.
There were others at the standing