Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-04-12
CHAPTER XXvII.
THE NIGHT OF. ALARMS.

If Editor Hildreth had said noth- ing in his evening edition about the impending strike on the Trans-West- ern, it was not because public interest was waning. For 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 whish was provoking 1t.
 But it was Kent who was responsi- ble 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.
 'I can't go into the reasons as deeply now as I hope to little later" he had said, his secretive habit hold ing good to the fipal 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 go to press, don't com- ment on 1t. I have one more chance to win out, and it hangs in a balance that a feathers weight might tip the wrong way. I'll be with you between 10 and .12 tonight, and you can safely save two columns of the morn ing paper for the sensation I'm going to give you"
 It was in fulfillment of this promise that Kent bestirred himself after he had sent wire to Ormsby. and M'Tosh had settled down to the task of smoothing Callahan's way westward over a 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 nc reason why we shouldn't begin tc figure defsitely upon the result, is there?"
 M'Tosh was leaning over Dispatch CT Donahue's shoulder. He had slipped Donahue's fingers aside from the key to cut in with a peremptory "G. S." order suspending, in favor oI the fast mail, the rule which require: a station operator to drop his board on a following section that is less thar ten minutes behind it's file-leader.
 The fun is beginning" said thu train-master. "Tischer has his tiI from Durgan to keep Callahan's tail lights in sight With the mail tread ing on their heels the gentlemen ir the Naught-seven will be chary abou' pulling Patsy down too suddenly fir mid career. They have just passed Morning Dew, and the operator re ports Fischer for disregarding hi sloN signal"
 Cant you fix that?" asked Kent
 "Oh. yes; that is one of the thing: I can fix. But there are going to b. plenty of others"
 still We must take something fol granted. Mir. M'Tosh- What I have t' do uptown won't wait until Callahan has finished his run. I thought thi main difficulty was safely overcome.
 "Umph," said the train-msster ''the troubles are barely getting them selves born. You must remember tha we swapped horses at the last minute We were ready for the race 10 the east Everybody on the Prairie Division hat been notified that a special vas to E' through tonight without stop iron LesterTiIle to A. G T. junction"
 "weIlz-
 Now ve have it all to straighter out by wire on another division meeting points to make. slow train to side-track. fool operators to bOl' down. all on the dizzy edge of strik that is making every man on the lin loss his balance. But you go shea, with your newspaper business IT do what a man can here And if yo' come across that right-of-vsy agent | wish you'd make it case Of sssaul and battery and get him locked uE Tin 1eery about him
 Kent vent his vzy dutiousiy re sectfrs- In the moment Of triumph when D1rEsn had er1ounred the sue cess of the bold change i1 the pro ] Erzrue. hs had made IEEts of Hazki
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