Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1907-03-29

ed 10. Since Hart knew, there must oe
others also who knew.
He took up the newspaper clippings
again. By an odd coincidence they hau
reached him on the very day the gov
ernor OF Massachusetts had set apart
FOR his fathers release.
CHAPTER II.
~ AKLEY drew down the top OF
his desk and left the office. Be
fore locking the door, on which
~ some predecessor had caused
the words, Department Of Transpor'
tation and Maintenance; No Admit
tance Except on Business" TO be stem
ciled in black letters, he called to Nc
Clintock, who, with Dutch Pete, was
still fussing over the wheezy switch en-
gine.
"Wlll you want in the office for any
thing MiltY
The master mechanic, who had been
swearing at a rusted nut, got up from
his knees and, dangling a big wrench
in one hand, bawled back, NO, | guess
not"
After turning the key on the depart
ment of transportation and maiate-
nance, Oakley crossed the tracks to the
station and made briskly of uptown,
with the wind and rain blowing In his
face.
He lived at the American House, the
-. I..oI bn ,,Iana nott11 hoaCf
In Antioch Oakley was something of
a figure. He was the first manager OF
the road to make the town his perma-
nent headquarters, and the town was
grateful. 1t would have swamped him
with kindly attention, but he had studi-
Ously ignored all advances, preferring
not to make friends. In this he had
not entirely succeeded. The richest
man in the county, DR.. Emory, who
was a good deal of patrician, had
taken fancy to him and had insisted
upon entertaining him at formal din
ner. 1t was the most impressive func
ton Oakley had ever attended, and
even to think of 1t still sent the cold
chills coursing down his spine.
That morning he had CHANGED to
meet DR.. Emory on the street, and the
doctor, who could always be trusted TO
say exactly what he thought, had TAX
en- him TO task for not calling There
was reason why Oakley had not done
SO. The doctors daughter had just re-
turned from the east, and vague ru-
mors were current concerning her
beauty and elegance. Now, women
were altogether beyond Oakley's ken.
However, since some responsive cour
tesy was evidently expected of him, he
determined to have 1t over with at
once. Imbued with this idea, he went
to his room after supper to dress. As
he arrayed himself for the ordeal he
sought to recall past experience in
line with the present Barring the re-
cent dinner, his most ambitious social
experiment had been brakeman's
ball in Denver years before when he
was conductor on a freight.
1t was still raining. IA discouragingly
persistent drizZle. when Oakley left
his hotel and turned from the public
square into Main street This Main
street was never an Imposing thor
oughfare, and week OF steady down
pour made II from curb to curb a river
of quaklng mud. 1t was lit at long in
tervals by fickering gas lamps that
glowed like corpulent firefles in the
misty darkness beneath the dripping
maple boughs. As in the case of most
western towns, Antioch had snown
dreams OF greatness. dreams which |
had not been realized 1t stood stock |
still in all its raw, ugly youth, with the |
rigid angularty its founders had i'm
posed upon II when they hacked and |
hewed n spot for it in the pine woods.
whose stunted second growth encrcled
II on every side.
The Emory home had once been a
Of the better class Vari-