Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-11-12

saw its long deferred opportunity and
grasped it, Long purses might be
lacking, but not shrewd heads. The
unfinished Plug Mountain was i'm.
mediately bonded for more than it
ever promised to be worth, and in the
hottest heat of the forwarding strife
it was extended at the rate of mile
a day until the welcome screech of its
locomotive whistles was added to the
perfervid clamor of the new camp in
the Plug Pass basin.
The goal reacher, the Denver folk
took fresh leaf out of the book Of
shrewdness. Holding the completed
line only long enough to skim the
cream Of the rush earnings, they sold
their stock at sound premium to the
Pacific Southwestern, pocketed their
winnings cannily and escaped short
half-year before the slump in silver,
and the consequent collapse Of Saints
Rest came to establish the future
Waterloo for Napoleonic young super
intendents in the Southwestern's SER
vice.
This was all ancient history when
Ford left the Granger road TO climb.
at President Colbrith's behest. into
the Plug Mountain saddle; and
round half-dozen Of the young Napol-
cons had been open-eyed, he had not
stopped to specialize in the ancient
history of the Plug Mountain branch.
When he did specialize his point of
view was pretty clearly defined in a
letter to Mr. Richard Frisbie, of st.
Paul. written after he had been for six
months the master Of the Plug Noun
| tain destinies.
I'm up against it. good and solid
was the way he phrased it to Frisbie.
my hundred and fifty miles of two
streaks Of rust and right-of way
has never paid net dollar since the
boom broke at Saints Rest, and under
present conditions it never will. If
had known the history of the road
when President Colbrith went fishing
for meas | didn't wouldn't have
touched the Job with ten-foot pole.
But now I'm here, I'm going to do
something with my two slreaks of
rust to make them pay-make spoon
or spoil a horn Just what shall be
done I haven't decided fully. but
have notion in the back part of my
head, and if it works out, I shall need
you first Of all Will you come?
Have I told you in any of my
earlier letters that I have personally
earned the ill-will of General Manager
North? l have. and it is distinct from
and in addition to his hostility for the
unearning branch for which ! am re-
sponsible. I'm sorry for 1t, because |
may need his good word for my in
choate scheme later on. 1t came up
over some maintenance-of-way charges.
He is as shrewd as he is unscrupulous.
and he knows we'll how to pile the sins
of the congregation on the back of the
poor scape-coat. To make a better
showing for the main line. and at the
same time to show what a swilling pig
the Plug Mountain is, he had the
branch charged up with a lot of
material we didn't get Naturally, I
] protested-and was CURLY told to
mind my own business, which had no
ramifications reaching into the &C.
counting department. Then threaten
ed to carry it over his head to Presi-
dent Colbrith; whereupon I gained
my point temporarily, and lost pos
sible stepping-stone to success.
None the less, ! am going to win
out if it costs me the best year of
my life. I'm going to swing to this
thing till I make something out of it.
if I have to put in some more winters
/ like the one l have just come through
which was Sheol with ice and snow
in the place of the traditional fire and
birthstone. If have one good quality
as I sometimes Doubts the in
ability to know when I am salts
/ factorily and permanently licked"
Stuart Ford was shivering through
the second of the winters on the gray.
needle winded day when he stood
on the crusted drift, heartening his
men who were breaking the way for
further rammings OF the scrapheap
206 and her box-plow. During the
summer which lay behind the pitiless
storms ami the blockading SHOWS he
had explored and planned, studied
and schemed; and now month of
! touches preparatory upon the mo
ton" limited at in the letter to F'ris-
bic.
''That1l do, boys; we'll let Gallagher
hit it a few times now" he sang out,
when he saw that the weaker ones
among the shovelers were stumbling
numbly and throwing wild Get back
to the car and thaw yourselves out"
The safety valve of the FOG was slut
tering under a gratifying increase Of
steam pressure when the superintend-
ent climbed to the canvas-shrouded
cab.
"Ha! two hundred and fifty pounds!
That looks little more like it,
Michael. Now get all the run you can
and hit her straight from the Shout
der he ordered, mounting to his seat
on the fireman's box and bracing him
self for what should come
Gallagher released the driver-brakes
and let the 200 and the pillow drift
down the grade until his tender draw
head touched the laborers' car. Then
the reversing lever went forward and
the steam squealed shrilly in the dry
pipe For thunderous second Or two
the driving-wheels slipped and whirled
futilely on The snowy rails. Gallagher
pounced upon the sand lever, whereat
the tires suddenly bit and held and a
long.drawn, fre-tearing exhaust
sobbed from The stack