Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-24

Mr. Colbrifi7s appontee YOU know-not
an elected officer. And what Mr.. Colbrith
has done ne may be induced to undo.
Adair has been my hacker in everything.
but while he is the best fellow IN the
world. he is continually warning me that
he may lose interest in the game at any
minute and drop it. He doesn't care
rap for the money-makng part OF It
doesn't have to-
Wouldn't Adair be a good safety safety
switch to throw in front of Mr.. North
and MacMorrogh in New York;"
Ford nodded II thought of that last
night and sent wire. Wen hear from II
today"
Frsbie ate through the remainder of the
breakfast in silence. Afterward, at the
pipe lighting ne asked If Ford's wire in
structions OF the night before Still held
good.
"They do the emphatic reply
I'VE go on just as if nothing had hap
pened or was due to happen. You say
your man Crapsey will be in this morn
ing. Gather up your laborers and turn
the Plug Mountain into a standard gauge
railroad while We wait That's all, DICK;
all but one word-huStle.
Hustle it is. But say. you were going
to give me a pointer on that broad gauS-
ing I've been stewing over it for day
and night and I don't think of any
scheme that won't stop the traffic
Don't you? That is because you
haven't mulled over it as long as have.
In the first place. you have no curves TO
straighten and no crossties to relay-our
predecessors having set the good exam
ple of using standard-length ties for their
three foot road. String your men out in
gangs as far as they'll go and swing the
three-foot track. as whole. ten incheS
out of center to the left. You can do
that without stopping trains, can't you?'
Sure
IAN right. When you swing. spike the
right-hand rail lightly. Then string your
gangs again and set line of spikes for
the outside of the standard-gauge right
hand rail straight through 10 Saints
Rest. Got that?'
Yes. 1 guess I've got it all. But go
on
Now YOU are ready for the grand
stand play. Call in all your narrow
gauge rolling stock mass your men at
this end of the branch. shove the right
hand rail over to the line of gauge
spikes in sections as long as your force
will cover. and follow up with standard
gauge construction train to pick up the
men and carry them forward fast as
section is completed. If you work II
Systematically. freight train could leave
Denver two hours behind your track
gangs and find practical standard gauge
all the way to Saints Rest.
"Of course,' said Frisbie. in workman
like disgust for his own obtuSeneSs. Il m
going back to the tech when your rail-
road is finished and learn few things
couldn't think of anything but the old
Erie railroad scheme. when 1t was mar
rowed down from the six-foot gauge.
They did it in one night. but they had a
man to every second crosstie over the
whole four hundred miles from New
York to Buffalo,
Ford nodded. adding:
'.And we're not that rich in labor. By
the Way how are the men coming?"
~ carload or two every little while.
Say. Stuart. you must have had rab-
bits foot with you when you touched up
the eastern labor agencies. Every other
railroad In the neck of woods Is skinned.
and McGrath is having the time of his
life trying to hold our levies together
There is a small army of them under
canvas at Saints Rest. waiting for the
contractors. and another with between
two and three hundred hands camped at
the mouth of the canyon"
Ford knocked the ashes from his pipe
SO hard that the pipestem fell in two.
Yes: all waiting on Mr. colbriths
Plug Mountain. That will utilize some
of the waste for few days"
Frisbie went down to the Plug Mountain
yard office. and to a wire end, to begin
the marshaling of his forces: and Ford,
with three picked-up stenographers to
madden him. took up the broken threads
of his correspondence with world which
seemed to have become suddenly peopled
to suffocation with eager sellers of rail-
road material and supplies.
Late in the afternoon. when he was
tired enough to feel the full force of the
blow a New York telegram came. 1t
was from Miss Alicia Adair. and Ford
groaned in spirit when he read it.
Brother left here yesterday in the
Vanderdecken yacht for Nova Scotia.
Cannot reach him by telegraph until next
Friday or Saturday. Aunt Hester wants
to Know If there is anything she can do"
One way to save mans life at crisis
is to appeal to his sense of humor. Miss
Alicia's closing sentence did that for
Ford. and he was smiling grimly when
he put the telegram away. not in the
business file. but in his pocket.
Three days later however, when Frsbe
was half way to Saints Rest with his
preliminary track swinging, another New
York telegram found Ford in his newly
established quarters in the Guaranty
building. This was from some one acting
as President Colbrith's secretary. and its
wording was conciSely mandatory.
Contract has been awarded MacMor-
rogh Brothers. President directs that you
afford contractors every facility, and that
you confer with Mr.. North in all cases
of doubt