The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-10-02
CHAPTER XIV.
THE TERROR.

appointing him constable from the ken
Of those who were most anxious to
hear from him, was late in reporting.
But when he finally climbed the stair
Of the Crows Nest to tap at Lidger-
woods door he brought the first au-
ihentic news from the camp of the
enemy.
When McCloskey had come at push
Of the call button Lidgerwood snapped
the night latch on the corridor door.
LET US have it. Judson." be said
when the trainmaster had dragged his
chair into the circle Of light described
by the green cone shade of the desk
lamp. 1--WE have been wondering
what had become OF you"
Summarized, Judson's story was the
report Of an intelligent scout. Since
he was classed with the discharged
men he had been able to find out some
of the enemy's moves in the game Of
coercion. The strikers had transferred
their headquarters from the Celestial
to Cat Biggs' place, where the commit
tees, jealousy safeguarded- were now
sitting ''in permanence'' in the back
room.
From the barroom talk Judson had
gathered that the strikers knew moth
ing as yet of McCloskey's plan to keep
the trains moving and the wires alive;
hence unless the free flowing whisky
should precipitate matters there would
probably be no open outbreak before
AZ Int Ao hn
ever. the engineer had overheard
enough to convince him that the Copah
wire had been tapped; that Dix. the
day operator. had been either bribed or
intimidated and was now under guard
at the strikers headquarters and that
some important message had been in
tercepted which was, in Judson's
phrase, raising sand in the camp Of
the disaffected. This recurrence Of
the mysterious message. of which no
trace could be found in the headquar-
ters record. opened a fresh field Of
discussion, and it was McCloskey who
put his finger upon the only plausible
conclusion.
ut Is Hallock again." be rasped
HE is the only man who could have
used the private code. Dix probably
picked out the cipher. He's got a
weakness for such things. Hallock's
carrying double. He has fixed up
some trouble making message or faxed
one and signed your name to it and
then schemed to let it leak out
through Dix"
Its making the trouble. all right"
was Judson's comment. when ! left
Biggs' a few minutes ago Tryon was
calling for volunteers to come down
here and steal an engine. From what
he said l took 1t they were amin to
go over into the desert to tear up the
track and stop somebody or some
thing coming this way from Copah.
all on account of that make believe
message that you didn't send"
Thus far Judson's report had dealt
with facts But there were other
things deducible. He insisted that the
strength Of the insurrection did not
lie in the dissatisfied employees of the
Red Butte Western or even in the ex-
employees; 1t was rather In the law
less element of the town. which lived
and fattened upon the earnings OF the
railroad men. Moreover. it was GER
tain that some one high in authority
in the railroad service was furnishing
the brains. There was CHIEF to
whom all the malcontents deferred
and who figured In the barroom talk
as the "boss'' or the ''big boss"
"And that same big boss is sitting
up yonder In Cat Biggs' back room
right now givin' his orders and tellin
'em what to do" was Judson's crown
ing guess, and. since Hallock had not
been visible since the early afternoon
for the three men sitting under the
superintendent's desk lamp Judson's
inference stood as fact assured. Ii
was Hallock who had fomented the
trouble: 1t was Rallock who was now
directing 1t.
The trainmaster returned to his posi-
In the wire office, and Judson was sen'
back to Biggs' to renew his search fol
the hidden ringieader. Judson's re
port was grave enough, but it brought
O good hope that the crucial moment
might be postponed until many OF the
men would be too far gone in liquor &C
take any active part. Lidgerwood toos
the precautions made advisable by
Tryon's threat to steal an engine, send
ing word to Benson to double his
guards on the locomotives in the yaro
and to Dawson to block the turntabit
so that none might be taken from the
roundhouse.
Afterward he went out to look over
the field In person. Everything was
quiet, almost suspiciously so. Gridley
was found alone in his Office at the
shops smoking cigar. with his chair
tilted to comfortable angle and his
feet on the desk. His guards. he said
were posted in and around the shops
and he hoped they were not asleep
Thus far there had been little enough
to keep them awake.
Lidgerwood. passing out through the
door opening upon the electric lighted
yard. surprised a man in the act OF
turning the knob to enter. 1t was the
| merest incident. and he would not
have remarked it if the door, closing
behind Gridiey's visitor. had not bi
sected violent outburst OF profant
ty, yocalizing itself in the harsh tones
OF the master mechanic, as thus
You chuckIe headed fool. Haven
you any better sense than to come
With the impact of a blow Lidgerwoot
recogni the .chuckle headed fool
of Grid r,o rnaiodict;on uaS Rfcha RI