The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-08-04


could get his small garrison together
and send 1t, with McCloskey for its
leader, 10 re-cnforce the shop guard,
which was presumably fighting des-
perately for the control of the power
plant and the fire pumps.
Only McCloskey's protest and his
own anxiety for the safety of the Ma
dia's company kept Lidgerwood from
leading the little relief column of 10y
al trainmen and headquarters clerks
I'm person. The lust of battle was in
his blood, and for the time the shrink
ing palsy of physical fear held aloof.
When the sally OF the trainmaster
and his forlorn hope squad had left the
office story of the headquarters build
ing almost deserted IL was the force
Of mere mechanical habit that sent
Lidgerwood back to his room to close
his desk before going down to order
the Nadia out OF the zone of immediate
danger. There was chair In his way.
and in the darkness and in his haste
he stumbled over It, When he recov-
cred himself two men with handker-
chief masks over their faces were en-
tering from the corridor, and as he
turned at tho sound of their footsteps
they sprang upon him.
For the first remember3ble time I'm
his life Howard Lidgerwood met the
challenge of violence joyfully, with
every muscle and nerve singing tho
battle song and huge willingness to
slay or be slain arming him for the
hand to hand struggle. Twice he drove
the lighter of the two to the wall with
well planted blows, and once he got
n deadly wrester's hold on the tall man
and would have killed him If the free
accomplice had not torn his locked fin
gers apart by main strength. But it
was two against one, and when 1t was
over the conflagration light reddening
the southern windows sufIiced for the
knotting of the piece of hemp lashing
with which the two masked garroters
were binding their victim in his chair.
Meanwhile the pandemonium raging
at the shops was beginning to surge
backward into the railway yard Some
one had fired box car, and the upblaze
centered a fresh fury of destruction.
Up at the head of the three sectioned
freight train a mad mob was cutting
the leading locomotive free.
Dawson. crouching In the round
house door directly opposite, knew all
that Judson could tell him, and he in
stantly OWNED the purpose of the en-
nina fhfnUna ov-ftA 20
send the freight engine eastward on
the desert division main line to collide
with and wreck whatever coming
thing 1t was that they feared.
The threatened deed wrought itself
out before the craftsman could even
attempt to prevent It. A man sprang
to the footboard Of the freed locomo-
tive, Jerked the throttle open, stayed
at the levers long enough to hook up
to the most effective cutoff for speed
and jumped for his life.
Dawson was deliberate, but not slow
witted. While the abandoned engine
was as yet only gathering speed for
The eastward dash he was lodging the
rioters in the yard, racing
for the only available To-
ready and headed to chase
The runaway-namely, the big eight
coupled to the presidents car.
He set the switch to the main line as
he passed It, but there was no time to
lncouple the engine from the private
ar, even If he had been willing to
cave the woman he loved and those
With her helpless in the midst Of the
'ioting.
SO there was no more than a gasped
tut word to Williams as he climbed to-
he cab before the eight wheeler, with
he Nadia In tow. shot away from tho
rows Nest platform. And It was not
lntii the car was growing angrily
'ver the yard limit switches that Van
lew burst into the central compart-
nent like man demented to demand
xcitedly Of the three women who
we're clinging, terror stricken, to Judge
Iolcombe:
who has seen Miss Eleanor? Where
Miss Eleanor?"