The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-11

"HOUGH Lidgerwood had been
 up for the better part of two
 nights and the day intervening,
 \ it was apparent to at least one member of the headquarters force that he did not go to bed immediately after the arrival of the service car fHom the west, the proof being freshly typed telegram which Operator Dix found impaled upon his sending hook when he came on duty in the dispatcher's of flee at o'clock in the morning.
 The message was addressed to Leck- hard, superintendent of the Parnfkfn division of the Pacific Southwestern system, at Copah. It was in cipher, and 1t contained two uncodifed words Fort" and "McCook"-which small circumstances set Dix to thinking, Fort McCook being the army post, twelve miles as the crow flies. down the Pannikin from Copah.
 Now, Dix was not one of the rebels. On the contrary, he was one of the few loyal telegraphers who had prom ised McCloskey to stand by the Lidger- wood management in case the rebel lion grew into an organized attempt to tie up the road. But the young man had for his chief weakness prying curiosity which had led him in times past to experiment with the private of flee code until he had finally discover ed the key to it.
 Hence, a. little while after the send ing of the Leckhard message, Calla- han, the train dispatcher, hearing an emphatic Gee whiz!" from Dix's cor ner, looked up from his train sheet to say, What hit you, brother!
 Nothing" said Dix shortly, but Cal lahan observed that he was hastily folding and peeketing the top sheet of the pad uponswhich he had been writ ing. Dix went off duty at Il, his sec ond trick beginning at in the after noon. It was between 3 and 4 when McCloskey. having strengthened his defenses in every way he could devise, rapped at the door of his chiefs sleep ing room. Fifteen minutes later Lid gerwood joined the trainmaster in the private office.
 "I couldn't let you sleep any longer" McCloskey began apologetically, "and l don't know but you'll give me what for as it is. Things are thickening up pretty fast"
 "Put me in touch," was the com mand.
 "All right I'll begin at the front end. Along about 10 o'clock this nTr Tn Thor r191 kho of the Copperette, came down to see Mir Brewster. He gave the president long song and dance about the tough trail and the poor accommodations for a pleasure party up at the mine, and the upshot of it was that MT. Brew alone, leaving the party in the Nadia here'
 Lidgerwood let it go at that for the moment. The thing was done, and 1t could not be undone. McCloskey went on with his report. his hat tilted to the bridge of his nose.
 Taking it for granted that you mean to fight this thing to cold finish. I've done everything l could think of. Thanks to Williams and Bradford ana a few others like them, we can count on good third of the trainmen, and I've got about the same proportion O. the opera tors in line for us. .Takin. advantage of the twenty-four hour no tice the strikers gave us. I've scat tered these men of ours east and yves on the day trains to the points where the trouble will hit us at 12 o'clock tonight"
 ''Goodp' said Lidgerwood briefly. How will you handle it?"
 Tt will handle itself, barring too many broken heads. At midnight in every important office where striker throws down his pen and grounds his wire one of our men will walk in and keep the ball rolling, and on every