The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1914-02-12

I get the price,
"'That's all right. You've put the
spirit into me. and I'll see you through
Can you run an engine? Good: Ill
take the wheel. and the others II fire
It's going to be risky work. though
You won't back out, eh?'
Freddy" interrupted Billings here
loudly with a snort of disgust. while
Bitter Root" ran his fingers through
his hair before continuing. Martin
was listening intently.
1.-THE old man arranged to have a
squad of cops on all the bridges. and
l begin anticipating hilarities for next
day. '"r
1.-The news got out, of course,
through the secrecies Of police head.
quarters. and when we ran up the river
for our tow it looked like every striker
west Of Pittsburg had his family on
the docks to see the barbecue, accom-
panied by enough cobblestones and
scrap iron to ballast a battleship. All
we got going up was repartee. but ]
figgered we'd need armor getting back,
1--WE passed hawser to the Detroit.
and turned the gas into the tug.
blowing for the Wells street bridge.
Then war began. leans out the door
just in time to see the mob charge the
bridge. The cops dubbed 'em back,
while roar went up from the docks
and roof tops that was like bad
dream. l couldn't see her move none,
though, and old man Badrich blowed
again. expurgating himself of as mob.
by a line of cuss words as youth mus
ter outside the cattle belt.
"'Soak en- yells. Give 'em all the
arbitration you've got handy. If she
don't open. we'll jump her. and ! let's
out another notch. SO that we went
blowing and boiling toward the draw.
1T looked like we'd have to hurdle
it sure enough. but the police beat
the crowd back just in time. She
wasn't clear open, though. and our
barge caromed of the spiles. 1t was
like a niger butting a, persimmon tree
we ratified of a shower Of missiles
like an abornmal hailstorm. Talk
about your coast defense; they heaved
at us from bad names to
iron, and we lost all our win
dow glass the first after. while the
looked like a pretzel with
cramps.
when we scraped through I looked
back with pity at the Detroit's crew.
She hadn't any wheelhouse, and the
helmsman was due to get all the at
tention that was coming to him.
They'd built up barrlcade of potato
sacks. chicken coops and bric-a-brac
around the wheel that protected 'em
but even while l watched
some Polack filtered brick through
anu aid out the quartermaster cold,
and he was drug of. Oh, it was re-
fined and aesthetic! :" rs
well. we run the gantlet, present
ed every block with stuff ranging in
tensile strength from insults to asphalt
pavements and noise. Say, all the
racket in the world was a whisper.
l caught q glimpse Of the old man
leaning out Of the pilothouse where
a window had been. bis white hair
bristly and his nostrils h'isted, embel-
fishing the air with surprising flights
Of gleeful profanity.
'Hooray. this is livingr he yells.
spying me shoveling the deck. out from
under the junk Best scrap I've had
in years. And just then some base
ball player throwed in from center
field, catching him in the neck with
tomato. Gee, that mans an honor to
the faculty Of speech!
II was doing bully till cobblestone
bounced into the engine room, making
a billiard with my off knee. Then |
got kind Of peevish.
Rush street bridge is the last one,
and they'd massed there on both sides.
like fleas on a razorback. Thinks l.
If we make it through here. we've
busted the strike and | glances back
at the Detroit just in time to see her
crew pulling their captain into the
deck house limp and bleeding. The
barricade was all knocked to pieces,
and they'd funked absolute. Don't
blame 'em much either, as it was sure
death to stand out in the open under
the rain Of stuff that come from the
bridges. OF course with no steering
she commenced to swing of, l yells:
"'Grab that wheel! Grab it quick!
Wen hit the bridgev But it was like
def and dumb talk in boiler shop.
while wilder howl went up from the
water front as they seen what they'd
done and smelled victory.
We've got one chance thinks l.
but IL she strikes we're gone. They'll
swamp us sure. and all the police in
Cook county won't save enough for to
hold services on Then ] throwed
look at the opening ahead and the pes:
simisms froze in me.
II forgot all about the resiliency Of
brickbats and the table manners OF
riots, for there, on top Of bunch of
spiles. cam. masterful and bloated
with perjuries. was oily Heegan. die
tating the disposition of his forces. the
light Of victory in his shifty little eyes.
""Ten dollars and COSTS! shrieks.
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