Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-11-26

MAD WITH THE HEAT
BY soeeRroN FRANKLIN.

The sounder called, in Wilkes laz
way-Wilkes up the line at Bradford
and Belcher awoke from his doze an,
answered.
Seen the PRESIDENT" inquired hi
sounder.
Belcher licked back that he had no,
and inquired II there was any news.
The sounder said: "old mans eithe
gone through on one of the fast train
O is going through. Stop his train an,
thank him for me. Now. shut up!"
Belcher snarled as he turned ava,
from the table. That was Wilkes
facetious way Of saying Good morn
ing" over the telegraph wire. II mad,
him tired.
Everything made Belcher tired. HI
rose YEARLY and shufled out to the lit
tie platform Of Raynor station. Twelve
years of looking at that platform hat
made him dead tired.
oh, yes, II was unusually warm thai
day, Belcher reflected. as he glanced al
the thermometer and noted that, in the
shade, it stood Just 1l4i 1t was hot
enough to make a man sit down again
so Belcher sat oil the edge OF the plat
form. his face in his dry palms.
Poor old Belcher, At thirty he looked
forty, and felt fifty. He had entered
the ", & E. service, right here al
Raynor. when eighteen years of age, a
graduated telegrapher, at $12 a week.
He had also assumed the duties oil
station, freight and express agent,
porter, ticket agent. track-walker and
information bureau to the two or three
dozen who detrained there monthly
And he still earned s12 O week.
Not that he had o been buoyant
and ambitious at first. Why. at first
he would have bet ten years of his ex.
istence that he'd be chief train-dis.
patcher. at the very least, by this
time. But the monotony OF the thing,
n heat in summer and the cold in
winter. the twice-a-day tramp, with the
station and Benker's shabby farm
house at the respective ends. had
worked into Belcher.
His head had a queer feeling. He
rubbed it stupidity. Probably it was the
heat; Belcher didn't care much. He
only wished he had the president sit
ting there in that soundless hell, to
talk things ever and say that he was
sorry the matter hadn't been attended
to before, and that he'd raise Belcher
at least five dollars at once. II he
didn't say that, Belcher had a notion
that he'd throttle him.
With another groan, Belcher shut.
ned to the end of the platform and ex-
tracted from the closet something of
MS W contrivance-a sledge and a
strip OF iron, with a small spike at
either end. Whether he felt lazy or
not, he'd have to pull together that
crack In the tie next the switch and
keep ii from spreading wide open be-
fore the track repairers finally worked
around to replacing the tie-some
seventy or eighty years hence.
YEARLY, he shufied across the track
and looked the thing over. Yes. about
two weeks more. or a good rain. and
thereid be enc tie silt in two and a
loose rail.
There was no way of fixing It, for
the mechanism of that particular
switch. locked or open, usually de-
clineo 10 operate with anything less
than d hammer. and now 1t was twist.
ed ai'i broken to bits. Still more. the
morning express ran on mighty close
time. And .
What the dickens are o doing ,-
a loud voice buzzed into his spinning
brain.
Beicher turned quickly. He stared.
lie stared harder still! As certainly as
he breathed. it was President Bullion.
oiack-clad, puffy. red-faced. the very
gentleman With whom Belcher had
wanted TO ho5aob-or slaughter!
That was deliberate destruction OF
the corapanJ's property" Numbered
the bulky nan II saw it"
Monentariiy he saw more. Bel
cher's hard FIST struck him in the re-
sion CT the solar plexus, and he
sprawled backward. with the lone sta.
tion.agent doing a wild war dance
over him.
Mr.. Button did not struggle. For
the time he was altogether too dazed
Belchcr stepped back and laughed
somewhat wildly. Inspiration had
fairly blasted into his dulled brain.
There was his strip OF iron to hold
the tie together: there Mas his sledge;
there was Buttons motionless foot
and ankle. laid mathematically along
the tie.
In five seconds Belcher was down
on his knees and had the spiked strip
clapped over the silk-shod ankle. In
another Eve seconds the spikes them.
selves ve.e driven fast.
Bclcher tossed the sledge a dozen
fee. away ard grinned at his captive
grirncd for a minute only. He sobered
quito suddenly. To be sure he had
BuIlicn r'nned down in such fashion
that lie xas in no danger whatever,
Tor tic switch was locked at both
ENDS: but-the two trains.
His head cleared up curiously, and