Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-07-12

group broad shouldered swarthy.
Aeetle browed fellow was franticaliy
gesticulating to emphasize his re-
marks, remarks which the two men
in the office could not hear but which
caused their brows to furrow anx-
iously.
Brown Joe's at it agin," muttered
the foreman as though to himself,
and he's got the right of it this time
l tell you, Mr.. Payne, I'd rather have
rattler sleeping with me than a
mouthy workman. Get rid of that
fellow and do 1t quick. Look at him."
Payne slowly nodded and turned
back to his desk He had only been
brought to realization of the serious
ness of the situation by certain pangs
In his own stomach after being nause-
ated by the sight and smell Of the food
placed before him on the breakfast
table. Bad it had been for a long
tlme now and worse it was steadily
And the sight of those men listen
ing to the notorious agitator as we'll
as the wild gestures with which the
man brought home his points, the sig
nifcantly bowed shoulders as they in
clined their heads that they might lis
ten more closely-truly, Pat Grady
had done well to warn him.
He glanced at his watch and felt
a little tremor of anticipatory fear as
he noted the noon hour was upon him.
There had been open mutterings this
morning. II the food had not i'm.
proved for dinner, what would those
mutterings become? For a half days
labor in the oil wells is not conducive
to making ones appetite dainty or
Dlro-llke. The situation must be i'm
proved and that Immediately. II only
he could gain little time.
AS the whistle summoned the men
from their work he waited for them in
the shack, watching them being seated
at the long table. noting the furrowed
orows, the somber eyes. the signifl-
canoe OF their steady scrutiny of
Brown Joe, seated next himself. That
there was something afoot he could
not doubt. What that something was
ne mad no means of knowing or of
opposite side the table winked signifi-
cantly as he caught his eye, winked
and then resumed his steady glare at
Brown Joe.
The cook entered, heavily laden
with couple of steaming plates
There was something savory looking
about that steam, but the look was
dispelled almost instantly by the ran
cid odor that percolated through it.
AS that smell sifted through the room
there came no answering sign of in
from the men. Only their |
eyes glowed a bit more angrily and |
the tightened lips of them dug little |
burrows that spelt danger down the |
sides OF their faces. Payne followed |
the direction of their silent, steady
gaze and shivered a bit despite him
self, as he caught the sneering, veno-
nous expression on the face Of Brown
Joe-Brown Joe to whom they all evil
IDENTIFY looked to as their leader?
None Of the customary rattle of
"a har
ing of teeth in mastication; none of
the signs and grunts of voracious men
piling into the fuel that would replen-
ish the heavy fires that must needs
keep burning within them to keep the
furnace going for the days work:
none of the satisfaction Of men we'll
fed; nothing but steady, menacing
silence, silence that got upon his
nerves and made him want to grapple
with the situation he felt was in
evitably upon him.
AS the cook placed a steaming plate
before Brown Joe, the young superin-.
tendent strained forward, every muscle
knew instinctively had reached
crisis. But even as his fists balled,
even as a hoarse cry OF rage broke
from Pat Grady's throaI. the swarthy,
evil-eyed fellow looked at the unsav-
ory mess before him. lifted the plate
dS lnOuBn 10 SnlII lIS contents, Inen
hurled it sQuarely in the cooks face
AS the fellow staggered back, dig
ging wildly at eyes and ears and nose
to wipe the stuff away, Brown Joe
lunged forward. But not so quickly
that he escaped the heavy right hand
swing of the foreman. Grady, quick
to take advantage of the mans stag
ger backward was instantly upon him.
For a second Payne felt himself
glued to the spot, unable to grasp the
full significance of what had hap
pened. AS he threw himself beside
his foreman, swinging with both fists,
the men lunged forward en- masse. In a
second the mess hall was a shambles.
Chairs, dishes, tables were hurled
aside like straws before the brutal
ferocity OF the enraged crew. Wild
with the delight of combat, Grady fol-
lowed up his advantage. infiicting fear
full punishment upon Brown Joe, re-
gardless of the fact that he was get
ting into the open, where the fellows
supporters would make easy work of
him.
Slipping upon the messes of food,
stumbling over the wreck OF the hall,
they threw themselves upon him,
swallowing him up as in whirlpool.
Payne tried to fight his way through
that jam, only finding each effort sent
him further away. There was a muir
derous note in the hoarse gutturais OF
the men.
(ooNTINUED ToMoRRow.)