Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1917-07-04

give a bond"
Williams took his defeat. if it could
be called a defeat, without further
protest.
81 thought it might not be amiss TO
talk 1t over with you" he said. you
say 1t is impossible. and perhaps it is.
But it won't do any harm for you to
think it over, and if l We're you,
shouldn't burn all the bridges behind
me-"
Smith went back TO his work in the
quarry with troubled mind. The
little heart to-heart talk with Williams
had been sharply Oppressive. 1t had
shown him, as nothing else could, how
limited for all the remainder of mis- life
his chances must be. That he would
be pursued. that descriptions and pho
tographs of the ex-cashier of the Law
rencevile Bank and Trust company
were already circulating from hand to
hand among the paid man-catchers, he
did not doubt for moment. While he
could remain as a workman unit in an
Isolated construction camp, there was
some little hope that he might be over
| looked. But to become the public char
acter of Williams suggestion in a
peopled city was to run to meet his
fate.
| 1t is said that the flow of a mighty
| river may owe its most radical change
/ in direction TO the chance thr Isnog of
a twig into the current at some critical
~, Fofl ,Nf tba
| To the reincarnated Smith, charting
| his course upon the conviction that his
best chance of immunity lay in isola-
! ton and a careful avoidance of the
/ peopled towns, came the diverting twig
| in this wise.
| On the second morning following the
unofficial talk with BARLEY Williams
in the iron-sheeted headquarters office
/ at the dam. delayed consignment Of
/ cement, steel and commissary supplies
was due Mt the sidetrack a mile below
| the camp. Perkins, the timekeeper
/ called Smith from the quarry and gave
| him the invoices covering the ship
ment.
81 guess you'd better 60 down to
the siding and check this stuff in, so
! that wen know what we're getting
was his suggestion to the general util-
| ity man.
When the crookings of the tote-road
let Smith get his first sight of the side
I track, he saw that the train was al
ready in. A few minutes sufficed for
/ the checking He sent the unloading
| gang back to camp with the teams,
meaning TO walk back himself after he
should have seen the car of steel and
! the two cars of cement kicked in at
the upper end of the sidetrack
While he was waiting for the train
to pull up and make the shift, he was
commenting idly upon the clumsy lay
out of the temporary unloading yard,
and wondering if Williams were re
sponsible for it. The siding was on
the outside of a curve and within a
hundred yards of the river bank.
There was scanty space for the unload
ing of material, and a good bit of what
there was was taken up by the curv-
ing snur which led off from the siding
to cross the river on a trestle, and by
the wagon road itself, which came
down long hill on the south side of
the railroad and made an abrupt turn
to cross the main track and the siding
fairly in the midst of things.
AS the long train pulled up TO clear
the road crossing, Smith stepped back
and stood between the two tracks. A
moment later the cut was made. and
the forward section of the train went
on TO set the three loaded cars out at
the upper switch, leaving the rear half
standing on the main line.
One of the men of the unloading
gang. a leather-faced grade shoveler
who had helped TO build the Nevada
Shore Line, had Jagged behind the de
parting wagons to fill and light his
pipe.
wouldn't that jar you up right good
and hard FIR way to run a railroad"
he said to Smith, indicating the wholly
deserted standing section of the freight
with the burnt match-end. "Them fell
lies We all gone off up ahead, a-leavin'
this yere hind end without sign of
! a man r flag to take keer Of il"
Smith was listening only with the
outward ear to what the pipe-lighJer
was saying. Somewhere in the west
ward distances a thunderous murmur
was droning upon the MINDLESS air of
the June morning. A big gray auto
mobile, with the cIt-out open, was top
/ ping the side-hill grade and Smith rec
og- ,zed ii at once. II was Colonel Dex-
Ter Baldwin's roadster, and il held
single occupant-namely. the young
woman who was driving it.
Turning to look up the track, he saw
that the three loaded cars had been
/ set out. and the forward section of the
( train was now backing to make the
coupling with the standing half. He
hoped that the trainmen had seen the
automobile. and that they would not
attempt to make the coupling until
after the gray car had crossed behigd
the cabOose. But in the same breath
he guessed. and guessed rightly, that
they were too far around the curve to
he able to see the wagon-road ap-
/ proach.
Smith saw the young woman check
/ the speed for the abrupt turn at the
bottom Of the hill, saw the car take the
turn in a skidding slide, heard the re-
newed roar Of the motor as the throttle
was opened for a run at the embank-
nent grade. Then the unexpected
dropped its bomb There was a jan