The Adair County news., 1917-12-12

Like Bullock Which Had Been Pole
axed, the Man Went to the Floor.
man at whom they ragged did not give
an inch. He leaned forward slightly,
his weight resting on the balls Of his
feet, alert to the finger tips.
Next" he taunted.
Then the mate got busy. He hustled
his stevedores forward in front of the
miners and shook his fist in their faces
as he stOrmed up and down. If they
wanted trouble, by Jove it was wait
ing for 'em, he swore in apoplectic
fury. The Hannah was a river boat
and not dive of wharf rats
The man with the suitcase did not
wait to hear out his TRADE. He fol-
lowed the purser to his stateroom,
dropped his baggage beside the BERTH
and Joined the Kusiak group on the
upper deck.
They greeted him eagerly, a little
effusively, as if they were anxious to
prove themselves on good terms with
him.
ridge. "How did the trouble start?"
The big man shrugged his shoulders.
'It didn't start. Some of the outfit
thought they were looking for row,
but they baked on the job when Ire
lawney got his"
Gordon, as he watched from little
distance, corrected earlier impressions.
This man had passed the thirties. He
had the thick neck and solid trunk Of
middle life, but he carried himself so
superbly that his whole bearing denied
that years could touch his splendid
physique.
Strong had stepped to the wharf
to talk with an old acquaintance, but
when the boat threw out a warning
signal he made a hurried goodby and
came on board. He rejoined Elliot.
'Well, what d'you think of him?
Was / right?"
The young man had already guessed
who this imperious stranger was. 'T
never saw anybody get away with a
hard job as easily as he did that one.
You could see with half an eye that
those fellows meant fight. They were
/ all primed for it-and he bluffed them
out"
'Bluffed them-huhl I was where /
could see just what happened. Colby
Macdonald wasn't even looking at Ire
lawney, but you bet he saw him start.
That suitcase Travelled like a streak of
light. You'd "a thought it weighed
about two pounds. That amt all, Ell
| ther. Mac used his brains. Guess what
was in that grip"
! "The usual thing, I suppose"
"You've got another guess-packed
in among his socks and underwear was
about twenty pounds Of ore samples.
The purser told me. It was that quartz
that put Trelawney, to sleep so thor
ough that he'd just begun to wake up
when passed minute ago."
The young man turned his eyes
again upon the big Canadian Scots
man. He was talking with Mrs. NAL
lory, who was leaning back luxuri-
ously in a steamer chair she had
brought aboard at st. Michaers. 1t
would have been hard to conceive a
contrast greater than the one between
this pampered heireSs Of the ages and
the modern business berserk who
looked down into her mocking eyes.
! He was the embodiment of the domi-
nant male-efficient to the last inch of
his straight six feet. What he wanted
he had always taken, by the sheer
/ strength that was in him. Back Of her
smiling insolence lay a silken force
to match his own. She too had taken
what she wanted from life, but she
had won it by indirection. Manifestly
she was of those women who conceive
that charm and beauty are tools to
bend men to their wills.
The dusky young woman with the
magazine was the first Of those on the
upper deck to retire for the night. She
fitted so quietly that Gordon did not
notice until she had gone. Mrs. Self
ridge and her friends disappeared with
their men folks, calling gay good
nights to one another as they left.
Macdonald and Mrs. Mallory talked.
After time she too vanished.
The big promoter leaned against the
deck rail, where he was Joined by Self
ridge. For a long time they talked in
low voices. The little man had most to
say. His chief listened, but OCCASION
ally interrupted to ask sharp, incisive
question.
Elliot, sitting farther forward with