Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-07-28


most. q mile and half from the
Conmore station. And then. sudden
ly, the Hawk dropped to his hands
and knees and crawled down the en-
bankment, and lay flat and motion
less in the grass-faint, almost in
audible. footstep had crunched on
the gravel of the roadbed ahead OF
him. The Hawks only movement
now was, the tightening of his fin
gers around the stock Of his auto
matte, as, out of the blackness, a
blacker shape doomed up. and a man
sauntered by along the track.
The Hawks lips compressed into
a grim smile. His caution had not
been exaggerated! The Wire Dew
lis guard! Luck. at least initial
luck, was with him, then! The tap
was here east Of the station, and at
the next pole probably. But 1t was
more than likely that there was an
other guard patroling on the other
side. They would certainly take no
chances. either Of surprise. or Of be-
ing unable to dismantle their ap-
dl NiC LII 81 tttttt III
and 1t would almost necessarily re-
Quire more than one man for that.
He crept forward again. and again
lay still. 'rhe man on the track re-
turned---passed by--and, close to the
telegraph pole now, two blurred
shapes showed; and then, low, there
came voices, and a laugh.
But now the Hawk was wriggling
swiftly away from the track. There
was no longer any need to examine
the telegraph poles-the sense of
touch guiding him, he was following
an insulated wire, two wires, chat lay
along the ground, and. following
wire fence that enclosed the right of
way. worked his way thru, aud here
paused. The wires had apparently
disappeared abruptly into the ground.
For perhaps a minute the Hawk
lay still, save that his fingers work
ed and dug at loose earth: and then.
his coat extended on either side of
him. he raised himself an inch or
two from the ground, and, beneath
his body. his tiny flashlight giowed
for brief instant, and was restored
to his pocket.
The Hawk began to era wi forward
again. He was on the edge of a
ploughed i'ield--a piece of farm land.
1t was all very simple. and it was
very clear now. In the loose earth
there was embedded a small, rough
wooden box. In this receptacle was
a junction box. and from the juno
ton box, thru holes bored in the
outer wooden casing, the wires con-
tinued on into-a small, flexible con-
duit The Hawk smiled grimly. Lam
son, and Lanson's section men might
search a thousand years and never
solve the problem. The Wire Devils
were not limited to any one single or
particular telegraph pole. They were
limited orly in the radius OF their
operations by the length of the tap
wires they used. They had only to
tap the line, run their tap back,
brush the loose earth away from the
top of the wooden casing, open the
latter. connect with the junction box,
and their tap" became an integral
part Of the railroads teies aph Nsys-
tenn. 1t was very simple! When
they were not operating-they re-
versed the process. They disconnect-
ed from the main fine, coiled their
tap" wires up. hid them in the
wooden casing. restored the loose
earth over the. latter's surface, and,
save for one of those thousands OF
spices on the main line incident to
years of service and differing in no
way from any of its fellows, no sign
or vestig,e of their work remained. 1t
required. OF course, lineman's out
fit and the necessary appliances for
work at the top of the telegraph pole
but that the Wire Devils were ade-
quately equipped in this respect was
so obvious as to make any consid-
GRAFTON of that detail absurd. For
the rest, the little conduit laid in a
ploughed furrow with the earth
spread back over it completed in per-
lection and simplicity the unholy lit
tie scheme!
H On the Hawk crawled across the
field. All this promised Il house, a
farm house probably. in the imme-
diate vicinity. The ploughed field
must, of course, never be disturbed
therefore the tenancy of the land
automatically was for the moment
vested In the Wire Devils, and-ah!
The Hawk. far enough from the rail-
road now to be secure from obser-
walton. had risen from his hands and
knees, and, In q crouched position.
was moving forward more rapidly. A
small. wooded tract Of land was
showing little way in front of him;
the house undoubtedly was there.
He gained the trees. made his way
thru what appeared to be an open
grove OF pines, and, on the other side.
at the edge of the clearing, halted.
and listened intently. He could lust
make out little group of buildings
the house itself, a barn, and one or
two smaller structures, probably
wagon and implement sheds. No
light showed from anywhere, nor
was there any sound. Cautiously,
silently. the Hawk crossed the clear
ing and began to circuit the house.
1t was q little strange. The place
seemed absolutely deserted. Had he
made a mistake? Naturally, he could
not Follow the direction of the bur-
led conduit! Was there another
house in the neighborhood? He
shook his head. There might be an
other house, many of them for that
matter, but the ploughed field, from
It's location, surely belonged to this
one. And yet-he halted once more,
and. listening again intently, looked
about him.
He was around on the other side