Cleveland County herald., 1920-09-02
CHAPTER XIV.
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and Bryce called her up to ask when she desired it sent over.
 Good morning, MT. Cardigan" she greeted him cheerily. "How do you feel this morning? Any the worse for having permitted yourself to be hu- man being last night?"
 "Why, I feel pretty fine, Shirley. think it did me lot of good to crawl out of my shell last night"
 "You feel encouraged to go on liv- ing, eh?'
 "Yes."
 And fighting?"
 By all means"
 "Then something has occurred of late to give you new courageY
 "Oh, many things. By the way, Shir- ley, you may inform your uncle at breakfast Friday morning about my connection with the N. c. o. In fact, l think it would be far better for you If you made 1t a point to do so."
 "Why?"
 Because both Oglvy and myself have very strong suspicion that your uncle has a detective or two on our trails. I judge your uncle will learn today that you dined with Ogilvy, Moira and me last night"
 "Oh, dearl That's terrible" He could sense her distress.
 Ashamed of having been seen in my company, eh?''
 "Please don't. Are you quite serious in this matter?"
 Quite"
 Uncle Seth will think it so-so strange"
 Hell probably tell you about It. Better beat him to the issue by 'feSsing up, Shirley. Doubtless his suspicious are already aroused, and If you inform him that you know I am the real build CT of the N. c. O.. he'll think you're a smart woman and that you've been doing a little private gum-shoe work of your own on behalf of the Laguna Grande Lumber company"
 (Which is exactly what have been doing" she reminded him.
 q know. But then, I'm not afraid of you, Shirley-that Is, any more And after Friday morning I'll not be afraid of your uncle."
 'T feel as If I were a conspirator."
 'I believe you are one. Your dicto- graph has arrived. Shall send George Sea Otter over with it! And have you somebody to install it?'
 "Oh. bother! Does it have to be in- stalled?"
 Tt does. You place the contraption hide 1t, rather-in the room where the conspirators conspire; then you run wires from it into another room where the detectives listen in on the receivers"
 Gould George Sea Otter install t?" 'I think he could. There is a print ed card of instructions, and dare say George would find the job no more bafIiing than the ignition system on the Napier"
 "Will he tell anybody"
 Not if you ask him not to-"
 ''very well, then. Please send him over. Thank you so much, Bryce Cardigan. You're an awful good old sort. after all. Really, it hurts me to have to oppose you. It would be so much nicer if we didn't have all those redwood trees to protect, wouldn't it?" Let us not argue the question. Shir- lev. I think have my redwood trees protected. Good-by."
 He had scarcely finished telephon- ihg his home to instruct George Sea Otter to report with the express pack age to Shirley when Buck Ogilvy stroled into the office and tossed a document on his desk. There's your little old temporary franchise, old thing" he announced; and with many a hearty laugh he related to Bryce the ingenious means by which he had ob- taned it. And now If you will phone up to your logging camp and instruct the woods-boss to lay off about fifty men to rest for the day, pending hard nights work, and arrange to send them down on the last log train today, I'll drop around after dinner and we'll fly to thnt jump-crossing.
 "Tll telephone Colonel Pennington's manager and ask him to kick switch engine in on the Laurel creek spur and snake those fiat cars with my rails aboard out to the junction with the main line" Bryce replied. And he called up the Laguna Grande Lumber company-ohly to be informed by no less person than Colonel Pennington shimself that + would be impossible to send the switch-engine In until the following afternoon. The Colonel was sorry, but the swtch-engine was in the shop having the brick in, her fireEox renewed while the mogul that hauled the log trains would not have time to ..ittend 10 the mattere since the flats would have to he spotted on the side strack at Cardigans log landing in the woods. and this could not be done un-