Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-08-07

| steps of the smoker, that was immc-
diately behind the baggage car. His
SLOUGH hat pulled little over his
eyes, he opened the door, stepped
into the car, sauntered down the
aisle, and out of the rear door to the
vestibuled platform of the first class
day coach behind. But here, the
| Hawk paused a moment, and his
| face, impressive before, was stamped
now with a twisted smile. His rec
| onnaissance of the train so far had
| proved fruitful. The four men In the
| forward double seat of the smoker.
lap board across their knees, and
! apparently engrossed in their card
game, were the Butcher, White Jim,
the Cricket and the Bantam. And
further down the aisle, unwittingly
rubbing shoulders quite probably
| with some of MacVightie's men, Par
| son Joe occupied seat, and the
| keen, pale. thin face of Kirschell
| pcered out from another.
Yes, they're all here" decided the
| Hawk, his voice drowned in the rat
| tie of the train. Counting those
who got on at Sell<irl. they're all
here to the last man--eXcept the
Ladybird and his wheel chart"
The Hawk moved forward, reached
out for the handle of the day coach
door-and sucked in his breath, as
| he drew sharply back again. Thru
the glass panel he had caught sight
of two men he had not expected to
see. Sitting together on the right
| hand side about quarter of the
way down the aisle were MacVightfe
and Lanson. The Hawk frowned. He
had waited until the train was in
| motion, ard he had not seen them
get on; and they. as witness that tit
, tie conference in the roundhouse Of
a while back, had not been amongst
those who had boarded the. train
west OF Selkirk. And then the frown
gave place to a sort OF seli-comms-
Grating expression. Where were his
wits tonight. 1t was simple enough.
Fhey had boarded the car from the
yard side of the train, and not from
| the platform, of course! e
| Well, that put an end to any fur
Their reconnaissance thru the train.
In one sense it was not altogether
true that it made no difference
| whether MacVightie was aboard OF
| not. He and MacVightie were not
altogether strangers. They had met
once in his, the Hawks, room, and
on that occasion, the night, to be
precise, he had cleaned out the pay
masters safe of that ten thousand
dollars. MacNightie had been in a
| decidedly suspicious frame OF mind,
MacVightie, it was quite certain, had
not forgotten that night; nor, it was
quite Equally safe to assume, had
MacVightie forgotten his, the
hawks face-and at that exact mo-
ment the Hawk had no desire that
MacNlghtie should recognize him
again!
The Hawk turned, re-entered the
smoker, found the always unpopular
| crosswise seat behind the door va
cant, and appropriated it. His eyes
straying forward over the car located
two more acquaintance in the per
son Of Crusty Kline and French
Pele, and came back to Tx musinSly
on the worn nickel faucet OF the
water cooler. No ISIS first stop was
at Barnes junction, fifteen miles out
from Selkirk, and some five miles
this side of Conmore; the next stop
was Lorraine, and Lorraine was on
the other side-in fact good many
miles on the other side-of Echo
Rock and the Willow Creek bridge.
The deduction was obvious; and the
hawks destination, in so far as his
occupancy OF seat in the smoker
was concerned, was therefore quite
plainly-the Junction.
Three miles east of Echo Rock"
repeated the Hawk to himself. mo,
don't think so! This is where the
Ladybird has another guess May.
be | couldn't get away with a half
million--but maybe I'm not the only
one! There's one or two guys in
this car that haven't got the high
sign to my lodge! 1t seems to me I
promised the Butcher something the
night he tried to shoot me thru his
pocket, and it seems as tho / prom
lsed Parson Joe something, too-yes,
1t seems to me l did,"
XIX.
1t took twenty minutes for the run
to the Junction. And at the juno
ton, as far as the Hawk could tell.
since. yielding to what had become
| sort of habit with him, he de-
scended to the ground on the OBJ
posite side from the station, he was
the only passenger for that stop. It
was dark here; strangely silent, and
strangely lonely. Barnes Junction
owed it's existence neither to a town
site, nor to commercial Importance
II existed simply as junction, and
Tor purely railroad operating pur-
poses only. 1t was, in fact, the other
extreme as compared to Selkirlx with
It's lshted and busy platform, its ex-
tensive yard, and it's ubiquitous and.
perhaps, too inquisitive yardmen!
Inc Hawk dropped on all fo,,rs
ana began to creep along the side
OF the smoker toward the forward
end OF the train, his eyes strained
warlly thru the darkness against the
possibility of one or other of the en- :
CINE crew descending from the cah
He passed the smoker and kept on
along the length of the baggage car.
stlll crawling, moving without 4
sound When he rose from his knees
finally, he was crouched down in be-
tween the tender and the forward
end OF the baggage car; and a. mo-
ment later, as the train jerked for
ward into motion, he was crouched
again-this time on the end beam of
! the baggage car which, in lieu of