Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-07-31

and CrOuCneQ GOWN Ou lio |SA'
Game the faint crash and bump OF
the yard engine coupling to the pri-
vate car; then the short. quick gasps
: OF q. runner out of breath. and a fly
inr form bounded across the tracks.
sprang to the platform, and dashed
for the freight shed door-and the
i Hawk. his muscles, rigid, taut as
steel, released suddenly, as coiled
spring is released, leaIed and hurled
himself upon the other.
There wiz yell OF dismay. of
surprise and fury, that seemed to
echo from one end of the yard to
the other. The man went down in
q heap from the in}pact The pack
age, from under his arm, rolled off
along the platform-a,ld the Hawk
In = swoop was upon H.. He snatch
ed ! it up, and running like deer
now. headed for the yard engine and
the private car.
Came another yell from behind
him. He heard thesfreight shed door
flung Violently open; and then. in
grim EMPHASIS of a sudden chorus of
wild, infuriated shouts from Dixer's
waiting companions, the vicious
Tongue flame of revolver split the
black. and the roar OF the report
reverberate<i thru the yard like q
cannon shot
And now from the yard itself, the
.oundhou and the station came
.nswerirs shouts. Or. the Hawk
.ar--he vas alongside the private
ar now, which was already in mo-
ion and row he was opposite the
alb OF the yard engin,s. The fire
,an. at tibet sudden pandemonium.
sad thrust out, was hanging in the
anyway. The Hawks automatic
yung to az line with the others
.ad.
Get OUT" gritted the Hawk cold
Both OF you-you and your
tie! Get out--on the other side"
The man, with dazed oath, re-
reated. and the Hawk sprang thru
he ganEway. The engineer, jump
sng from his seat, hesstated, and in
he yellow light of the cab lamp
ooked for the fraction of second
nto the nt,zxle of the Hawks auto
matte, and into the hard, ancom-
81 .Onfising black eyes behind the
ssfiaskand followed the fireman In a
'tsty exit thru the opposite gang
che Hawk snatched at the throttle,
pulled it wider-and, like a beast
stung to sudden madness under the
4 spur, the yslrd engine quivered, and
in q storm Of exhausts, coughing the
red sparks skyward from the stack,
the drivers racing, splitting fire as
they sought to bite and hold the
4 steel, plunged forward. Ahead the
way was clear to the main line but
behind The Hawk dropped his
package on the floor of the cab, lean
ed Suddenly far out thru the gang
way, and an suddenly fired, his au-
tomato cutting a lane of flame thru
the darkness. He had fired at the
ground, but his shot had been eff
fective The engineer or the fire.
man he could not distinguish which.
leaped back instead, and with q SER
les Of Wild gesticulatiorls. in which
arms and fists waved furiously, van
ished in the darkness.
The yard engine, as tho playing
snap the-wllip with the private car
behind 1t, took the main line switch
with a stagger and a lurch, and
Strengthened away into the clear.
There was speed now, and the speed
WAS increasing with every second.
The shouts, the yells. the cries. the
pandemonium from the yard was
bl0ttcd out In the pound of the driv-
ers and the belch Of the exhaust:
and the station and switch lights
were lost to sight as engine and car
flew on, heading west into the foot
hills. The Hawk chuciled to him.
self. There would be Wild confusion
i IN the dispntcher's office. and wild
confusion all along the line west of
Selkirk, as regulars, extras and traf-
nc of all sorts scurried for safety to
the sidings--but there would be no
i interference with him! Where they
would otherwise have tlitched him,
! given him an open switch at the first
station and sent him to destruction
Without compunction, he possessed,
as 1t was, a. most satisfactory host
age in the person of the division SUI
perintendent, whom they would hesi-
tate about sending to eternity at the
/ same time!
Possibly o. minute and a half, two
at the outside. had passed since he
had jumped thru the sansway. He
eased the throttle little now, re-
ducing the speed to a rate more
nearly commensurate with safety;
and. placing the package on the driv-
er's seat, ripped off the outside
wrapper. There was a queer. hard
smile on the Hawks lips, as his
fingers tore at the covering of one
of the small sealed packets within.
Was 1t the dummy ps.rcel-or the
twenty five Thousand In cash? Had
Uxer succeeded-or was the money
still behind him there in the private
car?
The cab lamp above, the dancing
gauge needles seemed to throw it's
meager yellow glow with strained
inquisitiveness over the Hawks
shoulder-arld then the Hawk laugh
ed softly and laughed again. In his
hands were banknotes. He riffled
the stack thru his fingers. It was
here. in his ssession-twenty-fiv
Thousand dollars in cash!
And he laughed again, and glanced
around hin1-thru the cab glass at
thes white ribbons Of steel glistening
under the headlights glare. around
The murky cab that In It's sway and
Jolt seemed to endow a legion OF
shadows with movement, vitality and
ife, at the platform OF the private
ear, which he could see by looking
along the edge of the tender, and
Which, like its fellow at the rear,
vas bathed in the soft radiance of a
ONE light. Well, he. might have