Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1920-06-25

! coldly.
l Presently Shirley mastered he
emotion and glanced toward him.
swell, my dear?' he querled.
Il think had better 60 home,
she said without spirit.
II think so, too" he answered. "Gt
into the mayors fllvver, my dear, an
: I'll drive you. And perhaps the leas
said about this affair the better, Shil
ley There are many things that 20
do not understand and which cannO
be elucidated by discussion"
II can understand an attempt at as
sassinatlOn, Uncle Seth"
THAT BLACKBOARD Minorca I shout
have known better than to put him OF
such a job. told him to bluff an,
threaten; Cardigan, I knew, woul'
realize the grlldge the Black Min0rc,
has against him, and for that reasoi
I figured the greaser was the only maj
who could bluff him. While l CAV,
him orders to shoot, I told him dis
tinctly not to hit anybody. Good Lord
Shirley, surely you do not think
would wink at murder"
81 do" she answered passlonately
"With Bryce Cardigan out Of the wa,
you would have clear field before
yOu-"
"Oh, my dear my dear Surely yor
do not realize what you are saying
You are beside yourself, Shirley
| Please-please do not wound me So
so horribly. am surrounded by enc
mles--the most lmplacable enemies
They force me to fight the devil with
tire-and here yon are, giving them aid
and comfort
81 want you to defeat Bryce Cardi.
gan, If you can do it fairly"
AT another time and in n calmer
mood we will discuss that villain" he
said authoritatiyely. Get into the car,
and we will 60 home. There is moth
ing more to be done tonight"
"Your sophistry does not alter my
opinion she replied firmly. "How-
ever, as you say, this is neither the
time nor the place to discuss It,"
They drove home in silence. Shirley
went at once to her room. For the
Colonel, however, the nights work had
scarcely begun. The instant he heard
the door to his nieces room shut, he
went to the telephone and called up
the Laguna Grande roundhouse. Sex
ton, his manager, answered.
''Have you sent the switch engine to
the woods for Rondeau and his men?"
Just left"
Good Now, then, Sexton, listen to
me: AS you know, this raid of Cardi-
gan's has developed so suddenly | am
more or less taken by surprise and
have had no time TO prepare the kind
of counter-attack that will be most eff
fective. However, with the crossing
blocked, ! gain time In which to organ
ize--only there must be no weak point
In the organization. In order to insure
that, ] am proceeding to San Fran
cisco tonight by motor, via the coast
road. | will arrive late tomorrow
night, and early Saturday morning
will appear in the United States dis
trict court with our attorneys and file
Il complaint and petition for an order
temporarily restraining the N. c. o.
from cutting our tracks.
81 will have to make an affidavit to
support the complaint, so ! had better
be Johnny-on-the-spot to do it, rather
than risk the delay Of making the affi-
davit tomorrow morning here and for
warding it by mail to our attorneys.
1.-THE judge will sign a restraining
order, returnable In from ten to thirty
days-Tll try for thirty, because that
will knock out the N. c. O.'s temporary
franchise-and after | have obtained
the restraining order, will have the
United States marshal telegraph 1t to
Ogilvy and Cardigan"
"Bully!" cried Sexton heartily.
That will fix their clock
"In the meantime" Pennington con-
Iinued, "logs will be Cutting our land
ngs. We need that locomotive for Its
legitimate purposes. Take all that dis
,arded machinery and the old boiler
we removed from the mill last fall,
lump 1t on the tracks at the crossing,
md get the locomotive back on its run.
The other side, having
10 means Of removing these heavy OBJ
will be blocked until | re-
urn; by that time the matter will be
n the district court, Cardigan will be
lung up until his temporary franchise
the city council will not
'enew it. Get me?'
Eyes, SIR"
"I'll be back Sunday forenoon. Good
~"
He hung up, went to his chauffenr's
quarters over the garage, and routed
he man out of bed. Then he returned
Iuietly to his room. dressed and
lacked bag for his journey, left a
rief note for Shirley notifying her of
lis departure and started on his two
hundred and fifty-mile trip over the I
to the south. As his car I
ped through sleeping Sequoia and
aimed the open country, the Colonel's
cart thrilled pleasurably. He held
ards and spades, big and little casino,
our aces and the joker; therefore he
new he could sweep the board at his {
leasure. And during his absence Shir- l
" would have opportunity to cool off,
lille he would find time to formulate J
n argument to lull her suspicious {
pom his return. I
CHAPTER XVI. '