Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1921-04-29

was better than his company
The portly man got out Of his chair,
putting like steam-engine.
"We'll see about this !" he threat
ened. you've been here three months
and you haven't done anything but
muddle things until the stock of the
company isn't worth much more than
the paper it's printed on! II / can
get a clear wire to New York. you'll
have word from President Dunton to-
morrow morning telling you where you
get on"
To this Mr. Norcross made no reply
whatever, and the heavy-footed gentle
man stumped out, saying things to
himself that wouldn't look very well
In print. When the hall door below
gave big slam to let us know that
he was still going, the boss looked
across at me with sour grin wrin-
Killing around his eyes.
Now you know why made Gorcher
break all the rules Of the service get
ting here, Jimmie" he said. "Pos-
session is nine points of the law, and
In this case IL was rather important
that Mr.. Dismuke shouldn't find the
outfit without head and these Offices
Of ours unOccupied." He rose, stretched
his arms over his head like q tired
boy, and reached for the golf cap he
knock around In the shops and yard.
Let's go up to the hotel and see If
We can break into the cafe, Jimmie"
he finished up Later on, We'll wire
Mr.. Chadwick but that can wait. I
haven't had square meal in four
days"
With everybody supposing he had
resigned and left the country, guess
there were all kinds of a nine-minutes'
wonder in Portal City, and all along
the Short Line, when the word went
out that Mr.. Norcross was back on the
Job and running 1t pretty much the
same as If nothing had happened.
After supper, on the night Of his
return from the hide-out. he had sent
long code message to Mr.. Chadwick,
and short one to President Dunton;
and though I didn't see the reply to
either, l guess Mr.. Chadwick's an
swer. at least, was the right kind, be-
cause our track renewing campaign
went into commission again with
slam. and all the reform policies took
a sure-enough fresh start and began to
hump themselves, with Juneman work
ing the newspapers to a finish
We heard nothing further from Mr.
Dismuke, the portly gentleman in the
tan spats. though he still stayed on at
the Billiard. We saw him occasional
ly at meal times. and twice he was
eating at the same table with Hatch
and Henckel. That placed him all
right for us. though / guess he didn't
need much placing.
! wondered a little at first that Mr..
NOrcross didn't take the clue that
Branderby, the Mountalneer reporter,
had given us and tear loose on the
gang that had trapped him. He didn't;
or didn't seem to. From the first hour
Of the first day he was up TO his neck
pushing things for the new company
formed for the purpose of putting Red
Tower out Of business. and he wouldn't
take a minutes time for anything else.
OF course. II says itself that Hatch
never made any more proposals about
selling the Red Tower plants to the
Citizens Storage & Warehouse people
after the boss got back. That move
went into the discard In hurry. and
the Consolidation outfit was busy get
ting into Its fighting clothes. and try
ing to chock the wheels of the c. S.
& w. with all sorts of legal obstacles.
Franchise contracts with the rail-
road were flashed up, and injunctions
were prayed for. Ripley waded In,
and what little sleep he got for a week
or two was in Pullman cars, snatched
while he was rushing around and try
ing to keep his new clients, the c. s.
* w. folks. out of jail for contempt
Of court. He did II. Little and quiet
and smooth-spoken, he could put the
legal leather into the biggest DULLES
the other side could hire. Luckily.
we were an interstate corporation. and
when the local courts proved crooked.
Ripley would find some way to jerk
the case out of them and put II up to
some Federal Judge.
Around home In Portal City things
were just simmering. Between two
days, as you might say, and right
soon after Mr.. Norcross got back, we
acquired a new chum on the head
quarters force. He was a young fell
low named Tarbell, who looked and
talked and acted like a cow-punch just
In from riding line. He was carried on
Mr.. Van BIRTHS payroll as an extra" or
"relief" telegraph operator; though we
never heard of his being sent out TO
relieve anybody.
sized this new young man up,
right away, for special" of some
sort, and the proof that i was right
came one afternoon when Ripley
dropped In and fell into chair to fan
himself with his straw hat like a man
who had just put down q load that he
had been carrying about a mile and a
half farther than be had bargained to,