Charlevoix county herald., 1921-04-08
CHAPTER III
The Directors Meeting

was up bright and early the next
morning, and after breakfast l took
a little sashay down Nevada avenue
to have a look at our railroad. OF
course, knew, after what the boss
had said to Mr.. Chadwick the night
before. just before we went to bed
that we weren't ever going to see
Canada, or even Illinois.
I'll have to admit that the look l got
didn't make me feel as if we'd found
Cullinan diamond. Down in the yards
everything seemed to be at the loOsest
kind Of loose ends. A switching crew
was making up freight and the way
they slammed the boxes together, re-
gardless of broken Drawbacks and the
like, was sin and a shame
After a while, after I'd loafed
through the shops and around the
yard and got a few more whiffs of
the decay, strolled on back to the
hot Il.
was wondering little what had
become of the boss-who was general
ly the earliest riser on the job
when two men came bulging through
the screen doors of the cafe, picking
their teeth and feeling in their pockets
for cigars. Right on the dot, and In
the face of knowing that 1t couldn't
reasonably be so, had feeling that
I'd seen those men before. One of
them was short and rather stocby,
and his face had sort of hard, hun
CRY look; and the other was big and
barrel bodied. The short one was clean
shaver, but the other had a reddish
gray beard clipped close on his fat
jaws and trimmed to a point at the
chin.
After they had lighted up they came
along and sat down three or four
chairs away from me. They paid no
attention to me, but for fear they
might, I tried to look as sleepy as an
all-night bell-hop in busy hotel.
''The Dunton bunch got together in
one Of the committee rooms upstairs
a little after eight O'clock" said the
short man, in low, rasping voice that
went through you like a buzz-saw.
Thanks to those internal blunderers
Clanahan sent us last night, Chadwick
was with them"
81 think that was choost So" said
the big man, speaking slowly and with
something more than a hint Of a Ger
man accent. Becker was choost what
you call him-a tam blundCrer."
Like a flash it came over me that
i was listening in to q talk between
the same two men who had sat in the
auto at Sand Creek siding and smoked
while they were waiting for the actual
kidnapers to return. You can bet high
that I made myself mighty small and
unobtrusive.
After q while the big man spoke
again.
"What has Uncle Chon Chadwick up
his sleeve got, do you think?"
81 don't Think know!" was the
snsppy reply. Its one of two things !:
a receivership-which will knock us
into a cooked hat because we can't
fool with an officer of the United
States court-or a new deal all around
IL lhc lududSeIueII.
"Yich of the two will it be that will
come out of that commiddee room up
stairs?"
"A new management. Dunton can't
stand for a receivership, and Chad
wick knows It, The securities would
be knocked out and the majority hold
ers-Dunton and his bunch-couldn't
unload. Chadwick will name the man
who Is to take Skaters place as gen.
eral manager Of the railroad outfit.
We might have stood it off for a
while, just as I said yesterday, If we
could have kept Chadwick from at
tending this meeting"
But now we don't could stand II
off-what thenT
well have to walt and see. and
size up the new man when he blows
in. He'll be only human, Henckel. And
IL we get right down to 1t we can
pull him over to our side-or make
him wish he'd never been born"
The big man got up ponderously
and brushed the cigar ashes off of his
bay-window. "You wait and see what
comes NIT the commiddee room out.
/ go up to the ovvice."
When was left alone I'm the row Of
lobby chairs with the snappy one I
was scared stiff for fear, now that he