The Ordway new era., 1921-05-13
CHAPTER I
At Sand Creek Siding


As a general proposition, don't be-
lieve much in the things called
"hunches.' But there are exceptions
to all rules, and we certainly uncov-
cred the biggest one of the lot-the
boss and THE night we left Port
land and the good old Pacific coast.
1t was this way. We had finished
the construction work on the Oregon
Midland; and were on our way to the
train. when I had one of those queer
little premonltory chills you hear so
much about and knew just as well us
could be that we were never going
to pull through to Chicago without get
= ting a jolt of some sort. The reason
If you'll call it reason-was that.
Just before we came to the railroad
station, the boss walked calmly under
a ladder standing in front of new
building: and besides that, it was the
thirteenth day of the month, Fri
day. and raining like the very mis-
chief
Just to sort of toll us along, may
be. the fates didn't begin on us that
night They waited until the next
day. and then proceeded to shove us
in behind a freight-train wreck at
Widner, Idaho, where we lost twelve
hours. 1t looked as If that didn't
amount to much. because we weren't
due anywhere at any particular time.
The boss was on his way home for
little visit with his folks in Illinois,
and beyond that he was going to meet
bunch of Englishmen in Montreal.
and maybe LET them make him general
manager of one of the Canadian rail-
roads.
So Mr.. Norcross was in no special
hurry. and neither was I. l had been
confidential clerk and shorthand ; an
for the boss ON the Midland construc-
tiOn. and he was taking me along part
ly because he knows a cracking good
stenographer when he sees one, but
mostly because I was dead anxious to
go anywhere he was going.
But. if 1t hadn't been for that
twelve-hour layout we would have
caught the Saturday night train on
the Pioneer Short Line, instead of the
train Sunday morning, and there
would have been no meeting with
Mrs. Sheila and Maisie Ann; no tele-
gram from Mr.. Chadwick. because it
wouldn't have found us; no hold-up
at Sand Creek siding; in short, nothing
would have happened that did hap
pen.
1t was on Sunday that the jolt be-
gan to get ready to land on us. Right
soon after breakfast, with the help of
little Pullman berth table and me
and my typewriter. Mr.. Norcross
turned our section into a business office,
saying that now we had good quiet
day. we'd clean up the million or so
odds and ends of correspondence he'd
been letting go while we We're tussing
for the Midland right-of-way through.
the Oregon mountains.
From where he sat debating to me
the boss was facing forward and now
and then an absent sort of look came
into his eyes while he was talking off
his lefters. and 1t puzzled me because
II wasn't like him. One of the times
after he had given me full grist of
letters and had gone off to smoke
while | typed few thousand lines
from my notes to catch up. I made
discovery. There were two people
in Section Five just ahead of u. IA
young woman and a girl of maybe fif-
teen or so. and the Pullman was the
Oid-fnshioned kind, with low sent
backs. put 1t up that in those ab-
sent-eyed Intervals Mr.. Norcross had
been studying the back OF the young
w0man's neck. ] was measurably sure
1t wasn't the little girls.
Along in the forenoon made an ex-
cuse to go and get drink of water
out of the forward cooler, and on the
wny back took n good square look
at our neighbors in Number Five. The
young woman was pretty enough to
start stopped clock-only pretty"
isn't just the word. either; there
wasn't any word. when you come right
down to 1t. And the little girl was
simply peach-a nice. downy, rosy
peach; chunky, round-faced, sunny
hatred. jolly; with a neat little turned
up nose and big sort of boyIsh laugh
ing eyes that fairly dared the world.
Al the second call to dinner Mr..
Norcross told me to strap up the ma
ehipe and put the files away In the
eFips spd we'd 30 eat He was pretty