Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1921-10-07
CHAPTER Xxx


!
soon as I'd swallowed a hurried bite
Of breakfast in the grill-room swiped
campstool and a magazine out of
the lounge and trotted upstairs to
plant myself before the boss door, de-
terminei that nobody should disturb
him until he was good and ready to
get up.
He turned out a little before twelve,
looking sort Of haggard and drawn, OF
course, and having some pretty bad
burns on the side Of his neck and on
the backs of both hands. But he was
all there. as usual and he laid a good,
brother.y hand on my shoulder when
he saw what l was doing.
"They don't make many of them like
you, Jimmie" he said. And then:
Have you any newsY
l had little, and l gave it to him.
Fred May had come tip-toeing up into
my sentry corridor about ten o'clock
to tell me that Mr., Perkins had ar
I IuuSeL Win lllt 0llihcAS " udNC Il ''t'N
cial 60 east with the major and Mrs.
| Sheila and Collngwoods body to
catch the Overland at Sedgwick and l
told the boss this, and that the tram
had been gone for an hour or more.
Also l gave him sealed package
that strange boy had brought up
just little while after May went
away We took the elevator to the
grill-room for something to eat, and
at table Mr.. Norcross opened the pack
age, It contained bunch Of afiida-
Wits, eleven Of them In all, and there
was no letter or anything to tell where
they had come from
He handed the papers over to me,
after he had seen what they we're
sort Of frowned across the table at me
and sald do you know what It
means-this surrender Of those bride
afidar.ts, Jimmie?
| said | guessed | did that Hatch
being dead and Collingwood, too there
wasn't nerve enough left in the Red
Tower outfit to keep up the fight; that
the surrender of the atidavlts was a
kind Of a plea for a let-np on our
part.
"Well begin to show them, in just
about fifteen minutes, Jimmie" was
the short comment. "Reach over and
get that telephone and tell Mr.. Ripley
aud Mr, Billoughby that l want them
to meet me at my office at half-paSt
twelve. Any news from the striker
Nothing" l told him, while Gen
tral' was getting me Mr.. Ripley's num-
Der. Fred May said it was going on
just the same; everything quiet and
nothing doing, except that the wreck
ing train had gone out to pick up the
scraps at Timber Mountain " kir.
gan is bossing it, and the strikers
manned it for him
Nothing more was said until after
had sent the two phone messages, anc
then the boss broke out in new spot
Has anything been heard from Mr.
Van Britt he asked.
Not that ! know Of
Again he gave me that queer little
scoWl across the table
Jimmie, have you found gu: We
why Mr. Van Britt insisted on quit
ting the seryiceF
] guess grlnncd a little, though
l tried not to.
Mr. Van Britt Is one of the hes
friends you've got Sald. Tile though
you needed this strike, and he Wantet
to 90 out among the payroll men am
sort Of help it along. lie couldn't d
a hing like that while he was an Of
ficer Of the company and drawing hi
pay like the rest OF us.
u might have known-he as good a
tod me, was the reply made kin
of half-absently and then, short an
quick. Vows the stock MARKET HAY
you seen paper|
had seen both papers, at breal
faSt-time, but OF course they had nOtl
> Ing startling in them except a las
minute account Of the wreck at Tin
Der mountain y, grabbed off iu'
before they went to press. The
couldn't have anything later from Ne
York than the day before. But Ere
May had tipped me off when he can
up to tell me about the Major Kel
drck special. The newspaper Office
] We're putting out bulletins by thu
j time.
I told Mr.. Noreross about the bu
letns and was brash enough to ado
e We're headed for the receivership q
e right, | guess; our stock has tumble
[ | 70 tWpntV-njDp and there's a repUl!