The Dolores star., 1921-10-21
CHAPTER vi-Continued.


s.
MIR. Van Britt saw and talked with
everybody. and when he could wedge
OF a minute or two Of privacy, he'd
go into the third room Of the suite
add thresh 1t out with Juneman, or
Biiieughby, or Mr.. Ripley. From these
private talks | found out that there
was still some doubt In the minds Of
all four Of them about the boss drop
out-as to whether 1t was voluntary
or not.
Also, I found out what had been
done during the four days. We had
no company detective at that time
and Mr.. Hornack had borrowed a man
named Grimmer from his old COM
pany, the Overland Central. wiring for
him and getting him on the ground
within twenty-four hours of the time
of Mr.. Norcross' disappearance.
Grimmer had gone to work at once
bat everything he had turned up. so
far. favored the voluntary runaway
theory. Mr.. Norcross' trunks were
still in his rooms at the Bullard; but
his two grips were gone And the
night clerk at the hotel. when he was
pushed TO 1t. remembered that the
boss had paid his bill up to date that
night. before going up to his rooms
Past that, the trace was completely
'ost. The conductor on the Fast Mail,
.astbound, on the night In question,
wore by all that was good and great
bat Mr.. Norcross hadn't been
passenger on his train. And he would
certainly have known 1t II he had been
carrying his general manager.
Over in the other field there was
absolutely nothing to incriminate the
Hattt people. So far from it. Hatch
bad turned up at the railroad office,
bright and early the morning after
Mr.. Norrross had gone. He had asked
for the boss, and fuiling to find him,
hs had hunted up Mr.. Van Britt. What
he wante<i. It seemed. was a chance
to sec2en che proposition that had
heen made to him the day before
the offer Of the new Citizens Storage
4 Warehouse company to purchase the
various Red Tower equipments and
plants.
Mr.. Van Britt had referred him to
kr. Ripley. and to our lawyer Hatch
had made what purporred to be an
opsn confession. admitting that he had
gone 70 Mr.. Norcross the night be-
fore. determined to fight the new COM
pany to finish. and that there had
been . good many things said that
would better be forgotten. Now, how
ever. he was willing to talk straight
business and a compromise. He had
called his board of directors together.
and they had voted to sell their track
bordering plants to Citizens Storage
: Warehouse If price could be ami
cably agreed upon.
With Mr. Norcross gone and q new
general manager coming. Mr.. Ripley
was afraid to make move, and Hatch
was pressing him to get busy on the
bargain and sale proposition; was ap-
parently as anxious now to sell and
withdraw as he had at first been to
light everything In sight.
By the morning l came on the scene
the man Grimmer had, as they say,
Just about done his do. He was only
a sort of journeyman detective, and
had run out of clues. When he came
in and talked to Mr.. Van Britt and
MIR. Ripley. could see that he fully
believed In the drop-out theory, and
wen the lawyer and Mr.. Van Britt
had to admit that the facts were with
him. The boss had written letter
laying definitely that he was quitting;
he had paid his hotel bill, and his
grips were gone; and two days later
President Dunton had appointed a
new general manager, which was proof
positive. you'd say, that the boss had
resigned and had so notified the New
York office.
When the noon hour came along,
Fred May took me out to luncheon,
and we went to the BuIlard cafe. It
was pretty rich for our blood at two
dollars per. but l guess Fred thought
his Job was gone, anyway, and felt
reckless. Over the good things at our
corner table we did little threshing
on our own sccount-and got q lot
more chair and no grain.
Fred didn't want to agreu with
Gnmmer and the facts, but there
didn't seem to be any help for IL. And
ss for me. I had other things in mind
all the time big scary fear that
somebody had got to the boss after
b. had left Ripley on the night of
sAsckings. and had Just dashed him In
~ face witt the story of Mrs Sl,eila's
sAAm wid0Wb~0d.
By aSd b. We got around to my