The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1921-01-01

posted as TO what VAS going on.
and then she made me f.~i kind 81
klddlsh ard feckleas BY coming out
and helping mo into Mr.. Van britts
auto.
Tho the bosS disappearanee
was nov four days old. things were
stu In sort Of dax, down At the
railroad Offices OF course. the
trains were running yet and. %
far "a Anybody could see. the Short
Line was still . going proposition
hut tho heart was como out OF the
whois business. and the entire push
WAS acting as n u were Just wait.
Ing for the roof to fall in-as
guess IL was
hr. Van Britt. being the general
superintendent and next In com
mand. had moved over into the
boss office. and Fred May was
doing his shorthand work. They
wouldn't let me DO anything much
II couldn't do much with my right
arm In a fliuE--so I had chance
TO hang around and size up the sit.
uation- II you want 20 know how
IL sized up. you can take 4, from
me that II was pretty had. People
all along IN. line were bombarainH
Mr. Van Brit with letters and tols.
grams wanting TO know what was
going to be done. and what the
change In management WIS COINS
10 mean for the public, and all that
On top OF this. the office ante
room was full OF callers. some Of
them just merely curious. but most
OF them dead anxious. You see. Mr
Sorcrosa had laid out a mighty at
traetivc program in the little time
he had been at the wheel. and now
II looked a. II Il was an going to
be dumped into the ditch.
Mr.. Van Britt saw and talked
with everybody. and when he could
wedge off minute or two OF pri-
vacy. he'd 70 into the third room
OF the suite and throsh II out with
Juneman. or Bllloughby. or Mr.. RIP
ley. From these private talks I
found out that there was stiil some
doubt In the minds OF all four OF
them about the boss drop-out--as
10 whether u was voluntary or not
Also. found out what hSi been
done during the four days. We had
no company detective at that
time. and Mr.. Hornack had Dor.
rowed n man named Grimmer from
his old company. the Overland Cen.
trail. wiring for him and getting
him on the ground within "a hours
OF the time OF Mr.. Norcross dis
appearance.
Grimmer had gone TO work at
once, but everything he had turned
up. so far. favored the voluntary
runaway theory. Mr.. Norcross'
trunks were still I'm his rooms Mt
the Billiard; but his two grips were
gone. And the night clerk at the
hotel, when he was pnshed 10 IL.
remembered that the boss had paid
his bill up to date. that night be
fore going up 70 his rooms.
Past that, the trace was complete
| ly lost The conductor on the Fast
Mail. eastbound. ON tho night In
question, ought 10 have been the
next witness. But he wasn't. lie
swore by all that was good and
great that Mr.. Norcross hadn't been
a passenger on his train. And he
would certainly have known II II he
had been carrying his general man.
ager. Besides that, the boss wasn't
/ the kind OF a man TO be lost I'm a
crowd; he was too big and too well
known by this time " the. rank
and file.
! over In the other field there was
absolutely nothing to incrimlnate
the Hatch people. SO far from IL,
Hatch had turned up at the rail.
road office, bright and early the
morning after Mr.. Norcross had
gone. He had asked for the boss.
and falling 10 find him, he had
hunted up Mr.. Van Britt. What he
wanted, 1t seemed. was a chance TO
reopen the proposition that had
been made TO him the day before
the offer OF the new Citizens stor.
age e Warehouse Co. to purchase
the various Red Tower equipments
and plants.
MIR Van Britt had referred him
to Mr.. Ripley, and TO our lawyer
Hatch had made what purportcd to