The Bienville Democrat. [volume] (Arcadia, Bienville Parish, La.) 1912-1980, 1921-06-09

was getting his change, he grabbed
the pen out of the counter lnNSlaliN'
and made out as if he was shading i'll
q picture, or something, on the open
register.
\ half-mnutc later he was gone.
When the taxi purred away | turned
to the open register to see what our
maniac had been drawing IN It. Nlat
ne had done was completely to Oh
Itcrate his signature. lie had scratched
it over until the past master OF all
the handwriting experts that ever |
lived couldn't have told what the name
was.
Ii was while we We're eating break
fast the next morning in the BuIIaFd
cate--the boss aud THAT we got our
first news of the Pctrolite wreck. The
story was redhcadlined in the Morn
in. Herald-the Hutch-OWncd paper
and besides being played up good ana
strong in the news columns, there WAS
an editorial to back the 1ront.page
scream.
At two o'clock in the morning
fast westbound freight had left the
track in Petrolte Canyon, and before
they could get the 1laSman out. Il DE-
lavel eastbOund passenger had col
Hdrd with the ruins. There were no
lives lost but a number of people,
including the engineman, the postal
clerks and the baggageman on the pas
senyer, were injured.
. The editorial, commenting on the
wire stuff, was sharply critical OF the
, Short Line management. 1t hlhleu
, broadly that there had been no such
t thing as discipline on the road since
+ Mr.. Shalfer had left it, that the RANK
}, and file vas running things pretty
Y much as it pleased; and with THIS
there was a dig at general managers
q who LET old and timc-tried depart
!. mcut heads 20 to make room for lhei
/ rich and incompetent college friends
/; which was meant to be a slap at MI
Van Britt, our own and only MI
~ lionaire.
n Unhappi!y. this fault-fndins had
!. GOOD bit to build on, in one way. A
:, | have said, we were having opera
~ iny troubles to beat the band. Wit
the rank and file apparently doing II
-, level best to help out in the ne
49, "puhlic-be-pleased' program, it SCENE
- rs if we couldn't worry through
" single week without smashing som
i'm thing.
-. latterIy, even the newspapers n
~ were friendly to the NorcroSs mana"
-, mcnt were beginning to comment
=" the epidemic of disasters, and nothl
~ ~, in the world but the boss policy
,N taking all the editors into his &C
tidpnre when they wanted 10
-, vestigate kept the rising storm
'"e criticism somewhere within bounds
" Mr.. Norcross had read the ?al
49,. before he handed it over to me, "
w., oftprward he hurried his brc0hfls'
w. w. little. When he reached the '''Fce,
w., Van Britt was waiting for the cliff
WA "We've cot it in the neck OF
~, MORE" he gritted, flashing up his o
a a"s COPY of the Herald. did you n
orr that editorial?'
,ho Never mind the newspaper t
,noo How bad is the trouble this time:
sn,t Pretty bad. The freight is p
tically a total loss; a good half 0
.ho is in the river. Kirsan says he
,,o. pick the freight engine up and
'ut,r build it; but the passenger machlh
had wreck"
,,non "How did it happen?"
too ITS like good many Of the
We ers. Nobody seems to know. br
,non man nut the freight engine ere"
o. a the rack, and they say there W.
',on small boulder on the track-tha
from rolled down the canyon slope
NOM. ahead of them as they were turnl
= no curve. They struck it, and both
, Tho say that the engine knocked II
Ionrv into the river apparently without
ing anything. But two seconds
-. - the entire train left the track
81 oon. piled up all over the right'ot-wa
.hnr The boss was sitting back III
.moo chair and making little rings on
' Nv. desk blotter with the point OF
,+or letter-opener.
,ood,s "Upton, these knock'outs nave
wont to be stopped"