The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-05-05


Yes" Hatch came back; 1--WE have
the warrant, and In addition to that,
we have you, Pete. A word from you
TO the Portal City police headquarters,
and our man finds himself arrested
and locked up-to walt for a requisi-
tion from the governor of Oregon"
But you said tn requstion wouldn't
come" Clanahan put in.
Hatch was sitting back now and
stroking his ugly jaw.
at might come. Pete. II it had to:
there's no knowing. In the meantime
we get delay. There'll be habeas cor
pus proceedings, of course, to get him
out of jail, but there's where you'll
come in again; you've got your own
man for city attorney. And, after all,
the delay is all we need. With Nor
cross in trouble, and In jail on Il charge
of murder. the railroad ship1l go on
the rocks in short order. The Nor
cross management is having plenty
of trouble-wrecks and the like. With
Norcross locked up, New York win be
heard from, and Dismuke will step In
and clean house. That Will wind up
the reform spasm."
"'Tis small chance" growled the
chief of the ward heelers. "rll talk
1t over with the big fellow"
Again Hatch leaned forward and
put his hands on his knees.
you'll do nothing of the sort, Pete.
You'll act, and act on your own re-
sponsibility. II you DON'T somebody
may wire the sheriff of Silver Bow
county, Montana. that the man he
knew in Butte as Michael Clancy
is. :"
The divekeeper put up both hands
as If to ward off blow.
"'Tis enough" he mumbled, speak
ing as IL he had bunch of dry Gotten
in his mouth. "Slip me tn warrant"
Hatch went to small safe and
worked the combination. When the
door was opened he passed a folded
paper to Clanahan. Through all this
talk, Henckel had said nothing, and
I suspected that Hatch had him there
solely for safety's sake, and to provide
a witness. With the paper in his
pocket, Clanahan got up to go. 1t
was time for me to make move.
It's curious how an idea will some
times lay hold of you and knock out
reason and common sense and every
thing else. Clanahan had in his pocket
a piece of paper that simply meant
ruin to Mr.. Norcross, and the blowing
up of all the plans that had been made
and all the work that had been done.
If he should be allowed to get up town
tba ~
thing would be in sight. But how
was / to prevent 1t?
The three men were on their feet,
and Hatch was reaching for the wall
switch which controlled the single in
candescent lamp hanging from the
ceiling of the scale-house. If l could
only think of some way to blow the
place up and snatch the paper in the
confusion.
Up to that minute had never
thought once of the pistol had taken
from Fred Mays drawer, though 1t
was still sagging in my left hip pocket.
When / did think of 1t 1 dragged it
! out with some silly notion of trying
to hold the three men up at the door
of the shack as they came out. Hatch's
stop to light cigar and to hand out
a couple to the other two gave me
time to chuck that notion and grab an
other. With the muzzle of the auto
matte resting in the crack of the
opened window took dead aim at
the incandescent lamp in the ceiling
and turned her loose for the whole
magazineful.
Since the first bullet got the lamp
and left the place black dark.
couldn't see what was happening in
the close little room. could hear
them gasping and yelling and knock
ing one another down as they fought
TO get the door open. Sticking the
empty pistol back into my pocket 1
jumped to get action, hurting my sore
hand like the mischief in doing 1t.
Hatch was the first man out, but
the big German was so close second
that he knocked his smaller partner
down and fell over him. Clanahan
kept his feet. He had a gun in his
hand that looked to me, in the dark
ness, as big as cannon. l was fat
tened against the side of the scale
shack, and when the divekeeper tried
to side-step around the two fallen men
who were blocking the way. snatched
the folded paper from his pocket;
snatched it and ran as If the dickens
was after me.
That was bad move-the runaway.
If had kept still there might have
been chance for me to make a sneak.
But when l ran, and fell over pile
of loose coal. and got up and ran