Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-08-04
climb back into tnessaddIe. Red Tower
Is: down and out, now, and they can
keep 1t out If they want to-"

Climb back into tnessaddIe. Red Tower
Is down and out, now, and they can
keep 1t out if they want to-
| suppose might rattle this old
type-machine of mine indefinitely and
n tell the story of the financial fight that
filed the next few days; Of how the
boss and Mr.. Ripley and Bil1oughby
gothic bankers and practically every.
body together all along the Short Line
and sprung the big plan upon them.
which was nothing less than the snap
ping up. on a tumbling stock market,
of the opportunity now presented to
e of owning-actually owning in
fee simple-their own railroad, the
buying to be done quietly through Mr..
Chadwick's brokers in Chicago and
New York.
There was some opposition and
jangling and see-sawing back and
forth, of course, but the newspapers,
led by the M0untaineer, took hold, and
then. pretty soon, everybody took
hold; after which the only trouble was
to keep people-our own rank and file
among them-from buying P. S. L..
Common so fast that the New York
ers would catch on and run the price
l. Up.
They didn't catch onAnot until after
it was too late; and the minute Mr..
Chadwick wired us from Chicago that
we We're safe, the strike went off, as
you might say, between two minutes,
and Mr.. Norcross called a meeting Of
stockholders, the anne to be held
bless your heart!-in Portal City, the
thriving metropolis of the region in
which, counting Mr.. Chadwick in as
n of us, a good, solid voting major
ity of the stock was now held. The
Mountaineer printed the call. and it
spoke of the railroad as 'our railroad
company!
The meeting was held in due time,
and Mr.. Chadwick was there to pre-
side. He made a cracking good chair
man, and the way he dilated on the
fact that now the country-and the
employees-had a railroad of their
own, and that the whole nation would
be looking to e how we would de-
monstrate the problem we had taken
over. actually brought cheers-think'
of it; cheers in a railroad stockhOld-
ers' meeting!
Following Mr.. Chadwick's talk there
was the usual routine business re-
ports were read and it was shown that
the Short Line, Notwithstanding all the
stealings and raismanagements, was
still good going proposition al. the
price at which it had been bought in.
A new board of directors was chosen,
and as soon as the new board got to-
gether, Mr.. Norcross went back to his
Office in the headquarters, not as gen
eral manager, this time-not on your
life!-but as the newly elected presi-
dent of Pioneer Short Line. And by
the same token, the first official cir
cular that came out-a copy Of which
l sent tied up with a blue ribbon, to
Mafsie 1Ann-read like this:
ITO all Employees:
EFFECTIVE this day, Mr.. James f.
Dodds is appointed assistant to the
president with headquarters in Portal
City.
e- &c. Norcross, President"
That's all: all but a little talk be
tween the boss and Mr.. Upton Van
Britt that took place in our Office on
the day after Mr.. Van Britt, still kick
ing about the hard work that the boss
was always piling upon him, had been
appointed general manager.
"You'ye made the rifle. Graham
just as | said you would said our
own and only millionaire, after he had
got through abusing the fates that
wouldn't let him go back east and play
with his coupon shears and his yachts
and polo ponies. You're going to
be the biggest man this side of the
mountains, some day and the day isn't
SO very far off. either
1t was just here that the boss got
out of his chair and walked to fhe
other end of the room. When he came
back it was to say:
"Youi think l have won out, Up.
EIpH. HHa 50 HOpS elS ]
suppose it looks that way to the man
in the street. But haven't, you know
have lost the n thing for which
| would gladly give all the business
success i have ever made or hope to
make"
Mr.. Van Britt's smile was more than
half n grin.
ST isn't lost, Graham: it's only gone
before. Can't 9 walt a decent lit.
tie while?'
IF ! should wait all my life il
wouldn't be long enough. Upton" vas
the reply aWhat Q said to me-
that time when we first. spoke of Col
lingwood---Was true. You said she
loved the other man--and so she did,
This time Mr.. Van Rritt's smile was
q whole grin.
Il said 1T, and I'll say it again. SHE
didn't realize 1t or admit 1T, even to
herself. you know ; she's too good and