The Bienville Democrat. [volume] (Arcadia, Bienville Parish, La.) 1912-1980, 1921-04-21
CHAPTER |
Al Sand Creek Sidina

AhunCheS. But there are eXCepllOuS
n all rules, and we certainly uncov.
cred the biggest one of the lot-the
hoss and 1.-The night we left Port
land and the good old Pacific coast.
Il was this way. We had finished
the construction work on the Oregon
Midland sand were on our way to the
trsIp, when ! had one of those queer
little premonitOry chills you hear so
much about and knew just as we'll as
could be that we were never going
topull through to Chicago without get
I tng a jolt Of some sort. The reason
IL you'll call it a reason-was that,
inst before we came to the railroad
Satidn, the boss walked calmly under
~ ladder standing In front Of new
building; and besides that, 1t was the
thirteenth day Of the month, a Fri
", and raining like the very mis-
IsxhIa.
W Just to sort Of toll US along, may.
n u the fates didn't begin on US that
lhght. They waited until the next
ny and then proceeded to shove US
Isln behind freight-train wreck at
|lNIdner, Idaho, where we lost twelve
hours. It looked as If that didn't
amount to much, because we weren't
1ue anywhere at any particular time.
NE boss was on his way home for a
Ntle visit with his folks IN Illinois,
ssnd beyond that he was going to meet
& bunch Of Englishmen in Montreal,
81 "a maybe let them make him general
nanager Of one of the Canadian rail-
Il M
30 Mr.. NOrcross was in no special
larv. and neither was l. l had been
Nnf initial clerk and shorthand an
II the boss on the Midland conStruc.
ton, and he was taking me along part
} because he knows a cracking good
Menographer when he sees one, but
mostly because was dead anxious to
- anywhere he was going.
But II It hadn't been for that
twelve-h0ur layout we would have
caught the Saturday night train on
the Pioneer Short Line, instead of the
main Sunday morning, and there
4 would have been no meeting with
Mn Sheila and Maisie Ann; no tele-
Nam from Mr.. Chadwick, because 1t
wouldn't have found US: no hold-up
q Sand Creek siding; in short, nothing
would have happened that did hap
pen.
i vas on Sunday that the jolt be.
gan 70 get ready to land on US. Right
z soon after breakfast, with the help of
a little Pullman berth table and me
ana my typewriter, Mr.. Norcross
Il / turned our section into a business office,
aylng that now we had q good quiet
gay. we'd clean up the million or so
eucs and ends of correspondence he'd
In letting 90 while we were tussling
u the Midland right-of-way through
y Oregon mountains.
nom where he sat debating to me
ooss was facing forward and now
Then an absent sort of look came
his eyes while he was talking off
tiers, and 1t puzzled me because
mt like him. One of the times
he had given me full grist Of
.as and had gone off to smoke
! typed a few thousand lines
my notes to catch up, made
ecoyery. There were two people
eection Five just ahead Of US. a
g woman and girl of maybe fif-
Of 80, and the Pullman was the
ashloned kind, with low seat
! put 1t up that In those alb
styed Intervals Mr.. NOrcrOss had
studying the back Of the young
ns neck. was measurably sure
ssn't the little girls.
wong In the forenoon made an ex-
ID @ 30 and get a drink Of water
y the forward cooler, and on the
pack | took good square look
~ neighbors In Number Five. The
woman was pretty enough to
! stopped clock--only pretty"
last the word, either; there
any word. when you come right
Q II. And the little girl was
= peach--a nice, downy, rosy
chunky, round-faced, sunny.
oily; with neat little turned.
h. md big sort Of boyish laugh
"a that fairly dared the world.
me second call TO dinner Mr.,
ssoss told me to strap up the ma.
snu put the files away In the
ead we'd 60 eat. He was pretty
oFeaking out once, in the meat
% tell me that he'd just had a
Ioed telegram from an old friend
that would stop US off for a
Two In Portal City, the head
nen Of the Pioneer Short Line.
Aef along, pretty we'll into the ice
g and black coffee, he came to life
y y ask me II l had noticed the
Mdy and the girl In the Pull
secticn next to ours.
sa him ! had. and then, because
9 never known him to bother his
1cf two minutes In succession
Any woman, be gave ma Z