Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-04-07

SYNOPSIS.

RSsAikS4ke3lE CHART
SYNOPSIS.
CHAPTER I.-Graham Norcross, rail-
road manager, and his secretary, Jimmie
Dodds. are marooned at Sand Creek sid
Ing with a young lady, Sheila Macrae,
ness a peculiar train holdup. in which
8 special car is carried off.
u.-Norcross recognizes the
car stolen as o Chadwick's. financial
Giega ae w ana b Be Mas r e9 meet c H. I1feai
The latter offers Norcross the
ship Of the Pioneer Short Line. which is
IN the hands Of eastern spectators.
dent of the line. Norcross. learning that
Sheila Macrae is stopping at Portal City,
accepts.
CHAPTER HI.-Dodds overhears con-
tave Henckel, Portal City fnanciers, In
which they admit completely in Chadwick
az dnapin their object being g,o 70 Keep
directors to ~reorganize the Pioneer Short
Line. which would jeopardize their inter-
ests.
CHAPTER Iy.-.To curb the monopoly
Fewer corporation. Eorcross forms the
Citizens Storage n Warehouse COM
pany. He begins to manifest q deep in.
that Sheila Is married, but living apart
from her husband. Norcross does not
know this.
/ heard what he was saying, but l
didn't really sense 1t. because my head
was ram jam full Of a thing that was
so pitiful that it had kept me swal-
lowing hard ali the way back from
Major Hendricks. It was this way.
When I had jiggled the bell out at the
house it was Maisie Ann who let me
in and took the box Of flowers and the
boss note. We sat in the dimly lighted
hall and talked for a few minutes.
One thing she told me was that Mrs.
Sheila had company and the name of
it was Mr.. Van Britt. That wasn't
strictly news because l had known
that Mr.. Van Britt was dividing time
pretty evenly with the boss in the
Major Kendrick house visits. That
wasn't anything to be scared up about.
But my chunky little girl didn't stop
at that.
81 think we can let Mr.. Van Britt
, take care Of HIMSELF she said. HE
has known Cousin Sheila for q long
time, and I guess they are only just
good friends. But there is something
you ought to know, Jimmie-for Mr..
Norcross' sake. He has been sending
lots of flowers and things, and Cousin
Sheila has been taking them because
well, I guess it's just because She
doesn't know how not to take them"
$50 on" I said, but my mouth had
suddenly grown dry.
"Such things-fowers, you know
don't mean anything in New York,
where we've been living. Men send
them to their women friends just as
they pass their cigar-cases, around
among their men friends. But I'm
afraid it's different with Mr.. Nor
cross"
"{s Is different" l said.
Then she told me the thing that
made me swell up and want to burst.
'sIt mustn't be different, Jimmie.
Cousin Sheila's married. you know"
81 know she has been married" l
corrected; and then she gave me the
sure-enough Knockout.
"She is married now, and her hus-
band is still living"
For a little while l couldn't do any,
thing but cape like a chicken with
the pip. It was simply fierce! knew,
as well as I knew anything. that the
boss was gone on Mrs. Sheila; that
he had fallen in love, first with the
back of her neck and then with her
pretty face and then with all of her;
and that the one big reason why he
had LET Mr.. Chadwick persuade him
to stay in Portal City was the fact
J that he had wanted to be near her and
TO show her how he could make a per-
fecfiy good spoon out of the spoiled
horn of the Pioneer Short Line.
When | began to get my grip. back
a little / was right warm under the
collar.
sShe oughtn't to be going around
telling people she is a widow!" ]
blurted out.
"She doesn't was the calm reply.
They've separated, you know-years
ago-and Cousin Sheila has taken her
mothers maiden name, Macrae. If
we were going to live here always 1t
would be different. But we are only
visiting Cousin Basil, or I suppose we
are, though we've been here o for
nearly a year."
There wasn't much more to be said,
and pretty socn / had staggered off
with my load and gone back to the
office And this was why l couldn't
get very deep into the Hatch business
with Mr., Norcross when he told me
what he had been obliged to do about
the Sand Creek hold-up,
IL he had been like other men 1t
wouldn't have been so hard, But !
had a feeling that he had gone into
this love business just as he did into
everything--neck or Notwithstanding
bis bridges behind him, and having no
notion of ever turning back. The boss