Charlevoix county herald., 1921-04-22


among the boys to keep an eye out
FIR that Atlantic-type that got lost In
the shuttle, amt you? Well, found
her."
"What's that-where?" snapped kir-
gan. in a tone that made noise like
the pop of a whip-lash.
"You know that old gravel pit that
digs into the hill mile west OF the
old " on the Timber Mountain grader
Well, she's there; plumb at the far
end O. that gravel track, cold and
dead"
"Crippled?" Kirgan raped out.
"Not as we could see; just dead
She's got her nose showed a piece
into the gravel bank, but she amt
off the rail"
Kirgan nodded. "who else saw
her?"
Nobody but the boys on our train,
/ reckon"
"All right. Don't spread it. Want
to make a little overtime?"
81 amt kickin none"
THAT'S business. After you've had
your supper, call up your fireman and
report to me here at the rOund-hOuse.
Wen take light engine and go down
along and get that runaway"
This seemed to settle Kirgan's half
of the puzzle. We hadn't taken the
gravel track into our calculations sim
ply because it wasn't marked on the
map we had been studying; but that
merely meant that the pit had been
opened some time after the map had
been made.
When GOrcher had gone into the
round-hOuse to wash up and tell hts
fireman to report back, Kirgan and
| crossed the yard and headed for
town. ! left the master-mechanic at
the door of Greek eat-shOp that he
patronized and went on up to the
Billiard. was just getting around
TO my piece Of canned pumpkin pie
when the kid from the dispatcher's
office came into the grill-roOm. stretch
ing his neck as If he were looking for
somebody. When he got his eye on
me he came across to my corner and
handed me a telegram. 1t was from
Mr.. Chadwick, under a Chicago date
line, and it was addressed "To the
General Managers Office" just like
that. There were only nine words
in it, but they were all strictly to the
point: whats gone wrong? Where
is Mr.. NOrcross? Answer quick"
/ saw in half second at least a
part of what had happened. Mr.. Chad
wick was back from his Canadian
trip, and somebOdy-the New York
people. perhaps-had wired him that
new general manager had been APP
pointed for Pioneer Short Line. The
old wheat kings quick shot at our
office showed that he wasn't in the
plot, and that, whatever else had be-
come of him, Mr. Norcross hadn't as
yet turned up in Chicago!
Gee! but that brought on more
talk-a whaling lot of it. l meant
TO find out, right away, if Mr.. Van
Britt had come back from the scene
of a wreck. He was the man to an
swer Mr.. Chadwick's wire. But an
interruption butted in suddenly, just
as | was signing the dinner check.
The head waiter, who knew me from
having seen me so often with the boss,
came over to say that l was wanted
quick at the telephone.
1t was Mrs. Sheila on the wire, and
| could tell by the way her voice
sounded that she was nightly ex-
cited.
"Ive been calling you on every
phone l could think Of" was the way
Van Britt?"
told her about the wreck and said
l was afraid he hadn't got back yet.
l heard something that sounded like
a muffled and half-impatient, "Oh,
dear!" and then she went on. 81 have
Cantrell, the editor of the Noun
taineer. He called the house to try
to find Major Kendrick. He has heard
something which may explain about
Mr.. Norcross. He said he didn't want
10 put 1t on the wire"
Indt WIS cuOuSH lOI Hlc III ~
right over to the Mountaineer Office"
l told her; and in just about two
shakes of a dead lambs TAIL / was
standing at Mr.. Cantrell's elbow in
his little den on the third floor of the
newspaper building across the avenue.
Mrs. Macrae telephoned your" he
asked, pushing his bunch Of copy pa
per aside.
"Yes; just a minute ago."
'Ill give you what 1 have, and you
may do what you please with 1t. One
of our young men-Branderby-
discovered-in some way that he didn't
care to explain over the phone-that
there was a plot of some kind con-
cocted in the back room of a dive on
lower Nevada avenue on the night
Mr.. Norcross disappeared. From what
Branderby says, l take 1t that the
plot was overheard, In part, at least,
by some habitue of the place who was
too drunk to get il entirely straight
and Ineligible. The plotters were
four of Clanahan's men, and, as
Rranderhv GOT n thew were Manning