The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-05-05

sight safer than back room in one
of your dives-as we know now to our
cost"
Clanahan threw up his head with
gesture that said much. "Murphy's
the, man that leaked on that engine
job-and he'll leak no more"
WELL" said Hatch, with growing
Irritation. what are you holding back
for now? We stood to win on the
first play, and we would have won If
your people hadn't balled 1t by talking
too much. One more day and Dis
nuke would have been in-the saddle.
That would have settled it."
Yah: and Mister Dismuke still here
in Portal City remains" put in
Henckel.
The divekeeper locked his pudgy
fingers across cooked knee.
"'Tis foine, brave gintlemen ye are,
you two. whin we've got somebody else
to pull tn nuts out av tn fire for
ye!" he said. "Ye'd have us croak
this felly f'r We, and thin ye'd stand
back and wash yer hands while some
poor divil wint to tn rope f'r 1t.
nneTe uo we COme III, Is Wnut u IKE
to know"
You are already in." snapped
Hatch. You know what the Big fel-
low at the capital thinks about it,
and where you'll stand in the coming
election If you don't put out this fire
that Norcross is kindling. You're yell
low, Clanahan. That's all that is the
matter with you,'
'Tell me wan thingl" insisted the
divekeeper, boring the chief CRATER
with his pin-point eyes. do you stand
f'r it if we do this thing up right?"
Hatch's eyes fell, and Henckel's big
body twisted uneasily In the chair that
was groaning under his beer-barrel
weight. There was silence for little
space, and l could feel the cold sweat
starting out all over me. 1 hadn't
dreamed of stumbling upon anything
like this when started out to shadow
Kestler. They were actually plotting
to murder the boss
1t was Hatch who broke the still
ness.
ITS up to you, Clanahan, and you
know it." he declared. You've had
your tip from the big fellow. The
railroad people must be made to get
into the fight in the coming election,
and get in on the right side. II they
don't; and If Norcross stays and keeps
his fire burning, you fellows lose out"
Clanahan sat back in his chair and
showed his hands into his pockets.
"Ye'd stirring me as If was boy!"
l r..s.-.
first to last Dye think I'm not know
ing that? 'Tis bread and butther and
tn big rake-off for you, and little We
care how tn election goes. Suppose
we'd croak this man in tn, hot par-rt
av tn p'litcal fight; what happens?
Half tn noospaypers in tn state d
play him up fr martyr to tn cause
av good governmint, and we'd all go
to hell in a hand-basketW
l was cramped and sore and one of
my legs had gone to sleep, but
couldn't have moved if / had wanted
to. My heart was skipping beats right
along while l waited for Hatch's an
swer. When 1t came. the drumming
in my ears pretty nearly made me
lose it.
"Clanahan," he began, as cold as an
icicle. II didn't get you down here to
| argue with you. You've bungled this
thing once. and for that reason you've
| got it to do over again. We haven't
| asked you to 'croak' anybody, as you
put it, and we are not asking 1t now"
"'Tis id little you lack av asking
| it." retorted the divekeeper.
te+ar.r caf1 HATCH laapt.r e..
ward with his hands on his knees.
Besides keeping cases on Norcross
here, we've been digging back into his
record a few lines. Every man has
Clanahan-just as you have yours.
What if should tell you that Norcross
Is wanted in another state-for a
crime? Before he came here he was
| chief of construction on the Oregon
Midland. There was right-of-way
fight back In the mountains-fifty
miles from the nearest sheriff-with
the p. & s. f. Norcross armed his
track-layers, and in the blufiing there
was man killed"
Though 1t was "a warm night, as l
have said, the cold chills began to
chase themselves up and down my
back. What Hatch said was perfectly
true. In the right-of-way scrap he
was talking about, there had been
few wild shots fired, and one Of them
had found Z. K S. f. grade laborer
l don't believe anybody had ever real
| ly blamed the boss for it. But there
had been a man killed.
While l was shivering, Clanahan
said: "Well, what av It'll"
"Norcross was responsible for that
mans death. If he was having trouble
over his right-of-way, his recourse was
to the law, and he took the law into
his own hands. Nothing was ever