New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-08-26

80 al a w iitbi ihs
you, Jimmie" he said. And then
Have you any news?"
l had, Il little, and | gave it to him
Fred May had come tip-toeing up into
my sentry corridor about ten O'Clock
to tell Inc that Mr.. Perkins had ar
ranged with the strikers to have Il spe-
ella 90 east with the major and Mrs
Sheila and COllingwOOd's body to
catch the Overland at Sedgwick and
told the boss this, and that the train
had been gone for an hour or more.
Also, | gave him Il sealed package
that II strange boy had brought up
just II little while after May went
away. We took the elevator to the
grlll-room for something 10 eat. and
at table Mr.. NorcrOss opened the pack
age, 1t contained a bunch of affida-
Wits, eleven of them in all. and there
was no letter or anything to tell where
they had come from.
lie handed the papers over to me,
AFTER he had seen what they were
sort of frowned across the table at me
and said: do you know what it
means-this surrender of those bride
affidayits. Jimmie?"
l said l guessed | did; that Hatch
being dead, and Collingwood, too. there
wasn't nerve enough left in the Red
Tower outfit to keep up the fight that
the surrender of the afidavits was a
klnd of Il plea for Il let-up on our
part.
We'll begin to show them, in just
about fifteen minutes. Jimmie" was
the short comment. "I,each over and
get that telephone and tell Mr.. Ripley
and Mr.. BillOughby that | want them
twelve. Any new from the striker"
Nothing" | told him, while Cen
trail was getting me Mr.. Ripley's num-
Der. Erred May said il was going on
just the same; everything quiet and
nothing doing, except that the wreck
ing train had gone ~ to pick up the
scraps at Timber Mountain ~ Kir-
gan is bossing it, and the strikers
manned 1t for him"
Nothing more was said until after
had sent the two phone messages, and
then the boss broke out in Il new spot.
"llas anything been heard from Mr..
Van Britt?" he asked.
'Not that | know Of"
Again he gave me that queer little
scowl across the table.
"Jimmie, have you found out yet
why Mr.. Van Britt insisted on quit
ting the service?"
| guess | grinned a little. though
| tried not TO.
"Mr. Van Britt is one of the best
friends you've got" | said. "IIe thought
you needed this strike, and he wanted
To 90 out among the payroll men and
sort of help it along. lie couldn't do
n thing like that while he was an Of
iicer of the company and drawing his
pay like the rest of u.s."
Il might have known-he as good ms
told me-" was the reply. made kind
of half-absently; and then, short and
quick Flows the stock market? Have
you seen n paper?"
l had seen both papers, at break
fast-time, but of curse they had moth.
ing startling in them except n last
minute account of the wreck mt Tim
Der mountain "Y." grabbed off Just
before they went to press. They
couldn't have anything later from New
York than the day before. But Fred
May had tipped me off when he came
up to tell me about the Major Ken
drick special. The newspaper Offices
were putting out bulletins by that
time.
| told Mr.. Norcross about the bull
letins and was brash enough to add:
Were headed for the ~receivership all
right, | guess; our stock has tumbled
to twcnty-nine, and there's "A regular
going on over it ut the rail-
Streets alrc and burning up, so they
The chief hadn't eaten enough to
keep a cat alive, hut at that he pushed
chair back and reached for his
hat.
"Come on Jimmie" he snapped.
We've got TO get busy. And there
isn't going TO he any r~eceivership."
We reached the railroad headquar-
ters-which were as dead and quiet rs
Il graveyard-a little before Mr.. Rip-
ley and Billoughby got down. But
Mr.. Editor Cantrell was there, waiting
to shoot an anxious question at the
boss.
well, Norcross, are you ready to
talk nowf'
mot just yet; tomorrow, maybe"
Vas the ~good-natured rejoinder.
".All right; then perhaps you will
me this: Do you, yourself, believe
hat four or five thousand railroad
men have gone on strike out of sheer
sympathy for a few hundred c. S.
K W. employees. most of whom are
merely common laborers? Can you
ook me in the eye and tell me that
-ou haven't fomented this eruption on
he quiet to get the better of the Red
crowd In some way." de-
the editor.
II can, indeed" was the smiling an
'wer.
Cantrell looked as If he didn't more
han half believe it.
"Being a newspaper man, I'm nat
lrally suspicious" he put in. There
re big doings down underneath all
his that l can smell, but can't dig
lp. Everything about this strike is too
'lamed good-natured. I've talked with
Ialf a dozen Of the leaders, and with
ny number of the rank and file. They
III grin and give me the wink. as If
t were the best joke that was ever
'ulled Off"
Again Mr.. Norcross smiled hand