The Dolores star., 1921-10-28

',"- mans name H..
ooligfngly looked 1t up for m 0a
Bullock. 'ocs' u
! suppose 1t was up to me ;.
bed. 1t was late enough. in "a
science, and nobody knew ha.I
did the early-rising. ss,, %
opening habits OF Mr.. Grst.
cross, G. NJ. Just the s,m
had marked that Mr. Col'j.s as
room-key was still in its bor
over TO u corner of the lohh.
down. determined to keen =, aN
open. II such n thing wer.
possible. until our ronnae. Hua'
show up. 20
fihaiiy my patience. or w..
you care to call 1t. was raI
just after the baggage por,a. a
ished sing-songing his c,I a'
night express weStbound INV m. ~.
in on the run. A
When he rushed over 10 tbo -.
ana began to talk fast IN II.
clerk. wasn't very far hsb,.,
He was telling the clerk 10
grips down from the room adj"
quick. While the boy wa, wv
the grips, my man made s,'
shoot for the bar. and who, ~
got a sight of him-from bab,,.
OF the big onyx-pIated pillars !,
bar-room colonnade-he was ,o..
neat liquor down his throa, y r
were water and he on fir. 49,
Ihat was about all there w,.
By the time CollingwooJ 70, b,S y
the clerks counter, tho bow w,s
with the bags. Collingwood IooL.a
sort of nervously at the big cIocL
paid his bill. And while IN. .
was getting his change be r,,,,
the pen out OF the counter InL.,'.
and made out as If he WAS sb.t,.
picture, or something, on tbs
register.
A half-minute later he was :.
When the taxi purred away tr-
TO the open register TO see vb,,
naniac had been drawing in II u
he had done was completely ia
litcrate his signature. lie had sc,,,.,
1t over until the past master a,
the handwriting experts tba,
lived couldn't have told what tbs NJ
was.
1t was while we were eatIny Ia.
fast the next morning in the Bu
cnfe-the boss and that We rr
first news Of the Petrolite wrers
story was rcd-headlIncd in The MI
Ing Herald-the Hatch-owned u,.
and besides being played up soe
strong In the news columns. the-s
an editorial TO back the 'front.',
scream.
At two O'Clock In the moni.
fast westbound freight had let
track in petrolite Canyon, and Ia
they could get the tlagman out
iayed castbound passenger had
iided with the ruins. There wer
lives lost, but a uuraber Of "a
including the cnginclIan, the ID
clerks and the bagsagruan on dsp
sengcr, were injured.
The editorial. commenting %
wire stun, was sharply critical q
Short Line management. II ID
broadly that there had been 20
thing as discipline on the road 4
Mr.. Shaffer had left II; that the
and file was running things p
much as 1t pleaSedi und with
there was dig at General mans
who let old and t'me-tried des
ment heads go to MAKE room fOt1
rich and incompetent college frisns
which was meant to be slap 81
Van Britt, our own and only
llonaire.
Unhappily, this fault-fndlng ha
good bit to build on, in one way
l have said, we were having oIs
ing troubles TO beat the band. '
the rank and file apparently DOM
level best to help out In the
"public-be-pleased' program, 1t So
as If we couldn't worry thrOu1
single week without smashing ~
thing.
Latterly. even the newspapers
were friendly TO 'he NOrcross nlsA'
ment were beginning to comHea
the epidemic of disasters, and no''7
in the world but the boss pola
taking all the editors into DIS
fidence when they wanted "
vestigate kept the rising Store
criticism somewhere within DOuna
Mr.. Norcross had read the ?
before he handed it over 10 me,
afterward he hurried his oreaA'i
little. When he reached the oHvs
Van Britt was waiting for the cD'
"We've got it in the meek
more" he gritteG flashing up lh
copy of the Herald. "Dld you
that editorial?"
Never mind the neWspape'
How bad is the trouble th's 'i~'
"Pretty bad. The freight Is
tically n total loss; good nan
is in the river. kirgan says
pick the freight engine up an