Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-03-31
CHAPTER III
The Directors Meeting

The Directors Meeting
I was up bright and early the next
morning, and after breakfast I took
a little sashay down Nevada enu
to have a look at III railroad. OF
course, / knew, after what the boss
had said to MI. Chadwick the night
before, just before we went to bed,
that we weren't ever going to see
Canada, or even Illinois.
I'll have to admit that the look I got
didn't make me feel as if we'd found q
Cullinan diamond. Down in the yards
everything seemed to be at the loosest
kind of loose ends. A switching crew
was making up a freight, and the way
they slammed the boxes together, re-
gardless Of broken Drawbacks and the
like, was a sin and a shame.
After a while, after I'd loafed
through the shops and around the
yard and got a few more whiffs Of
the decay, I strolled on back to the
hotel.
I was wondering a little what had
become of the boss-who was general
ly the earliest riser on the job
when two men came bullying through
the screen doors of the cafe, picking
their teeth and feeling in their pockets
for cigars. Right on the dot, and in
the face of. knowing that it couldn't
reasonably be so, I had a feeling that
I'd seen those men before. One of
them was short and rather stocky,
and his face had a sort of hard, hum
CRY look; and the other was big and
barrel-bodied. The short one was clean
shaver, but the other had a reddish
gray beard clipped close on his fat
jaws and trimmed to a point at the
chin.
After they had lighted up they came
along and sat down three or four
chairs away from me. They paid no
attention to me, but for fear they
might, I tried to look as sleepy as an
all-night bell-hop in a busy hotel.
1.-THE Dunton bunch got together in
one of the committee rooms up-staira
a little after eight O'clock" said the
short man, in a low, rasplng voice that
went through you like a buzz-saw.
Thanks to those internal b%lunderers
Clanahan sent us last night. Chadwick
was with them"
II think that was choost So" said
the big man, speaking slowly and with
something more than a hint of a Ger
man accent. Becker was choost what
you call nina tam blunderer."
Like a flash it came over me that
I was listening in" to a talk between
the same two men who had sat in the
while they were waiting for the actual
kidnapers to return. You can bet high
that I made myself mighty small anG
unobtrusive.
After a while the big man spoke
again.
what has Uncle Chon Chadwick VI
his sleeve got, do you think"
II don't think-I known was tht
snappy reply. TITS II of two things
a receivership-which will knock u.
into a cooked hat because we can
fool with an officer of the United
] States court-or a new deal all arounf
in the management"
"Vich of the two will it be that vii
come out of that commiddee room up
stairsg"
"A new management. Dunton cam
stand for q receivership, and Chad
! wick knows it. The securities woul(
be Knocked out and the majority hold
ers-Dunton and his bunch-couldn'1
unload. Chadwick will name the mar
who is to take Shaffer's place as gen
sral manager Of the railroad outfit
Ne might have stood it off for 8
sghile, just as l said yesterday, it VIZ
Md have kept Chadwick from at
lding this meeting"
But now we don't could stand |
what them"
Ven have TO wait and see. ant
up the new man when he blows
He'll be only human, Henckel. Ant
get right down to 1t we cai
am over TO our slde--or make
3lsh he'd never been born"
Dig man got up n0~nderousl.
1lsied the cigar ashes off of hi
lhdow. "Yop wait and see wha
aes init the commiddee room out
~ up 10 the oyyjce."
When was left alone IN ii,e row o