The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1921-04-14

some lfay and turn g and help him :"
II know aii shout that ihnev in
nm ehene are you trying 10 land
NanT
~Righi here Afr Sorrross Nss the
whole sfoN Take him our o. Il and
the ahnfe shootin match would faii
10 rieces-as It's coin. right nuw.
They didn't nerd 10 slug him or Shoot
him ~ o. anything IKE that Il Il
conla h. made 70 look - n he'd
jumped the joh. quit. chucked Il al
90. why. there you are new boss
would be sent GU, here. and you could
bet your sweet life he wouldn't be
anybody llke Mr. Norcross Not 50
you could notice T. The New York
people would take blamed good cares
that
You think the Dunton people are
standing in With the graftr
Nobody could've grabbed on the
motive power job on this railroad. a.
did. Jimmie. and not think it-and
be d--n sure OF H. Why Lord o
Heavens the Red Tower bunch was
usln' ms Just the same as II We be
longed 20 'efn ordering our men 10
do their machinery repairs. hepin
themselves TO any railroad material
that they happened 20 need. usln oar
cays and engines oa thei- loggiL roads
and mine branches
You stopped all hiss"
You bet / did-betWeen Two days
They've been maxim seventeen differ
ent kinds OF roar ever since, but I've
bad Mr.. Van Britt and the big boss
behind me, so | just showed ahead
What Klrgan said about the Red
Tower people using our rolling stock
on their private branch roads set a
bee TO buzzing In my brain. What II
they had stolen the 1916 TO use IN that
w2y7
You have "A blueprint OF the Portal
division here, haven't your" ! asked.
dig IL up and let's have look at IT,"
At first the facts threatened TO bluff
as. The blueprint engineers map was
an old one, but IL showed the spurs and
side-tracks, the stations and water
tanks. Since the lost engine had been
standing at the western end Of the
Portal City yards, We didn't try to
trace 1t eastward. To get out in that
direction il would have had to pass
the round-house, the shops, the pas
senger station and the headquarters
and, even at that time OF
night. somebody would have been sure
10 see It.
Tracing the other way-westward-
we had a clear track for ten miles 10
Arroyo. Arroyo had no night opera
tor, so we agreed that the stolen en-
CINE might easily have Slipped past
there without being marked down.
Eight miles beyond Arroyo we came
to Banta, the first night station west
Of Portal City Here, as We figured
H. the wild engine must have been
seen by the operator, If by no one
Plse. BaHta was an apple town, and
The town itself might have been
asleep, but the wire man at the sta
ion shouldn't have been.
Let's hold Banta i'm suspense a bit,
and allow that by some means or
other the thieves managed TO get by"
suggested. "The next thing to be
considered is the fact that the Ten
Sixteen must now have been rum
orders, we must remem-
Der-against the Fast Mail coming
east. The Mail didn't pass her any
officially, at least; If 1t
had, the fact would show up In some
stations report to the dispatcher's
lflice"
At this, we hunted up an official |
ime-card and began TO figure on the |
meet" proposition. The Fast Mail |
was due at Portal City at twelve
wenty, and on the night In question |
I had been on time. Making due |
lime allowances for inaccuracy I'm fhp /