Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1921-04-01

CHAPTER !
At Sand Greek Sidlno

CHAPTER
Al Sand Creek Siding
As a general proposition, don't be-
ueye much in the things called
lunches" But there are exceptions
to all rules, and we certainly uncov-
cred the biggest one Of the lOt-the
boss and 1.-The night we left Port
land and the good old Pacific coast.
II was this way. We had finished
the construction work on the Oregon
Midland; and were on our way to the
train. when had one Of those queer
little premonitory chills you hear 30
much sbout and knew Just as well az
could be that we were never going
20 pull through to Chicago without get
ting q Jolt Of some sort. The reason
III you'll call Il a reason-was that,
Just before we came to the railroad
station, the boss walked calmly under
Z ladder standing In front Of new
building; and besides that, 1t was the
thirteenth day Of the month, Fri
day, and raining like the very mis-
chief.
Just to sort of toll Us along, may
b. the fates didn't begin on rs that
night They waited until the next
day, and then proceeded to shove rs
n behind q freight-train wreck at
WIdnsr, Idaho, where we lost twelve
hours. Il looked as II that didn't
amount to much, because we weren't
due anywhere at any particular time.
The boss was on his way home for q
little visit with his folks in Illinois,
and beyond that he was going to meet
= bunch Of Engiishmen In Montreal
and maybe let them make him general
Manager Of one Of the Canadian rail-
eoadA
% M. Norcrom wa IN no special
hurry, and neither was I had been
eea6dsntial clerk and shorthand man
~ he bon n the Midland construc-
t1on. ana 10 was taking me along part
y beeause he knows Z cracking good
oesnogxnphef when he sees one, but
nn0Gt1y because was dead anxious 10
- anywhere be was going.
But X Il hadn't been for that
twslve-hour layout ~ would have
eaught the Saturday night train On
. ~ Pionoer 6hort Line, instead Of the
1saln Sunday morning. and there
wsuld havs sbesn no meeting with
~, nella and Naisie Ann; no tale
gES Nom ~. Chadwick because Il
!. weuldnt have found 10; no holdrup
at0and Cfesk siding; n shoets nothing
would have happened that nd hap
pon. = 10 T
II vas "a sunday that the Jolt be.
San - ~ rsady 70 land on M. Right
oooa aftse bssakfast, with the help Of
= ntlle Pullman berth table and me
and my typewriter, Mr.. Norcross
turned our section into q business once,
saying that now we had q good quiet
0ay. we'd clean up the million or 20
o1ds and ends Of correspondence he'd
o0sm1noolngsgp while We were tussling
f0r ~ Midland right-of-way through
~ Oregon mountains.
From where 10 sat Debating to me
- h0ss 4was facing forward ana now
- - - absent sort Of look came
eyes while he was talking on
~ l9ttefs, and II pussled me because
h 1asn't like him. One Of the times
aflsr ~ had given mo q full grist Of
1 MA had gone OF to smoke
while ! typed q few thousand lines
8 froM ~ notes to catch up, I made
. discovery. There were two people
= Section Five Just ahead OF 10, q
y0uus woman and girl Of maybe AZ.
49, orlao. and the Pullman was the
old-fashioned kind. with low seat
backs. ! put II up that In those alb
sent-eyed intervals Mr.. Norcross had
been studying the back Of the young
WudhnnsG meek. I was measurably sure
Il wasn't the little girls.
Along In the forenoon I made an ex-
euse 10 90 and get drink Of water
out of the forward cooler, and on the
way back ! took good square look
It our neiehbors in Number Five. The
young woman was pretty enough to
start q stopped clock-only pretty
lint Just the word, either; there
wasn't any word, when you come right
down to i. And the little girl was
simply q peach-a nice, downy, rosy
peach: chunky, round-faced, sunny.
haired, jolly; with neat little turned
mp nose and big sort Of boyish laugh
ing eyes that fairly dared the world.
At the second call to dinner Mr..
NorGoes told me to strap up the ma.
chine and put the files away In the
grips and we'd 60 eat. He was pretty
quiet breaking ont once, in the meat
course. to tell me that he'd Just had q
forwarded telegram from an old friend
of his that would stop us OF for O
day or two In Portal City, the head.
quarters Of the Pioneer Short Line
Farther along, pretty well into the Ice
cream and black coffee, he came to life
again to ask me II had noticed the
young lady and the girl In the Pull
man section next to ours.
told him had, and then. because
I had never known him to bother his
head for two minutes In succession
about any woman, he gave me 9
shock: said they were ticketed Il