The Ordway new era., 1921-07-08

to nag him into resigning. Then there
was Mrs. Sheila. l sort of suspected
she was holding him up TO the rack,
every day and every minute of the
day.
1t was one evening after he had
been out to the majors for just a
little while. and had come back to the
office. that he sent for Mr.. Van Britt,
who was also working late. There was
blood on the moon, and l saw it in the
way the boss jaw was working.
Upton he began, as short as piP-
crust. "have you thought of any way to
break this wreck hoodoo yet?"
Mr. Van Britt sat down and crossed
his solid little legs.
IF 1 had, l shouldn't be losing sleep
at the rate of five or six hours
night" he rasped.
There's one thing that we haven't
tried" the boss shot back We've
been advertising it as bad luck, keep
ing our own suspicious to ourselves
and letting the men believe what they
pleased. Wen change all that. l
want you to call your trainmen in as
fast as you can get at them. Tell
them-from me, If you want to-that
there isn't any bad luck about it;
that the enemies of this management
are making an organized raid on the
property itself for the purpose of put
ting US out of the fight Tell them
the whole story, if you want to: how
we're trying our best to make a spoon
out of spoiled horn, and how there
is an army of grafters and wreckers
in this state which is doing its worst
to knock us out of the box.
''If you give the force something
tangible to lay hold of, it will work
the needed miracle, 1t is only the
mysterious that terrifies. Railroad en-
ployes, as a whole, are perfectly in
telligent human beings, open to con-
viction. The management which doesn't
profit by that fact is lame. If you do
this and appeal to the loyalty of the
men, you will make a private detec-
tive out of every man in the train
service, and every one of them keen
to be the first to catch the wreckers.
You can add bit of a reward for
that, if you like, and I'll pay it out
of my own bank account"
For full minute our captive mil
lionaire didn't say word. Then he
grinned like a good-natured little
Chinese god.
Who gave you this idea of taking
the payroll into your confidence, Gra-
ham?' he asked softly.
For the first time in all the weeks
and months I'd been knowing him, the
boss lodged; lodged just Ike any of
us might.
i've been talking to Major Ken
drick," he said. "IIe is wise old
man, Upton, and he hears good many
things that don't get printed in the
newspapers"
/ could see that this excuse didn't
fool Mr.. Van Britt for single in
slant. and there was a look in his
eye that 1 couldn't quite understand.
Neither could make much out of what
he said.
We'll 90 into that little deeper
some day, Graham-after this epiIep-
tic attack has been fought off. This
idea-which You confess isn't your
owns a pretty shrewd one, and ]
shouldnt wonder If ii would work,
if we can get it in motion before the
hoodoo breaks us wide open. And. as
you say, the accusation is justifiable,
even if we can't prove up against the
Hatch outfit. That turned-over rail in
Petrolite Canyon, for example, might
have been helped along by"
1t was Kelso, Mr.. Van Brltt's stem
ographer, smashed In with the inter-
ruption. He was In his shirt-sleeves,
as II he'd just got up from his type
writer. and he rushed in with his
mouth open and his eyes like saucers.
'They-they want you In the dis
patcher's office!" he painted, jerking
the words out at Mr.. Van Britt. Dur
gin has let Number Five get by for a
head-ender with the Flyer and he's
gone crazy"