The spectator., 1921-07-12
CHAPTER xxx
p. s. L. Comes Home

soon us I'd swallowed hurried bite of breakfast in the grill-room l swiped Ii eamp-stoo and magazine out of 1 the lounge and trotted upstairs to l plant myself before the boss door, de- | termined that nobody should disturb l him until he was good and ready to l get up.
 ! He turned out little before twelve, 1 looking sort of haggard and drawn. of course, and having some pretty bad burns on the side of his neck and on the backs of both hands. But he was all there as usual, and he laid Il good. brotherly hand on my shoulder when he saw what l was doing.
 They don't make many of them like you, Jimmie" he said And then: Have you any news?s
 l had d little. and I gave It to him. Fred May had come tip-toeing up into my sentry corridor about ten o'clock to tell me that Mr Perkins had ar- ranged with the strikers to have q Spe- cial. go east with the major and Mrs Sheila and ColIinswood's body to catch the Overland at Sedgwick and I told the boss this. and that the train had been gone for an hour or more
 Also, l gave him a sealed package that q strange boy had brought up just a little while after May went away. We took the. elevator to the grill-room for something to cal, and at table Mr. NorcrosS opened the pack age. II contained bunch of ailda- wits, eleven ot them in all, and there WAS no letter or any sling to tell where they had come from.
 He handed the papers over to me, after he had seen what they were sort of froWned across the table at me and Said Do you know what il ! meanS-this surrender of those hribe atiidavits. .Iimmie%"
 said guessed did that Hatch being dead. and CollingWood. loo. there wasn't nerve enough Jeff in The Red Tower outfit to keep up the fight that the surrender of the atlidayitS WaS a kiRd of Il plea for let-up on our part
 Well begin to show them in just about fifteen minutes. Jimmie" was the short comment. "Rench over and get that telephone and tell Mr. Ripley and AIr. Billoughby that want them to meet me Ut my office at half.paSl twelve, Any news from the striker"
 Nothing" told him. while cen trala was getting me Mir Ripley's num- Der. Fred May said il was going on just the same; everything quiet and nothing doing, except that the wreck ing train had gone out to pick up the scraps ut Timber Mountain ~ Kir- gan k hossing it, and the strikers manned il for him."
 Nothing more was said until after I had sent the two phone messages, and then the boss broke out in new spot.
 "ilas anything been heard from Mir Van Brttf" he asked
 Not that l know of.
 Again he gave me that queer little scoWl across the table.
 Jimmie, have you found out vet why Mr. Van Britt insisted on quit ting the SerYice?'
 guess | grinhed little, though I tried not to.
 'Mr. Van Britt is one of the best friends you've got, said. He thought you needed this strike. and he wanted to go out among the pay roll men and sort of help il along He couldn't dc n thing like that while he was an of. ticer of the company and drawing his pay like the rest of us.
 'I might have known-hc as good as told pe, was the reply. made kind of half-nhsently; and then, short and quick Flows the stock marketf Have you seen q paper?'
 had seen both papers. at break fast-time, but of course they had noth- ing startling in them except Il last | minute account of the wreck at Tim her mountain "l." grabbed off just before they went to press They couldn't have anything later from New York than the day before. But Fred May had tipped me off Whey he came up to tell me about the Major Ken drick special. The newspaper offices were putting out bulletins hy that time
 l told Mir. NorcroSs about the bull letins and was hrash enough to add: We're headed for the receivership all | right. l guess our stock has tumhled to twenty mine. and there's regular l dog-iight going on over it at the rail road post in the Exchange. Wall Streets afre and burning up, so they say"
 The chief hadn't eaten enough to keep Il cat alive. but at that he pushed his chair back and reached for his hat.
 "come on Jimmie" he snapped. We've got to get busy. And there isn't going 10 he any recelyership"
 Ne reached the railroad headquar. ters-wheh were as dead and quiet as graveyard-a little before Mir Rip