Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1921-05-26
CHATTER vlll
A Close Call

At the ~" siding we stopped-with-
out going on to the gravel track where
Gorchet had seen the lost 1O16 and
Kirgan and I got OF with lantern.
This was because. on the way down,
had managed to tell the big master
mechanic about the Cantrell talk,
though ! hadn't succeeded In making
him believe that It accounted for Mr..
Norcross' drop-out. Just the same he
humored me by having Billy Gorcher
stop, and now he was trying to make
me take 1t sort OF slow and easy as
we stumbled out toward the stem Of
the 'sY." That was Kirgan's way, He
was as hard as nails with a gang Of
men, but he could be as soft-hearted
as any woman when a fellow was all
( In. And he knew I wasn't half "at
myself" yet, physically. "a
" Don't get too much hope up, Jim
/ ME-" he was saying, as we bumped
along around the crooking track Of
/ the 'Y"' I'VE amt goin' to find any
thing out yonder but a rusty loggin'
track and that broken 4. rail con-
Fnection You see, I've been here be-
fore, and know"
He was as right as could be. When
we reached the end Of the .'Y' there
was the broken connection, Just as
Il he'd sAid. The old saw-mill track was
still there, leading of in the dark up
the gulch. but the two switch rails
had been taken out and the. switch
itself was as rusty as II It hadn't been
used I'm years. n
what you heard from Mr.. Cantrell
may have been all true enough" Kir-
: gan said, while / stood swallowing
hard and staring down ut the broken
rail connection. "only 1t didn't have
/ anything to do with the big boss. Them
thugs was probably plannin' to wreck
the Mail, all right, and they came
down here to- do 1t. The Lord only
knows why they didn't do, AZ; p raps
/ there wasn't time enough, after they'd
!, got the Sixteen ii on the gravel
/ track si, !,E Ss-.
h.. only just about half, heard what
he was saying. He had the lantern,
and It's light fell squarelyl upon a
/. cross-tie q foot or two beyond where
We werd standing. L was. the last
tie IN the empty string from which
/ the two rails had been taken up to
break the connec lion with the lighter
ssaw-miil track steel. and what was
|, looking at was q fresh spike. hole !;
fresh beyond all question ,:of doubt
because there was d eiean new splinter
OF the wood sticking up beside TIA
splinter that had been broken y out
when the spike was pulled. ~, q
(. took the lantern from Kirgan In
my one good hand. and he stood there
waiting for me while walked on
out tosthe chopped-off end Of the saw
mill track, examining the loose ties
{ an I went along. There were fresh
spike holes IN some Of the others;
Just one here and there. But that was
enough. After II had kneltj to hold
the lantern close to the rails OF the
rusty timber track I knew my lunch
was all right. "A " a "a
Come here, MARI called. and
when he came. i showed him the new
holes and new wheel -marks on the
sold rusty rails u the I timber track.
that proved 40 clear % daylight that
an engine or = 1 train had been over
them away this side Of the rains and
the SHOWS that had rusted them.
|, sSss Iirgan didn't say; !, word not to
me. He inst took one look Ut. the.
sENbbedS rails and then yelled back 10