Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1921-05-05

CHAPTER II.-Norcross recognizes the
car stolen as John Chadwick's. financial
magnate, whom he was to meet at Portal
City. He and Dodds rescue Chadwick.
The latter offers Norcross the manager
ship Of the Pioneer Short Line. which is
headed by Breckenridge Dunton, presi-
Cent OF the line. No-cross, learning that
Sneila Macrae Ia stopping at Portal City,
accepts.
CHAPTER III.-Dodds overhears con-
versation between Rufus Hatch and Gus
tave Henckel, Portal City f1nanciers, In
which they admit completely in Chadwick
kldnaping. their object being to keep
directors to reorganize the Pioneer Short
Line. which would jeopardize their inter-
ests.
CHAPTER Iv-To curb the monopoly
Tower corporation. Norcross forms the
Citizens Storage and Warehouse COM
pany: He begins to manifest deep in
that sheila is married. but living apart
from her husband. Norcross does not
know this.
CHAPTER v. - Hatch. aware that
Dodds has knowledge Of his and Henck-
napng. offers him inducements to leave
Norcross. Dodds refuses. Leaving the
office, he is knocked senseless. Recov-
ering consciousness. he learns that Nor
cross has disappeared and is believed to
have resigned and gone east.
fright here. Mr.. Norcross was the
whole show. Take him out of 1t and
the whole shootin'-match would fall
to pieces-as it's dom, right now.
They didn't need to slug him or shoot
him up or anything like that: if it
could be made to look as if he'd
jumped the job, quit. chucked 1t all
UP, why, there you are. A new boss
would be sent out here, and you could
bet your sweet life he wouldn't be
anybody like Mr.. Norcross Not so
you could notice it. The New York
people would take blamed good care-a
/ that"
> "You think the Dunton people are
standing in with the graft?"
Nobody could've grabbed off the
motive-power job on this railroad, as
I did. Jimmie, and not think it-and
be d-n' sure Of 1t. Why, Lord O.
Heavens, the Red Tower bunch was
usin' us Just the same! as If we be-
longcd to 'em ordering our men to
do their machinery repairs, helpin'
themselves to any railroad material
that they happened to need, usin' our
cars and engines on their loggin' roads
and mine branches"
"You stopped all this?"
"You bet did-between two days!
They've been maxim seventeen differ
ent kinds of roar ever since, but I've
had Mr.. Van Britt and the big boss
behind me, SO just showed ahead"
What Kirgan said about the Red
Tower people using our rolling stock
on their private branch roads set a
bee to buzzing in my brain. What If
they had stolen the 1O16 to use in that
way?
"You have blueprint Of the Portal
division here, haven't your" I asked.
dig it up and let's have a look at it."
At first the facts threatened to bluff
us. The blueprint engineers map was
an old one, but it 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 It eastward. To get out in that
direction 1t would have had to pass
the round-house, the shops, the pas
senger station and the headquarters
building, and, even at that time Of
night, somebody would have been sure
to see it.
Tracing the other way-westward-
we had clear track for ten miles to
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
1T, the wild engine must have been
seen by the operator, If by no one
else. Banta was an apple town, and
the town itself might have been
asleep, but the wire man. at the sta
ton shouldn't have been.
Lets hold Banta in suspense bit,
and allow that by some means or
other the thieves managed to get BY"
I suggested. ''The next thing to be
considered is the fact that the Ten
Sixteen must now have been run.
ning-without orders, we must remem.
ber-against the Fast Mail coming
east. The Mail didn't pass her any.
whereof oficially, ct least: IL II
had, the fact would show up in some
stations report to the Dispatcher
ONCE"
At this, We hunted up an ohhcial
time-card and began to figure ON thu
"meet" proposition. The Fast Mai
vas due Ct Portal City e twelve
49, 1900 >------