Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1921-05-20
Continued

1888
cowboys hand could reach the key.
the sounder began to rattle our a
string of dots and dsshes; ragged
Morse II was, but we could all read IL
only too plainly.
TOO late-mule threw me and
had to crawl and drag a game leg
Five passed full speed at feminine
teen-I couldn't make it,"
L saw the boss hands shut up as
though the finger nails would cut into
the palms.
THAT ends it," he said, with sort
Of swearing groan in his voice; and
then to Tarbell: "You may as well
call Kirgan and tell him to order out
the wrecking train. Then have Per-
kins make up relief train while
you're calling the doctors. Van Britt,
you go and notify the hospital over
your own Office wire. Have my
private car put into the relief, and
see to 1t that il has all the necessary
supplies. And you'd better notify the
undertakers, too"
Great JOaSh but il was horrible
for us to be hustling around and max
ing arrangements for the funeral while
the people who were to be gathered
up and buried were still swinging
along live and well, half of them in
the crookings among the Timber Noun
tain foothills and the other half
somewhere in the desert stretches be-
low Sand Creek
Tarbell had sent Disbrow to the
phone to call Kirgan, and Mr.. Van
Britt was turning away to go to his
own Office, when the chair in the cor
ner by the car-recOrd table fell over
backwards with a crash and Durgin
came staggering across the room. He
was staring straight ahead Of him as
II he had gone blind. and the sweat
was running down his face TO lose IT.
self In the struggling beard.
When he spoke his voice seemed
ITO come from away off somewhere.
and he was still staring at the blank
wall beyond the counter-railing.
did did | hear somebody say
you're sending for the undertakers?"
lie CllOhtu. Will MS
throat; and then, without waiting for
an answer: "While you're at IL you'd
better get one for me there's the
money to pay him." and he tossed
thick roll of bank bills, wrapped around
with a rubber band, over TO Tarbell
at the train desk.
Naturally, the little grand-stand play
with the bank roll made DIVERSION
and that is why the muffled crash Of
a pistol shot came with a startling
shock to everybody. When we turned
to look. the mischief was done. Dur
gin had crumpled down into a mis-
shapen heap on the floor and the sight
we saw was enough to make your
blood run cold.
You see, he had put the muzzle Of
the pistol into his mouth. and-but it's
no use can't tell about 1t, and the
very thought of that thing that had
lust a minute before been a man, ly-
ing there on the floor makes me see
black and want to keel over What
he had said about sending for an extra
undertaken was right as right. With
the top of his head blown off, the
poor devil didn't need anything more
in this world except the burying.
Somebody has said, mighty truth
fully, that even death In the family
doesn't stop the common routine; that
the things that have to be done will
60 grinding on, just the same, whether
all of us live, or some of us die. Dis
brow had jumped from the telephone
at the crash of Durgin's shot. and for
lust second or so we all stood around
the dead dispatcher, nobody making
move.
Then Mr.. Norcross came alive with
q Jerk, telling Disbrow TO get back on
his Job of calling out the wreck wagons
and the relief train. and directing
Bobby Kelso to 60 to another phone
and call an undertaken to come and
get Durgin's body. Tarbell turned
back to the train desk to keep things
from getting into worse tangle than
they already were In. and to walt for
the dreadful news, end the boss stood
by him.
This second walt promised to be the
worst OF all. The collision was due
to happen miles from the nearest wire
station; the news when we should
get II, would probably be carried back
TO Bauxite Junction by the pusher en-
CINE which had gone out to try TO
overtake the Flyer" But even In
that case II might be an agonizlng
hour or more before we could hear
anything.
In a little while Disbrow had clicked
in his call to Kirgan. and when the
undertaker's wagon came TO gather up
what was left of the dead dispatcher,
the car-record man was hurriedly writ
ing OF his list of doctors, and Mr..
Van Britt had gone down TO super
intend the making up Of the relief
train. True to his theory, which.
among other things, laid down the