Charlevoix county herald., 1921-04-08
"You wait ana See What Comes Nit
the Commiddee Room Out"
R-~1

didn't have anything else to think OF.
he'd catch on the fact that l might
have overheard. But apart from CIV
ing me one long stare that made my
blood run cold, he didn't seem to no
tice me much, and after a little he
got up and went to sit on the other
side Of the big rotunda where he could
watch the elevators going and coming.
/ guess he had lots Of patience for
/ had to have. had been sitting in
my corner for two full hours when
l saw the boss coming down the broad
marble stair with Mr.. Chadwick.
Mr.. Norcross held up finger for
me a sheet of paper; Pioneer Short
Line presidents letter-head with
few lines written on it with pen and
sort of crazy-looking signature under
them.
''Take that to the Mountaineer job
Office and have five hundred of them
printed" was the boss order "Then
make a copy and take it to Mr.. Can't
rell, the editor, and ask him to run 1t
in tomorrow's paper as an item Of
news, if he feels like 1t. When you
are through, come down to Mr.. Chad
wick's car"
Since the thing was going to be
published, and / was going to make
copy of it, didn't scruple to read
it as / hurried out to begin a hunt for
the Mountaineer Office. 1t was the
printers copy for an official circular,
dated at Portal City and addressed to
all officer and employees of the
Pioneer Short Line. 1t read:
EFFECTIVE at once. Mr.. Graham Nor
cross is appointed general manager of
the Pioneer Short Line system, with
headquarters at Portal City, and his
orders will be respected accordingly.
breckenridge Dunton,
president"
We had got our jolt, all right; and
leaving the ladder and the Friday start
out of the question, l grinned and told
myself that the one other thing that
counted for most was the fact that
Mrs. Sheila Macrae was a widow.
/ chased like the dickens on the
printing job, because, apart from
wanting to absorb all the dope could
as / went along on the new job, l
knew / would be needed every minute
right at Mr.. Norcross' elbow, now that
the actual work was beginning.
Luncheon was served in the Alexa,
and they kept the business talk GO
ing like house afire while they were
eating, the hurry being that Mr. Chad
wick wanted TO start back for Chi
cago the minute he could find out II
our connecting line east would run
him special.
"Now for a few unofficial things,
Graham, and we'll call it CO." he
said. "You are to have an absolutely
free hand in the management and the
operating. What you say goes as Ii
lies, and Dunton has promised me that
there shall be no appeal, not even to
him."
81 imagine he didn't say that will
ingly," the boss put In, which was the
first intimation i had had that he
wasn't present at the directors meet
ing in the hotel.
"No, indeed nothing was done will
ingly. I had to swing the big stick
and swing IL hard. But l had them
where they couldn't wiggle. You are
TO set your own pace, and you are to
have some money for betterments.
/ offered to float new loan on short
time notes with the Chicago banks,
and the board authorized it."
The boss pushed that part of N
aside abruptly, as he always does
when he has got hold Of the gist Of
thing.
''Now, about my staff" he said. its
open gossip all over the West that the