The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1921-01-27
The Wreckers
hy
Francis Lynde

CONTINUED Frvm Yesterday
CHAPTER Xxi.
What the Pilot Engine Found

For time aftcr the SUICIDE OF
the off.trlek dispatcher the wreck
epidemic paused. Acting upon Mr..
Norcross' suggestion. Mr., Van Britt
called his trainmcn in, a crew at a
time. and gave them the straight
tip, and after that the hoodoo died
natural death. and a good many
pairs OF eyes all along the Short
Line were keeping a sharp lookout
for the trouble makers
In the meantime, Tarbeii. stiIi dig
ging faithfully. managed 20 turn up
few facts that were worth some
thing. In the Petrolitc ease he
found a lone prospector living In a
shack high up on the farther side
OF the canyon who told him that
late In the evening OF the day pre-
ccding the wreck he had seen two
men climbing the slope from which
the boulder hadNbeen dlslodKei. and
that one OF them was carrying a
pick. Also. further investigation
seemed 90 prove that the rail which
the blow OF the rock was supposed
20 have knocked loose had been pre-
viously weakened. either by draw.
ing some OF the spikes. or by un-
screwing tho nuts on the bolts At
the joints.
In another field. and this time un-
der Ripley's Instructions. our ex-cow.
punch had been able 20 set and bait
a trap. By dlligent search he had
found the man Murphy. the Clana
han hcnchman. who. under pressure
had given away the Timber Noun.
tain plot which had elimaxed In the
KIDNAPPING OF the boss This man
had been deliberately shot in 4 bar
room brawi and left for dead. Blu,
he had crawled away and had got
out OF town 10 live and recover at a
distant cattle ranch in the Lumber
ton Hills.
When Tarbeil discovered him he
had cut out the booze. had grown a
beard. add was thirsting for ven.
geanca Tarbell brought him back
10 Portal City. and presently there
began to BE- developments. Murphy
knew all the ropes In n little time.
Ripley. with Tarbeil's help. was load
ed for bear. One chilly October
afternoon the lawyer came down to
our office 10 tell Mr.. Norcross that
the game was cornered-
~All you have to do now is 90 give
the word was the way Ripley
wound up. +You refused to do IL
on former occasion because we
couldn't get the men higher up
This time we can nail CANADIAN.
and . good few OF the political
gangsters and bosses In the other
towns along the line What do you
sayr-
The boss looked up with the little
horseshoe frown ~rinkiing between
his syea
Can we get Hatch and Hsnckeiy-
mo. not yet
Very well. then you may lock
those papers up IN your safe and
well wait When you can ere your
way clear 90 q criminal trial. with
Rufus Hatch and Gustave Henekel
10 the prisoners dock. well start the
legal machinery-but not before"
BY now we were right on the eve
OF the stat. election. As far az any
body could see. the railroad had
stayed free and clear Of the politi
cal fight. The boss had kept his
promise to maintain neutrality and
was still keeping H.
At the appointed tim. the big day
dawned. and the political wind.up
held the center OF the stage. SO
far as We were concerned. Il passed
off very quietly. From tho wire
gossip that drfbbled in during the
day II appeared that the railroad
vote was heavy. tho there were
neither charges nor counter charges
to Indicate which way 1t had been
thrown
Along IN the afternoon the news
paper offices began TO put out bul
letins. and by evening the result
was no longer doubtful For the
first time In years the power OF the
political machine had been smashed
decisively at the polls. and on the
following morning the Mountainecr
announced the election OF Governor
Burrell. with a safe working ma
jority in both houses of the legis.
lature for the independents.
Naturally. there was all sorts OF
a yell from the other side OF the
fence. Charges were freely made.
now. that the railroad had deliber.
ately ditched It's friends. and all that
Also there were the biuest kind Of
predictions for the future, most Of
them winding up with the assertion
that there could be no such thing as
true prosperity for the country
while the Short Line continued I'M
der its present management
II was on the third day after the
election. rather late In the after.
noon. that the boss had a call from
mining promoter named Dawes.
representing a bunch OF mine own.
ers at strathcona who were having
trouble with the srneiter.
was busy Mt the time and didn't
pay much attention to what was
said. but got the drift OF II. The
smelter, one Of the few Hatch mo-
nopolies which hadn't been shaken
loose as yet. was located I'm the
gulch six miles below Strathcona.
and II was served exclusively by It's
own Industrial railroad. which IL
was using as a lever TO pry an ex-
cessive hauling charge out OF the
mine owners. Wouldn't Mr.. Nor.
cross try to do something about II?
The boss said he'd do anything he
could, and asked what the mine
owners wanted. Dawes said they
wanted help; that they were going
to hold a mass meeting IN Strath.
coma the following morning at nine
O'Clock. Would II, or wouldn't IL.
be possible for Mr.. Norcross TO be
present at that meetingf