The Ordway new era., 1921-06-17

II know" he put In. But I've been
readin' the papers. Jimmie, ana II
amt all Red Tower, not by Jusfui.
The big graft in this neck-a woods Is
political. and the Red Tower gang is
only set-a cogs In the bull-wheel. Mr.
Norcross was gettin' himself mighty
pointedly disliked; you know that
The way he was aimin' TO run things,
1t was beginnin' to look as If maybe
the people of this state might wake up
some day and turn in and help him.
81 know all about that" / threw in.
But where are you trying to land,
Mart?"
Right here Mr.. Norcross was the
whole show. Take him out of it and
the whole shootin'-match would fall
to pieces-as it's doin'. right now.
They didn't need to slug him or shoot
him up or anything like that: if 1t
could be made to look as If he'd
jumped the job. quit, chucked 1t all
up, why, there you are. 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 1t. 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
l did. Jimmie, and not think it-and
be d-n' sure of II. Why, Lord o.
Heavens, the Red Tower bunch was
usin' us just the same as If we be-
longed 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 1 did-between two daysl
They've been maxim seventeen differ
ent kinds of a roar ever since, but I've
had Mr.. Van Britt and the big boss
behind me, so l 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 1016 to use in that
way?
You have a blueprint of the Portal
division here, haven't you?" l 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 1t eastward. To get out in that
direction it 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-
gine 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
it, 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"
l suggested. 1.-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
where-not officially. at least; if it
had, the fact would show up in some
stations report to the dispatcher's
office"
At this, we hunted up an official
time-card and began to figure on the
meet" proposition. The Fast Mail
was due at Portal City at twelve
twenty, and on the night In question
1t had been on time. Making due
time allowances for inaccuracy in the
yard watchman's story, the missing
engine could hardly have left the
Portal City yard much before ten
fOrty-five.
The Fast Mail was scheduled at
forty miles an hour. Its time at Banta
was eleven-fifty-three. Allowing the
1O16 the same rate of speed in the
opposite direction, 1t would have
passed Banta at eleven-twelve or there
abouts. Hence there would still be
forty-one minutes running time to be
divided between the eastbound train
and the westbound engine. In other
words, the meeting-point. with the two
running at the same speed. would fall
about twenty minutes west Of Banta.
Tracing the line on the blueprint,