The Dolores star., 1921-10-14
The eWreCkerS
By
FRANCIS LYNDE
ob ~

ahead of nursey. l had to blink hard
two or three times before l could real
ly make up my mind that the tip-toer
was MaisIe Ann. She looked as II she
might be the nurses understudy. She
had nifty little lace cap on her thick
mop of hair, and l guess her apron
was meant TO be nursey too, only II
was frilled and tucked TO fare-you-
well.
You poor, poor boy she cooed.
patting my pillow just like my grand
mother used TO when l was little
kid and had the mumps or the measles.
Are you still roaming around In the
Oregon woodsT'
That brought my dream, or one Of
them, back; the one about wandering
around in forest OF Douglas fir and
having TO jump and dodge to keep the
big trees from falling on me and
smashing me.
mo more woods for mine" I said.
sort OF feebly. And then: "Where
am II"
You are In bed in the spare room
at Cousin Basirs. They wanted to
take you to the railroad hospital that
night, but when they telephoned up
here TO try to find Mr.. Norcross,
Cousin Basil went right down and
brought you home with him in the am
bulance."
"That night you say?" I parroted.
at was last night that the door fell
on me. wasn't IT."
81 don't know anything about door,
but the night that they found you all
burnt and crippled. lying at the foot
of your office stairs, was three days
ago. You have been out of your head
nearly all the time ever since"
Burnt and crippled? What hap
pened TO me, Maisie Ann?"
Nobody knows; not even the doc
tors. We've been hoping that some
day you'd be able to tell us. Can't
you tell me now. Jimmie?"
l told her all there was to tell
mumh!ng around among the words
the best I could. Then she told me
how the headquarters watchman had
found me about midnight; with my
right hand scorched black and the
rest Of me apparently dead and ready
to be buried. The ambulance surgeon
had insisted, and was still insisting
that l had been handling live wire !;
but there were no wires at all in the
lower hall. and nothing stronger than
an incandescent light current in the
entire office building.
"And you say I've been here hang
ing on by my eyelashes for three days?
What has been going on in all that
time, Maisie Ann? Hasn't anybody
been here to see me?"
She gave little nod. Everybody,
nearly. Mr.. Van Britt has been up
every day. and sometimes twice day.
He has been awfully anxious for you
to come alive"
But Mr.. Norcross?" 1 querled
Hasn't he been up?"
She shook her head and turned her
face away, and she was looking
straight out of the window at the set
ting sun when she asked, "When was
the last time you saw Mr.. Norcross,
Jimmie?"
I choked little over a big scare
that seemed to rush up out of the
| bed-clOthes to smother me. But
made out to answer her question, tell
| ing her how Mr.. Norcross had left the
| office maybe half an hour or so before
| l did, that night, going uptown with
Mr.. Ripley. Then l asked her why
| she wanted to know.
Because nobody has seen him since
a little later that same night" she
| said, saying it very softly and with
out turning her head. And then: "Mr.
| Van Britt found letter from Mr.
Norcross on his desk the next morning.
| 1t was just little typewriter note,
| on Hotel Billiard letter sheet, say
| that the Pioneer Short Line wasn't
worth fighting for, and that he was
resiSning and taking the midnight
| train for the East"
l sat straight up in bed; I should
have had to do 1t If both arms had
been burnt to crisp clear to the
| shoulders.
| "ResiSned?-gave up and ran away?
I don't believe that for single min
ute, Maisie Ami" burst out
She was shaking her head again,
still without turning her face SO that
l could see it.
'I-Tm afraid it's all true, Jimmie.
| There were two kilograms that came
to Mr.. Norcross the night he went
away one from Mr.. Chadwick and the
other from Mr.. Dunton. heard Mr..
Van Britt telling Cousin Sheila what
| the messages were. He'd seen the
| copies of them that they keep in the
telegraph Office"
1t was on my tongues end to say
that Mr.. Norcross never had seen those
two kilograms, because I had them In
my pocket and was on my way to de.
liver them when got shot: but didn't
Instead, 1 said: "And you think that
was why Mr.. Norcross threw up bis
hands and ran away"
l