Middletown transcript., 1922-08-26

tered. and was astonished to see the
tears upon Ler face When she kneeled
down he put his hand clumsily upon
her hair.
What has happened, lassw he
asked. "Was it VIII Carruthers ye
quarreled with?"
HE will never come here, again."
said Molly.
A dull fire burned In the factors
tween two impulses: One was to COM
fort his daughter; the other, his graft
fication.
"Ah weel, lass, yen find another" he
said.
But he abased his head before her
indignant glance. At that moment the
girl felt that her father and she were
farther apart than they had ever been.
When Wilton reached his shack he
took off his coat and flung himself
down on his bed. He would not specu-
late on Molly's motives. He would not
think of her at all. He would neither
condemn her nor pity himself.
He forced his mind back to his task.
The trestle-he would lay down a
cOrduroy--he would drive the men all
the summer, If need be, for Joe's sake.
Poor Joe! The presence of the dead
man seemed to fill the camp just as
of old. Joe was the guiding spirit of
this work. He had loved Joe more
truly than it seemed possible to love
any woman.
He completed the few routine duties
of the office and went to bed. He had
dozed off to sleep when something
made him start up in bed and listen in
tently. He thought he had heard a
slight sound in the office.
1t was so slight that even his trained
ears sent the message to his brain
doubtfully. But 1t came again. Some
one had very softly clicked back the
catch of one Of the windows.
| He had the sense of listener be-
meath it. and, all alert. Wilton ecrept
noiselessly to his feet and stood listen
ing in the darkness. Now there was no
doubt The window was being pushed
very softly open. 1t was the window
between the safe and his bedroom
door. In the moonlight Wilton could
see that it was opening by inches.
His own door was slightly ajar, and
inch by inch, he pushed it open, too
He saw pair of hands, white, not
workroughened, placed against the
bottom of the window-frame. A face
appeared and was thrust cautiously in
side the room in reconnaissance. viii
ton recognized Lee Chambers.
Satisfied, apparently, that Wiltor
was asleep in the next room, Chambers
began to climb over the sill. WiltoT
waited till he was balanced there, ant
then, leaping forward, he drove his fist
with all his force into his face. HI
felt the bone of the nose smash under
his hand.
With a muffled cry Lee Chambers
flung up his hands, slipped backward
and fell. AS Wilton ran to the window
the ex-engineer leaped up and raceo
toward the trees. The thought of hi.
treachery came into Wilton's mind ant
turned his sardonic humor into ret
rage. He reached into his desk drawe
and pulled out the loaded revolver
which he kept there. But by the tim'
he was at the window again Chamber!
was gone.
Three months later an engine pushed
two ballast trucks from the west t,
the east shore of Big Muskeg. TIL,
swamp was spanned. The corduro.
had been laid upon the sink-holes, ant
had borne the ballasting. The trestlini
ran from bank to bnnk and carried th
metals firmly, but the foundation wa
only as yet laid halfway, and the fina
proof had yet to be made.
However, Wilton had no doubts o
the result. He had tried out the dan
ger-spots. The trestle would contain
the ballast. His work had been accom-
plshed.
After the subsistence he had paid
flying visit to Clayton. He had no
seen Kitty, and Kitty had not returned
to the camp, but he had had a storm.
meeting with the directors and, as h
had foreseen, had been given hi
chance to try once more. There was
indeed, nothing else to be done. Bow
yer had made the most of the disaster
but it was to Bowyer's interest tha
Wilton should try again and fail, Tha
would put the Missatibi promptly int
liquidation.