The Adair County news., 1922-05-30

He Got No Further, fer WiIten's Fist
Shot Out and Landed FaIrly on
BowyeTs Mouth.
sat upon the floor, looking up at VIII
ton in stupefactiOn. Then he leaped
to his feet and ran at him, his fists
whirling. But before he could strike
him Molly came running in, followed
by Lee Chambers. She sprang be-
tween them.
"You coward !" she cried. Are you
going to strike Mr.. Carruthers in that
condition? You coward, Tom Bow
yer!'
"He struck me-" yelled BOwyer in
fury. He's the coward not 1. Wait
till he gets well! Just wait! I'll fix
you, Carruthers!"
He glared about him III an evil rage,
and then, without word, pushed past
Molly and strobe from the store, with
Chambers at his heels. A few minutes
later the sleigh was whirling back
along the southwark road toward
Cold Junction, the nearest point of the
New Northern.
Wilton groaned with pain in his
broken arm, caused by the twist of
| his body as he delivered the blow. For
an instant the room swan about him.
| Then the scene cleared, and Molly
was holding him.
Her eyes, fixed on his, were filled
with pity, and a maternal yearning
over him that touched him unSpeak-
| ably. Her face was very near his own.
Wilton realized of a sudden what he
had known in dim way even before
| his fourth arrival at the portage
that Molly Mcdonald was the one girl
in the world for him.
He drew her to him and bent his
| lips to hers. Then, because he was
not very well versed in many things
| of the world, in spite of his thirty
| years, he looked as if he had commit
| ted an objectionable insult. But Mol
| ly opened her shut lids, and the eyes
that smiled into Wilton's did not show
signs of anger, nor even of surprise.
This isn't Winnipeg, WILL" she
said with a little happy catch in her
voice.
The marvel of their love transfg
ured them in each others sight. They
were hardly aware of BOwyer'S depar-
ture. 1t was not until Molly realized
that there was the supper to prepare
that she became practical once more.
"Why must you go tomorrow" she
asked, wistfully. "a message could be
sent to Kitty"
Its more than that, Molly" said
Wilton. It's the line itself-JOe's
work-that is at stake, and I've got
to be at the shareholders meeting on
Monday morning. You see, it's this
way" he went on to explain.
1--WE lcid out our route to cross Big
Muskeg at this point, and miles have
been completed. But our surveyors
were either too optimistic or had been
bought by Bowyer. We found, when
it was too late to change our plans,
that Big Muskeg was a harder propo-
sitiOn than anyone had suspected.
There's forty feet and more of quick
mud where we believed bedrock to
exist few feet down. The records
He'd. And you can't lay a permanent
way upon mud.
"The shareholders are frightened,
and Phayre, of the Bank of New
North Manitoba, who is an influential
one, and represents BOwyer, has had
the tip from him to make trouble.
BOwyer didn't want the line till the
| tron fa1
northward. Now he does, partly be-
cause we shall ultimately link up with
it and become a valuable property.
And / think he suspects that there's
something in our territory worth the
developing.
1.-The plan is to refer the situation
to a commission of engineers who, of
course, would be largely in BOwyer's
pay, and who would report that the
: present route is not feasible. That
: would mean increasing our capital
! and the issue of new stock would give
Bowyer and Phayre the controlling
interest. AS things stand, Joe con-
trolls the company, although he hasn't
actually a majority of the shares.
Joe would take most chances, but
he wouldn't gamble with the fortunes
of those who trusted him, even to
fight BOwyer. He wanted to have rea-
sonable hopes that the line could be
pushed through. He gave me his
power of attorney to vote for him, in
case of accident. And have it here
That's why 1 must be at the meeting,
Molly. Otherwise that motion for an
engineers commission goes through
. And BOwyer told me that he means
o to have the line. But Kitty'l fight
him. Joe made no mistake when he
, took her for partner"