Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1933-02-09
CHAPTER III-Continued

Of alr.driel laaLger rolled OUT Of Shoe.
string; plies u green lumber grew.
New loans. With lamber as security.
were negotiated Ii Milwaukee TO care
Tor the curt demands OF the Kampfesi
bank
But were only one Jump ahead OF
Disaster ste said. These Milwau.
kee bankers have been so decent with
US up To noE. but there's no telling
when their good nature Will give out.
If We should s4ut down Fl we4la bring.
them up here IN q hurry. II We can
Just keep going
They bad not got abreast Of the
situation again as yet. A four-day
tie-up would leave the mill hungry.
Luck II with Is, Ellen SAID that
night We've had no billiards. since
you came You seem to be able TO
eheckniate their moves. but you can
beat bad weather."
Cross your fingers he said grimly.
Right he was. The next afternoon
the placid western sky tlazed up and
the temperature. which had been mod
crate for days. dropped suddenly. A
FESTIVE. puffy wind began to blow and
settled. towards dusk, to a moaning
breeze which carried fine. singing
snow before IL.
Tiny Temple brought the train In
III hour late. locomotive plastered
with snow. festoaned with icicles. and
John. who had been busy in town all
day. was there to meet him.
Get your sappers.7 he told the
crew. shes going 10 be a buster
Wen run the pillow tonight"
That's the way to lick IT. a brake
man said.
Two hours for food for the men and
coal and water for The engine and TO
couple TO the wing pillow that stood
ready on IFS siding. Men were there,
a dozen Of them. armed with shovels,
sitting In the heated way-car, waiting
to give battle.
Tucker and John and two section
men were In the pillow the first brace
10 ride In the lookout and watch
ahead. the others 10 man the big
wheel which manipulated the wings.
They were nearing the first bad
point. and John leaned forward to see
better.
READY. lfhere7 Open your
wings!" he called, and the men below
bent on the wheel. turning II to force
the wings outward 50 they would toss
the displaced III far 10 either side.
An immense, M ending cataract
came over the front Of the pillow. shut
ting off their view completely. John
felt their speed diminish as though
velyet-faced brakeshoes had gripped
the wheels and Tucker bawled:
LET EN- in"
A man al the wheel kicked the trip
the wings were squeezed back against
the sides of the pillow they held their
pace a moment longer and then came
to a stop.
Johns snow fences had functioned
and sumo Of The cuts were easy To
traverse because Of these barriers
which caught and held The snow to
windward. bnf In other places the go
Ing was impossible. A dozen times
the shoyellers were out. tossing aside
and waiting 10 shovel the plow free
when Tiny weige1 ii into tile drift.
All five in the morning they gained
the mainline crossing Atop the ridge
as II Was the snow had mostly blown
away. bni Tucker held the wings open
until they approached the last switch.
.iSring 'em inl' he called. and
chewed briskly ms they bumped across
the points. Ii WIS the one place on
the lffe where caution must be used
with the wings. the one standard
switch stand on the whole line was
located there and 10 pass 1t with
ment.
John had arranged for breakfast at
the crossing tenders house by tele-
phone before they left town, and MS
he watched the men fall TO the steam.
Ing food he grinned. The battle
wasn't over yet. bnt he had held his
sD far. lie had checkmated old
rufilessness, he was wrestling
an even break from The weather.
He would not have been D easy OF
giDrg In the conflict with snow,
TN IL sn0wn thai late yesterday
sfffFa9sn iii the siiadaw of d car OF