tor »»«<■***«'.* OBBtor c. the line Norcrr,,. U»mlr-c th»i ghtlU _ --— t »c«pl. DixJd* otarhav* oanrcraallon U,- ' * fi^ckal. For til CHj Bni»clrr», is which ' " * kldnapls*. th*lr object being to keep E of director* to ieorganlx* th« Pioneer * Ui»lr tr.tereeu. To curb the monopoly cone Red Tower corporMlon. Ncrcroa* form* the compecy He bejrtn* to tuar-ifeet a deep i Warn* tbit Sheila i. marHed bit iirlng e doe* not know tfcla The Boa* dhtappwa; haa realgned • : t ne '•«•! Jimmy turn* aleuth. rn«>ecu 4 *o« hi* rwactu. Norcroaa rea^maa contro! ot the to i-t* r>w

CH«*Tta VIII—Contlnuad.

detailk h*a tsrnr-d orrr f-t OUonlian. the pi.lltJca! Ikp* of Porthl City. Wn» J»iJt itaelf was atopic. At » %wttuh boar of b given nl^ht tn Bbocjtncuft letter wm to be aect to Mr. Npffrn»». tcliltw Mm thM c gang OOtH! trnte robt^rv ■rt" «t(al!hg «B et’gioe from the Portal City yard for the purpose of runr-lag down the Uii# anC wrecktnjf the Past Mail, vfaich eftrr cameJ a bmUon expressear, |f the boss should fall for It— e* bt did. When the time came—and go In person to stop the raid, be was to be orwpov ered and spirited _ wsy, a foTT'l letter purporting to be t co- ', l ee of hie rc-ignation was to be left for Mr. Van Britt, and a fake telejpnjj. making the rams annour.eeneut. waa to be sent to '‘resident Dunton In N?w Torfc. Nothing was . kft indefinite but the choosing of the

night

"I suppose Hatch was to give the j word,'' said the boss, who had been listening soberly while ttfc Iswyer

talked.

“That lr the Inference. Hatch probably gave the word after bis talk wl.h you. bat the time was ms'* eren more prrrIrion* by the errivtl of the two telegrams; the sot from Mr. Chadwick. ami the one from Mr. Dunton. both of which her dcuhunss Intercepted by menus of the tapped wires." Mr. Norcrcsr look'd cp Quickly. “Blp’.ry, dfl DapMn know what was going to b* *h ae to me?” "Oh, I think not. It wasrt at all necessary that he *bonld be token .n an ih He baa been opposing your policies all along, and IIS'* Ju« sent you a pretty savage call-down. He didn’t int you In the first piare. and he has been anxious to ge t rid of you erer since. The plotters knew very woll whet he would do if he sbou'J inKet a wire which purported to be your reelgna.lor.. He would mipolnt another men. quick, end all they would have to do would be to make sure that you were well off stage, and would stay off until the other man could take hold." “It trorked oat like s charm*' admitted the boss, with a wry smile. “I haven*: been talking much about tbe details, partly beer use I wanted to find out if tills young fellow, Tnrbell, was a* good a* the major's recommendattou of him. and i-artly beesuse Pm bocnrtly xshamed. Blplsy. Any mar ol my age and r perience wm' would «»allow bait, hook, and Ure a* I did that night <3*Nerve* to get all that 1* ccminv. to him." "Too can tel! me now, ou i yo?rQueried the attorney. "Oh, yes; y«. have It all-or prscOcaUj ali. 1 fell for the f r.onymju* letter about the Mali hold-up. and while X don't ‘rattle' ver- easily, ordlaari'j, thet was ore time when 1 lost my bead. Just for the rootuect Tb» obvious thing to do—If any c(t*oMUon whatever wa* to be raid to the W anonymous >n.mtog—»»■ to telephone tbs polite and the rouud-bou*e. 1 did neathvv t-cansv I thought It might be "So you made a straight shoot tor | the scene of sctlon?" “I did; down 'he hsck streets andF across the lowei end cf tie plata A* ir ralber or wss made bareij In l:im- There lie iVir'.iir ead «t"‘r.

this that prepaial ocj bad been tnade beforehand They wouldn't tell me anything except that l was to be

locked up for s few days." “Tec what that meentr

“Perie, ;'.. My dropout would fe made to look as If I bad Jumped the Job. and Dunton would appoint a new men. After that. I could come back, if I want i to. Whatever I r-’lght do or try to do would cut no figure, and no explanation I could make would be relieved. 1 had most obligingly dug niy own official grave, and there comd

••What thenr pressed Ripley, keenly IntervTted. as anybody could see. “When they took the dclhes-ltae from my firms there was cro , 'isr scrap. It didn’t do any good. They got tbe door shut on me and got It locked. After that, tor tour solid days. Ripley, i was made to re*Ure bow little It takes to bold a man. I had my ..ocket-knl'e, hot I cculdn’* whittle my way out. The floor pur. b*ons were spiked down, and I couldn’t dig out. They had taken all my matches, and I couldn't burn the place. I tried the *tlci;-rubbing, and all those things you read about: they're fakes; I could t get even the smell of smoke.” “Thu chimney?" "There w.sn't any. They had heated tbe place, when It was a commissary, with a stove, and the pipe bole through the celling had a piece of sheet Iron naiied over It. And I couldn’t get tc the roof at all. They had me." Ripley nodded and said, snappyUke; “Well, we're got them now—any time you give the word. Tartxril has a t 'xch on one of the Oauahan men snd be trill turn state's evidence. We can railroad every one of those lellows who carried yon off." “And tbe men blgber up?" queried

tbe boss.

“No; not yet." "Tbi-o well drop It right wb.re It U. / don't want the hire: tools; no one of them, unletw you can ge'. tne devi: that crippled Jimmie Doddt, here." They went on. taikinr about my burn-up. UatcnUig in. I learned 'or the first time Ju 31 ho * r ** ‘^ eB done. TarbeU. through his fc^d ujion the welshing Oanahan striker, had got the details at second-hand. A lead had been taker, from a power wire a* the corner of the street snd hooked over the cuter dccr-'-nob. And inside ' had been given u sheet of copier to stand on for a good “ground.” tbe copper Itself being wired to a water pipe running up through tfc.’ hall. Tarbell had afterward proved up oa all this. It seemed finding 'be Insulated wire and the copper sheet with Its connections hffiden In a small rubbish closet under tbe ball stair. Just where a fellow in a hurry might chuck Item. "farbell Is a striking success." Mr. Norcross put in, along at the end of

c It

it to to

«k you to *he old Itir

*. angtao ronld be made | H ad M* Truraed Up Uks a jeel*. /JTuyo has no j Chnstma* Turitay. m v«n »«*«”<“ * ,u '“•

i the i

J this toere we* • «ttle more ibout the O. S. A W d** * 1 - ^ I . tbe Hatch crowd won't be to try n«i; and when It was xt ond Klpley was reaching tor it" the be i said. "There 1‘ no j

going now, and we'd keep 'em going. Drive It, Ripley; drive it for every ounce there l* in you. Never mind the el< ettao trlk or the stock qoo’atkaia. Tfc'g raUroad U going to he benast. If It never earns tnotlier- net dollar. Well win." •Tl's beglcnlng to look a little that way. now," tbe lawyer admitted, with on tbe door knob. "Jus*, the rcrots, to re is safety in nem__J our numbers are precisely one; on# man"—bolding up a single finger. “As before, tbe pyramid is standing on Its bead—and you sre the bead. For Ood'a wke. be careful 1" It was late la the afternoon when Ripley made his visit, ard pretty ooon after ha went awsy the bom and I dosed up oar end of the shop and left May pecking away at his ty.«wrtter on a lot of reuttee stuff. I don't know what made me do It. bot as I was nasslng Fred's desk on the way out. ‘stringing along behind tot tx w I stopped si'd Jerked open ooe of the drawers. I knew twforrbmnd what was In the drawer, aid pointed to It—a new 3S sutomatlc. Feed nodded, and I slipped the gun Into my left-t nd pocket, wondering as I did U, If i could make oat to hit the broad side of a bam, shooting with that ..and. If I had to. A half-minute later 1 and caught op with Mr. Norcroaa. and together ws left the building and went up to the Bullard for dinner. CHAPTER IX In th* Coal v ard I knew. Just as well as could I without being abfe to prove It—that wv were shadowed on the trip up from the railroad building to the hotel, and It made me nerve.as. There coula bo -jnly one reason now for any such dogging of the boss. Tbe grafter* were not trying to find oat what he was duing; they didn't need to. bocause he war advertising hla doing*— or 'enemajb w.aa—In toe newspapers. What they were trying tc oo was catch him off his guard and do him up—this time to stay done up. It was safe to assume that they wouldn’t rumble the ball a second time. Mr. Ripley had stood the thing fairly on tti feet when be said that our campaign was purely *a one-mar proposition, so far as it had yot gooe. People who had met too boos and bid done business with him liked him; but toe old-time prejudice agiinst toe railroad awu bo wlde-. .reau and s-' bitter tout It couldn’t do overcome all at once, .uneoian, our publicity man. was doing his best, bat as ytt we had no pariy following In the .tote a. large which would stand by us and see tbat ws got Jtmtee. I was chewing cbU over while we sa' at dinner In too Bullard cafe, and I guess Mr. Norcross was, too. tor he didn't say much. I don’t know.Vhether bi knew anything about the shadowing business I speak of or not but be might have. .Wi hadn’t more torn givea our dinner order when one of Hatch’s clerks, a cock-eyed chap named Rentier came in and took a table Just far enough from ours to be out of the way. and near enough to listen In If we said anything. When re finished, Keatler was Just getting his service of Ice-cream; but I noticed that he left it untouched and got up and followed us to toe lobby. It mad* me hot enough to wan: to turn on him and knock his crooked eye out, but of eourae, that wouldn’t hare done any good. After Mr. Norcross had bought *om<rigsra at toe stand he said be gaesaed he’d run out to Major Kendrick’s for a little while; aud with that be went up to Ids rooms TTou.-b the major waa the cne he named, I knew he meant that he was going to see Mrs. Shell*. I I remembered what he had said to i Ripley anopt a won inn's giving hltr | germ Ideas and such things, snu I aues* It was reully so. 3vei-y time I be spent an evening at the major's ! he’d ccme back with a lot of new uoHoui ft" popularising the Short Une. When be said that, about going out to tbe major's, Kertler ws* near enough to overhear It. and so h* waited, lounging In tor lobby and pretend:r t I! j read a paper. About half-pas: seve ! th» ooss ceme down snd . iked me to ) call ■ taxi to.- fclm. 1 did It; and , Kestler lor.fed around Just long enough j to See him start off. Then he Ut out. himself, and something In toe way be did 1: made tne lake oat after hip.. Tbe first thing I knew T was traillog him thron'd! the railroad yard snd on down part th. freight hoes* toward I the big. /«oced-tn. Bed T„wer coal

yards.

At the ' j urd t let himself In thnugh a wicket In the w«goa gateand 1 noticed that ho used a key and looked the wtc*2t after be gM tna.dr 1 put my eye to ■ crack ’n the tig! stockade fence snd saw that toe titti* shack office that ws* used for a scalehouse wa* lighted up My burnt hand was healing tolerably well by tfcl* time and I coc'd use It a little. The*-' was a al ick pUe Just outside of r - big gate, and by climbing to the to;' of .( I got ovt - toe fence and crept I up tc the scale-house

peep-bole. Three meu were In the little box of a place—three besides Kestler; Hatch, hla barrel bodied partner, Bracket, and one other. Th# third man lonB—1 uke a glorified bar* i. He was of the type I have beard called “black Irish." fat sleek, and well-fed, with little ptn-jiolnt black eyes half boiled In the fiesn of his round face, and the padded Jaw and double chin shaved to the blue. knew tola third man well enough, by sight; everybody In Portal CPy knew him—decent peo-le only too well

when U car.# to an election tussle. He waa the redoubtable Pete Clanaban. divekeeper, and political boes. Kesn.T was telling toe thr e how be bad shadowed Mr. Norcross from railroad headquarters to toe Bullard, aud how be stayed around until be had seen toe bon take a taxi for Mtjar Kendrick's. This seemed to be ell tbu was wanted of him. for when he was through, Hatch told him he might go borne. After the cock-eyed cirri, was gone. Hatch lighted a fresh cigar and pat It squarely up to the

‘Tt>, no use being mealy-moutned over this thing. Pete,” he grated In that Baw-mlll voice of his. “We’Vigot to got rid of this men. Every day's delay gives him that much better bold. We can choke him off by llttles In the business game, of course; we have Dunton and tbe New Yorkers on our side, and this co-operative scheme he has launched can be broken down \.;th money. But that doesn't help you political people ont; and your stake In the game is even bigger thau

ours.”

Clanahao looked around toe little dog-kennel of a place susplciocsly. - Tls not hen- tbat we can talk much about tblm things, Mlstber Hatch," he said cautiously. “Why notr waa the rasping question. There's nobody In the yard, and the gates are locked. It's a d—d sight safer than a back room In one of your dives—as we know now to oar

coat"

Clanahan threw up bis head with a gesture that said much. "Murphy's tbe m»n ttm. leaked on tbat engine Job—and he'll leak no more.” “Well," said Hatch, with growing Irritation, “what are you holding back for now? We stood to win on the first play, and we would have won If your people uadn't .balled It by talking too much. One more day and Dismuke would have been In the saddle. That would have settled lb" Yah ; and Mister Dlsrouke still here In Porta! City remains." put In Brocket. The dlvekeeper locked hi* pudgy fingers acrow a cocked knee. " Tls folne, brave glutlemro ye are. yor fro, whin ye've got somebody else to pull th' nuts out av th' fire for ye!" be said. “Ye’d have us croak , thU felly fr ye, snd thin ye'd stand j hack and wash yer hands while some poor divil wlnt to th’ rope fr lb Where do we come In. U what I'd like to know ?' “You are already in." napped Hatch. “You know what the big fellow at tbe capital thinks about lb and where you’ll .'and in the coming , election If you (loot put oat this fire toat Norcross Is kindling. You're yellow. Clanahan That’s all that Is the matter with you." Tell me wan thing!” Insisted toe dlvebroper, boring tty chief grafter with his pln-pol: i eyes. "Do yen stand fr 11 If wa do this thing op rightT' Hatch's eyes fell, and Henckel's big body tvlrted uneasily In the chair that was groaning under his beer-ttrrel weight. There was silence for a little space, and I could feel the cold sweat ■f arting ont all over me. I hadn't dreamed of slum' Hug upon ^sythlng ilk* mis when I smrted oat \o shadow •Iretler. They were e Ball;: plotting to murder the boes! It was Hatch oho broke the still-

"It's up to you, Clansftan, and you know it." he decared. ‘Yotfv* had your tip from the big fellow. Tbe railroad people must he made to s« Into the flgh: In tne coming election, and get hi on toe right sloe. If they don't; and tf Norercas stays and keeps h».‘ fire burning, you fellows .aee oub" Oanuhnn sat back In his chair and shoved his hands Into his pockets. "Ye'd storing me as If I was a boy r be scoffed. “ Tls your own game fr’m first to lasb D'ye think Pm not knowing that? Tls bread and buttoer and th' big rake-off for roc, and little ye care bow th election goes. Suppc-e we'd croak this man in to hot pag-rt p'Utcml fight; wbrt happens? Half tb' nooapfaypera in th' state ‘d play him up fr a martyr to th' cruse good goveramlnt, and we'd all go to bell Id a hand-basket 1" was cramped and sore and one of my legs bad gone to sleep, couldn’t bare moved If I aad wanted My besrt waa tapping bents right •long while I waited for Hatch's answer. When u came, toe drumming in my ears pretty nearly made

U se lb

“Clanahan." be began, as cold as an icicle. "I didn't ge. you down here to nrgus with you. * You've bungled this thing once, and for that reason you’ve got It to dc ove>- again. We haven't ■tsked you to 'croak'.anybody, a: you put 1’, and we are not asking it now." “ Tls d—d little you lack av abklng tt,” retorted the dlvekeeper. “Listen,” said Hatch, leaning forward with his hands on hi* knees. “Be-'.dei. keeping cases on here, we’ve been digging bac»: into hit record a few lines. Every man has his sore spot, if you can only find lb CUothan—Jus? as you have yours. What if I should tell you that Norcross Is wanted In another state—for a crime? Before bt came here be was chief of construction on the O-egw-Midland. There was a .ight-of-way fight back in the noun tains—fifty ralJes from the nearest sheriff—with the P. A 8. F Norcross armed bis track-layers, and In the bluffing there was a mat killed." Though it waa a warm night, as I have said, the cold chills began to chase themselves uj and down mj back. What Hatch said was perfectly true, in the right-of-way scrap. be was talking about, there bad been a few wild shots fired, and one « them had found s P. A 8. F. grade laborer. I don’t believe anybody had ever really blamed tbe boss for 1b But there had been a mat. Oiled. While I was shivering. Clanahan said: “Well, what av lit" “Norcroaa was responsible for that man's death. If he was having i rouble over his right-of-way, bis recourse was to tbe law. and be took tbe law Into bia own band*. Nothing was ever done about lb because nobody took the trouble to prosecute. A week ago we sent a man to Oregon to look up toe facta. He succeeded In finding a brother of toe dead man. and a rent baa now been sworn out for Not* cross' arrasb” • .Veil?" said Clanahan again. “Ye have the storing In yer own band; why don't ye pull It?" ’That'* where you come In." was the answer. “Tbe Oregon Justice Issued toe warrant because It was demanded, but be refused to Incur, for bis county, tbe expense of sending a deputy sheriff to another state, or to take the necessary steps to have Norcross extradited. If Norcross could be produced in court, he would try him and eltoei discharge him or bind him over, as tbe facts might warrant. He took hi* stand upon the ground that Norcross was only technically responsible, snd told the brother that In all probability nothing would come of an attempt prosecute." ’Thin ye’ve go? nothing on hi after all," toe Irishman grunted. “Yea." Hatch came back; “we hare tbe warrant, and, in addition to that, we have you, Pete. A word from you to the Portal City police headquarters, and our man finds himself arrested and locked up—to wait for a requisition from toe governor of Oregon." "But you said to’requisition wouldn’» come.” Clanahan put In. Hatch was sitting hack now and stroking his ugly Jaw. "It might come. Pete, if it had to; there’s no knowing. In the meantime we get delay. There'll be habeas corpus proceedings, of course, to get him out of Jail, but there’s where you'll come tn again; you've got your own man for titty attorney. And. after all, the delay Is all we need. With Nor cross In trouble, and In Jail on a charge of murder, tbe railroad ship'll go on the rocks in short order. Tbe Norcross management is having plenty of trouble—wrecks and tbe like. With Norcross locked up. New Y'ork will be heard from, and Dismuke will step in and clean house. That will wind up tbe reform srasm." "Tls a small chance," growled the chief of the ward heelers. "I'll talk it ov-'c with the big fellow." Again Hatch leaned forwar and put his hand* on his knees. “You’ll do nothing of the sort. Pete. You"! act. and net on your own responsibility. If you don't, somebody may wire the sheriff of Silver Bow county, Montana, tbat the man he knew In Butte as Michael Clancy

is. . . .”

The iJ rekeeper pet up both bauds as if to ward off t blow. “’Tls enough.” he mumbled, speaking as If he had a bunch of dry cottuin his mouth. "Slip me th’ warrant. " Hatch went te a sroa'.i safe and worked the combinstljo. When the door was oj -med hr pa»sed folded paper to Clanahan. Through all th'* talk. Heockt. had said BotoUig and I suspected ’.hat Batch, had biro there solely for safety's sake, and to provide With toe paper .a : .

It'a curious haw.an idea will sometiroes lay hold of you and knock out reason and comm® seue and everything else. Clanahao had In bis pocket a piece of paper that simply meant ruin to Mr. Norercas, and tbe Mcwin ; up of all the plan* toat had been made and all the work that had been done. If he abould be allowed to get op town with that warrant, the end of everything would be in sight. But bow was I to prevent U? The three men were on their feet, and Hatch waa reaching for the wall switch which controlled toe single Inca, dee rot lamp hanging from tor ceiling cf tbe scale-bouf. If I could only th*uk of some way to blow the place up and snatch the pager in the

confusion.

Dp to that minute I had never thought once of the pistol I bsd taken from Fred. May's draper, though It was still sagging in my left Ulp pocket. When I did think of It I dragged tt out with eome silly notion of trying to bold the three men up at the door of the shacx as they came out Hatch's stop to light a cigar anti to hand out a couple to the other two gave me time to choc* that notion and grab notoer. With the mu:tie of tbe automatic resting in the crack of *ha opened window I took dead altr. at tbe Incandescent lamp In toe celling and turned her looso for the whole maga-JnefuL ' Slrce the first bullet got toe lamp and lelt the place black dark, I couldn’t see what was happening .n the rloee little room. I could bear then, gasping and yelling and knocking o ie another down as they fought to get the door open. Sticking toe empty piste’, back Into my pocket I Jumped to get action, hurting my sore hand Uke tbe mischief in doing It HatcL ■ as the first man out. hut the big German was so el se a scoond that he knocked his smaller partner down anti toll over him. Clananan kept his fuel. He .had a gun In his hand that looked to me. In toe darkness, as big as a cannon. I was flattened against the aide of the scale shack, and when Jhe dlvekeeper tried to slde-rtep arannu the two fallen men who were block'mr 'he way, I snatched (he folded pape- from his pocket; ar.atched tt and ran as if the dickens was after me. That was a bad more—tbe runaway. If I bad kept sUU tbere mlgb? hare keen a chance for me to make a sneak. But when I ran, and fell over a pile of loose coal, and got up and ran again, they were all three after me, Clanahan taking blind shots la the dark with his cannon as he came. Naturally, I made straight for the wagon gate, and forgot, until I was right there, that It, and the wicket through roe of the leaves, were both lock d. As I shoot the wicket, a bullet from Clanahan's gun spatteu into tbs woodwork and stuck a splinter into my Jiand, and I turned and sprinted again, this time for toe gates where toe coal cars were pushed la from the railroad yard. These, too. were shot

They Were All Thi

and locked, and when I ducked under toe nearest gondola I realised (h*t l was trapped. Before I could climb the high fence anywhere, they’d get me. They came up. all 'hree of tiK-m. puffing end blowing, while I was biding under the gondola. “It’s probably tbat cow-boy spotter of Norcross’, but he can't get away," Hatto was gritting—meaning Tarb-U. probably. Tbe gate* are locked and we can plug him tf he tn«* to climb the fence. There’s a gun in tbe scalehouse. You two look under these car* while I go and get It!”

Cause ef F-rest Fires.

! Of thousands ot fires only a freej tion are due to ligbtr.ng anu vapreI rentable accident, says tvi .'.merle*a Forestry Magazine of Washington, which adds 'hat tbe great majority of tne fires tbat are constantly eclu-g-i tug our deserts of barren land, scrub { oak, chaparral trod briars, are due to J toe ca.el.'sroess of human beings—due. ! not only U ’ he carelessness of persons who *rv directly responsible for tbe fire*, but to the lotilfferecce of the greet body of people whose composite opinion permits tbe campers, tha fi.rroera, the railroads, and others to start and leave or lose control of rha

bres that do the damage^