CAPE MAY COTTKT? TIMES, SIA 1SU CITY, K. J.

The W reckers

By FRANCIS LYNDE

TH* FACS AT THE WINDOW. ' •yi»op*t»—Gr»h»m Norrpo««, tknraart nABagtr. in a tilt. •M-retary Jumnr narawncd tu R.B4 Cr-ak a^io* with a r°un* lady. Bb*lU V urra. w H« ■raaU coa»ln. Mils!* Am>. Unaaen. U>ry irknea. a peculiar train hoU- . J. Jo *Wch a apaclel rar la oH. Korcroaa rvcoct-ix** j>r car r. that of -’'*•» Clxadwtok Owctrl ma.-r.a whom ht war to tnoat at Portal City. • asd Dod<U rtacoa Chedw -l® T>c Uttar oKera KorcrtMa the maai(eine- t Uta iHonaer abort Une. .Jrh la In the hania of «aatern apeculaton., headed - Brecheur'dr* Doatt* ^raaMynt of the toe. Nonroea. leartiln* that Bhc'-la a- la Itopoln* at r rtal atr. arceptl Dodds overheara converaatloo twl Rafna •latch r < Gustave Hencke!. Portal City financiers. In which admit complicity In Chadwick'a Wdnapm*. Uielr object being to keep wtck from auendine a tMetlnjr of alrectora to reorgaalae the Pioneer i tone, which would Jec.'-ardlae their hitercau To curb the monopoly controlled by Hair*, kr.u Heaokel the Red Tower rorvoratton, Norcroas forma the — -are and «’af»bonee company He begine tc manifest a deep !he«* Manse Dodds teams that Shelia Is married, but living J apnrt from her ’-n*.' 'ad. Norcroaa does not kno- th’a The Bon dleapteers. K* report hie it that he h a resigned and gone -*ab Jimmy turn* eieoih. euepecU he has been *!Inape. and eSects hie rescue. Norcroas rezumas control of the Pipneer Short Une. ' * tp iflm place to D!»m ike. whom Dunloe has sent tr jucr charge as general ms-arer. Jimmie follows an emlaaary of the Red Tew.* people, aprln* or. NbrcrMfc to a coal yard, whe-t he ovwhtsrs a plot to arrest the Bees on a warder chores He frustrale* It and thereby drive*

CHAPTER IX—Continued It was O!' to mo to move again. yhciKkel wa* gtrlklng mnlc'aea and Itolding th.vu go I bat Ceuihan could JuoW und'-r the curs, and 1 co»IJ fed. Ui antldpatton. Uw shock of a tmlie; ' trow tb* bUf B«n in the divefceeper’s tut fist as I crawled oaifWldljr cat em tb far mile. Crer.olns along beJilcil z s * ffirlBg ol coal cur* I came giresebilj- to tl.e grtut g*ntr> crane used for uoloctfUig the fuel. It was a iiuge traveling machine, straddling tl.<: tracks anil a good part of tbe jrftL and the clan' ibc!l grab-butket was do up. restig on 1U tap lipg on U»e

At first I U oosM of clln-hing to the ’’ Jinme-work of tbe crane and trying to Aide on the big bHd-e beam. Then 1 saw that tbe two halves of the cinn.•bei! buck' were slightly open. Just urtde enongh to let me Mjoetse In. If they were loo’rlng tor a run-sin.,! : Wan—Tarnell. for Insiance. wbo was as bnaky us a fnno-bund—tl.ey'd never •tthlnk j{ ti>a| track in the t -ekel: and fa ur other ■•coot) 1 bail wriggled : throoA tbo V-ahaped opening anil wru •tiling humped up In on . of the hr It -a of tbe dan.-aboil. Tbs', waa a mighty good gu-ow. When Batch cafne back wi*li bis gun tcey combed that coc) yard with a toe-toot* comb, naing a lanteni tbat H .cb bad gotten from some-vbtre and missing no bole or corner where a man might bide, save and excepting only tbe one I bad pre-empted. A* U happened, the eearch r onud up filially under the ersne, * lUj tbe throe sianding so near that 1 could tiav- CHctnul out of tbe crackbetween tbe b:.diet hair and touched them. “Her luyfe! has gone tnH h!ms< '.f ofer di.r frnce. ye*T" puffed Heockel And (Isen “Vof for Us he shoot off deni pistol a eonobowr' . Clai.Bban confessed. I suppose be- * cause lie knew be would ha re .o..sooner or istor. “It was a hold-up," be growled. TTb’ warrant’s gone oat av my pocket." Hatch’s comment on tfcla waa fairly tiloo-l-curdlins in tu profanity, "Then It’s up to y«u to get him eotue other way, you blundering eon of a thief I’’ ne raged. "1 dun’’ euro w hat >ou dc. hut if you don't make this ..■oijntry too hot to bold blta. tt’a going to get fo hot to bold your And what more he waa going to agy, I tUin’t know, for at that moment a belated police petrol began pounding at the gates on the town aide *>nd wanting to knew what all tb« shooting wn«

«b>nt.

It was after they had all gone away, ten vine tbe big cool yard in alienee and darknwia. that I got mine, goed and hard. Silting all benched np tp the grab-bucket and walling for my z-hance to climb out and make a petal aj. tbe common sense reaction came «,.:d **w what t had done. With the best .nxe,, .uus m tU world. In t'y'jT till off tbe cbs.'icr offerei! to tt>e r.- by the Oregon warrant and tru:n|)«d-ap -imree of murder I merely raved the boas an arrest a pesslhle legal tangle and had him tu peril of hit life.

CHAPTER X

The Man at the Window

It course tbe Orsr ;hlug ( rtM. the [uing after :nst adventure In tbe | y^rd was to lei tbe iwaa alt

^■was Jut! fovy enaurh

i perfect epidemic of

then to havi wrecks The oon turned the material trouble over to Mr. Van Britt and devoted himself pretty wHefiy to the public Mo' of thlnga. Everywhere, end on •very occasion—at d' oera at tbe different chambers of wmmerce. and public benq nets given to this, that, or the other visiting blg-tvl*—be was slwsys ready to get on hts feet and tell the people that .he true pronpertty .of the couv'-j carried with It tbe prosperity ,t the rc<’.roada; that the two thin,* were one and inseparable: and that, when It come right down to basic fart*, the railroads were really n part of tbe progreas machinery uf the country a; large and should be regarded. i«.t as alien tnx-collectera, but as conirlhutore to the general praeperlty and welfareBy this time. also. RCd Tower Consolidated wa* beginning to find out what It meant to have active competition. The C. 8. A W. people were hurameriag their new plants Into working shape, and tiny were getting the patronage, both .. * the producers and r.irsnroera. hf.ad over list. Track fncilttles a <d ynxd eerri..- were grnntei'. freely; nnd while no diacrimlnation was permitted ns against the Red Tower people, the friendly attitude of the road counted for something, as It was bound to. Dunng those few pre-election weeks the New Torts ifld of us seemed to hare petered out completely. We hea-d nothi ng tn -re from President Dunto.i, worse than an occasional wire complaint r.bout the number of wrecks we were having, though the stock vras still going down, point by point, end. so far »* a man up a fee could see. we were making no attempt to ; >ow net earnings—were tumin- all Out money Into betterments as fast as it came In. I anew tbst couldn't go on_ Without a flurry of aome sort, 'he New Yorkers would never be Abie to break even, to say nothing of * profit, and i looked every day for a bowl that wouid tear things smtigfal up the back. While •!' these threads were weavin# along. Pm sorry to say that 1 hadn't yet drummed up the courage

4

n Mr.

any i

and.

> tell the !>«*» the truth about Mrs. he!la. He kept so going to the a^or’a every cn oce he had. and [aisle Ann was mating life miserable ir mi . iM^nuae 1 hadn’i told bin*— niting me a coward nnd every ihlng nder the son. 1 toll' her to teil him erseif. and she retorted that I knew lie •■ouI-Jn’t: that !i was my job and obody elteV We fo'wd over it a

nigliu were beginning to ytet a bit chilly. ? 1 had batted la with a twle-ram— which might Juat aa wen have stood over until the next idbrning. If you want to'know. After I bad delivered Si. Mrs. Sheila r-vj me that funny Ilttl- laugh of her* * and .etd me to gw hunt tit the pantry ai.d see IX i could find a piece of pie. and the boa* added that tf Td wait, he’d go bec« o town with me pretty soon. : tiK' pie, tnd ate it In the dlnlhg-roora. making noise enough •bout It so that they could knew I was there If they wanted to. But tbsy went right on talking, and paid no attention to me. .4, "Do > ju know, Shelia,"—they had long since got past the •‘Mr.” and “Mr*.’’—"you've been the greatesl pos s!Me help To me in this rough-house, all the way along." the boas wa* saying “Ton have held me up to the rack, time and again, when I have beer ready to throw It nil up and let go. Why have you done It?" I beard t*« little laugh again, and alie said: "It is worth something to have a friend. Odd as It may seem, Qtaham, I have bee;, singnlar’y pov-eriy-stricken in that hasped. And I have want- J to ece you succeed. Though you are still calling it merely a 'business deal,’ It. is redly a utl»slon. you know, crammed full of good thing* to a struggling world. If you do succeed—and I am sure you are go'ng to—you will leev^ this community. and hundreds of ot? era vastly the better for what you are doing and demonstrating." “But that is a man's point of view " the bo** persisted. “How do you get it? Too arc all woman, you know; and yoor mixing and mingling—a? te; st, g'r.rt' I have known ytj—1ms all been purely aortal. How do yon get tbe big overlook?" “I don't know. I was foolish nnd frivolous once like moat young girls. I suppose But we all grow older; and we ought to grow wiser. Besides, the woman has the advantage of the man In one respect: *he has time to think and plan and reason things out as o busy man can’t have. Tour problem has seemed very simple to me. from tbe very teglnnlug. ft A* 1 for n strong roan and nn honest one. Yon were to take charge of n piece of property that had been abused and knocked about nnd used as a means of extu-tlon and opprmsioa, aud you were 'o moke it, good." “Acuin, tbit Is a man's point ot view " “Ob, no." sue protested quickly •There is no sex 1c ethics. Women arc tbe natura! house-cleaners, perhaps, but that .sn't saving that a man can't be on*-, lie.. If he wnnti, to be.’ At tills, tbe boes got up and begin to tramp bp nnd down thj room; l could bear him I knew she’d been having the biggest kind of a Job to keep him abut up in this sort of abstract corral, when all the rime h.wos loving her fit to kill, but np pa really she had been doing it aurcessfullj. There wasn't tbe .'alntesi breath of eentiment in the air- not the slightest whiff. When she began again. I could somehow feel that she ■vas Just in tlm* to prevent bis breaking out into all sorts of lore-making. ‘The time hits come, now. when you must take another leaf out of my j t ook.*' she Mid, with Just The proper j little cooling tang In h T v'-'oe. "Dp to tiie present you have bee.. hammering your way to the end 'Ike a suoug man. and that was right. But you hive been more or lean recldeo*—am’ that Isn't right or fair or Just to a lot of other people." The cramping atoppe.. aud I beard him say: “I don't know whm you mean." "I mean that mr.ttera have come to WH-h a pus* now that you can’t afford to tal e any risks—personal risks. If lL* plan the enemy Is trying doom t work, it will try another nnd a uore desperate one.” "You ve been talking to Ripley." be laughed. "Ripley war's me to become n gun-toter nnd provide myself with 1 body-guard. I’d look well, wouldn’t I? 3ut what do you mean by the plan tbe enemy Is now trying 1 ?* She hesitated a little, aud then said: “I shall make no charges, bee* .w 1 have no proof But I road the aev s-1 papers, nnd Mr Van Britt tell* :ne something, now and then. You are having * terrible lot of wrecks." "That Is merely bad luck," be tvI joltii-u easily. "Rashness 1* no ■-art of true courage.” she Interpolated, calmly. ’A- . private tDilvtdu«l you might sav : at y..ur life la your own. and thnt vu bare c perfect r^,'t tv n** tt <1* 'U please. But as the general maurlof tbe railroad, with • tot of j ur j fru nds holding office urJer you. - 'U ! tog for a eabzr. and that cause v. ill

your sd.i lftistratloii ‘a falmri'. It wo^’t bMtrte m get rid of.you hr the erst set tr«y thnt offer*." •'There wa* tBIenee *n the major's ocr. for n minute tv an. and then 'he

bow Mid:

’TV imp* nor." was’the prompt answer. "I'eri'kfi* I am only the ontooker—wtin car. usually see tiling* rather better thin the persons actually involved Httiwrto I have urged you to l*e bold, and then again to be bold. Now 1 am begging you to be prudent." "In what wayr “Careful for yourself. For example: you walked out here this evening; don’t do that ncy more. Come In a taxi—end don't come r.Ione." I couldn’t are bla Trow- .if di.ragreemeut. Jut X knew welt enough It was there. “There spoke tbe woman lu you. he said “If I ehould show t.ie white ■ fentber tiiat way. the"'d have some excuse for potting me.” There was a alienee again, nnd I got np qnietly and crossed the diningroom to the big recre-wl window w’ ere I mood looking out Into the darkness of the tree-shaded lawn. It wax n.etiy evident that lira. Sheila krew n heap more ttfkn she war telling the boss, juat as be had said, and I couldn’t help w-mdertng how she came to know it What she said about the Increased numbe. of wrecks looked like a pointer Was tuic In touch with th< -nrmy in some way? Then my mind went hack hi n flash to what Mais’e Ann had told me. Was the husband who ought to be dead, and

wasn’t, mixed up lorit In any way? C. aid It l-e posaTiia that hr was one of those who were tn tbe fiibt on the other aide, and that she waa still keepins In tench with him? Pretty sooq I heard tiie murmur of their voices again, but now I was so far away from the bamboo-acreened door that 1 couldn’t hear what they were saylr-g. I wished they would break i 1 off to the boss could go. It was geti'ng l.<te, and there had been enough said to moke me with we wore both safely bpek in tbe hotel. It*B that way sometime*, you know, tn sttlie of all you can do. You hear a talk, and 'you can’t help reading between the lines. I knew, as well a* I knew that I wa* alive, that Mrs. Sheilft meant more than she had sold: perhapa more than she had dared to sty. ; —— it was while I was standlm- there la the big window that I saw the man on the’IawT. At brst I thought it was Tnrbeli. who tvu* never very fur oat of reach when tbe boss was running loose. But the next minute I saw I waa mistaken. The man under the tree* had on a Ion- traveling coat that came nearly to bis heels, and his cap was tbe kind that has two visors, one in front nnd the other behind. Realizing that It wasn’t Tarbcll. I stood perfectly still The bouse was lighted with gas. and the dining-room chandelier had been turned down, so there was a chance (hat the skulker under tNe trees wouldn't see me standing in Uk comer of the box window To make It aurer. I edged uwuy until the curtain hid me. I was Just In time. The met. had crept out of bla hidingplace and waa coming up to the window 00 the outside. As tie passed through the dim beam of light thrown by (be turned-down chandelier. I saw thut be had ft pistol in his band, or a weapon of some kind; Anyway. I raugLt the glint of tbe gas-light on

dull taecl.

That stirred me up good and plenty. I still had tbe gun I had tuken out of Fred May’s drawer; I hud carried It ever since the night when It bad mighty nearly got me killed off In the Red Tower cos' yard. I fished it out and made reudf. thinking, of course, that the skulker must certainly be one ot Cionahan'T gunmen. 1 still had that Idea when I felt, rather than saw. thst the man was pu’.tiag himself up to the window *0 that he co’Jd take .■ look In.o the dining room. ttu look sntlsfed him. apparently, for the next sciaud I beard bln drop amo.vg the t> ■.shee; and when 1 stood up vnd looked out again 1 could just

I knew there was (fitly one window In the major’s del. room, and that was nearly opporite tbe screened doorway. So I ducked back into tbe dining room nnd took a stand whore I could nee the one window through the door-curtain net-work of humt.oo beads. I was *0 excited thnt I caught only snatches ot what Mrs Shells was saying to the bust, but the bits thn! I board were n good deni to the point. “No, I mean It. firaham ... It is aa I told you at fi-st . . there la no standing room for either of m on tbut ground . . . and you must not come here again ulieu you know that I am alone . . . No, Jimmie isn't enough V l wrenched the £atf-vorking «rvr.se aside and Jammed It nto my eyes, concentrating hard on the window at which I expected every second to see * man’s fare. If tbe man was a murder* r, I thought I could beat him te It. The suspense didn’t las: very long A hand camr up Orel to puxh the window- vines aside. It was a white hand, long and slender, more like a woman’s than a man's. Then against tbe glass I saw tbe face, and it gave me such a turn that I thought I must be going batty. Instead of the ugly mug of one of Clanaban'a gunmen, the haggard face framed In The window sash w«i a face that 1 bad t sen once—and only once— before: on a certain Sunday nlcta: In the Bullard when tbe loose-lipped mouth belonging to It bad been bale bling drunken curses at the night clerk. The man at the window was the dissipated y oung rounder who bad been pointed out as the mphew of President Dun tun. CHAPTER XI Th* Name on the Register So long as I was bolding on to the notion that the man outside was one of Jta..-.ban's thugs, hanging around to do the boes a mischief. 1 thought I knew pretty well what 1 should do when It came to' the pinch. Would I really have hauled off and shot n man. tn cold blood? That's a touc'u question, but I guess maybe I eonld have screwed myself up to the sticking point, os the fellow says, with a sure-enough gunman on the other side of thnt window—and tbe boas' life at stake. But when I raw that it was young Collin gw ood, that was a horse of another color. What on earth waa the president’s nephew doing, prowling around Major Kendrick's house 1 er eleven o'clock at night, lugging a pistol nnd peeking Into windows? I etold see him quite plainly now. He had both hands cn the sill and was trying to pull himself up so thrt he could see into the end of the room where tbe fireplace waa Just for the moment, there wasn't any danger of a blow-up. Unless he shonld break tbe g'.nss tn the window, lie couldn't get a line on either the boss or Mrs. Shelia—If that waa what he was aiming to do. Ail tbe same. I kept him coiered with the "toroatlc, steady! g It against tbe door-

jamb.

While tbe strain was at Its worst, with the man outside Battening his cheek against the window-pane to get the ■dewise slant, I heard the boss get out of his chair and say: “I’m keeping you out of bed. as usual: look at that dock! I’ll go nnd wake Jimmie, and we’ll vanish." Just as he spofcd. two things happened' a taxi chugged up to the gate and stopped, and the nmn’a face disnppearo*’ from the window. 1 heard a qnlri padding of feet as of somebody running, and the next minute came the rattle o{ a latch-key and voices In the hall to teil me that the major and his folks were getting home. 1 had barely time to pocket the pistol and lo drop Into a chair where I could pretend to be asleep, when I felt tbe boas' band on my shoulder. "Come, Jimmie." be said. “It's time we were moving along." and tn a minute or two. after he had said goodnight to the major and Mrs. Kendrick, we got out. At U'» gate we found the taxi driver doing something to his motor. With the scare from which I waa still shaking to make my legs wobble, I grabbed at tbe chance which onr good angel was apparently bolding for ut. “Let'a ride," I suggested; and when we got Into the cab. I saw a man stroll up from the shadow of the sidewalk cottonwoods and say something to the driver; something that got him an invitation to ride to town on the front seat with tbe cabby • ben the car wav finally cranked and started. I had a sight of our extra fare’s face when be climbed up and put his back to u*. and I knew It was Tarbell. But Mr. Norcroas didn't. When we reached the Bullard the boss went right up to his rooms, but I had a tittle investigation to make, and I stayed In the lobby to p|£t it over. On the open page of the hotel register, in the group of names written Just after the arrival of our train from the West at 7:30. I found the signature thnt I was looking fir. ''Howard Colilngwood. N. Y." Putting this and that together, I concluded that our young founder had come in from the West—which was a bit punting, stoce It left tbe Inference that he wasn't direct from New York.

Waiting f

few

obiktingJy looked it up for me In tbe older retpMor- It-was BuUoci. Henry Bullock. I suppose it was up to me to go to bed. It ’.aa late enough. In all cooactence, and nobody knew belter than 1 did the early-rising, etrly-qfficv opening bsblts of Mr Graham Norcross. <i. M. Just tbe same, after I bad marked that Mr. Oolllngwood’a room-key waa still in Its box I west ox er to a corner of the lobby and’ sat down, determined to keep my eyes open, If such a thing were humanly possible, until our rounder should show op. Finally my patience, or whatever you care to call .t, waa rewarded. Just after tbe baggage porter had finished sing-songing bis call for the nlgbt express westbound, my man cams 11- on the run. When be rushed over to tbe counter and began to ulk fast to the night clerk, I wiran't very far behind h'm. He was telling the clerk tc get hip grip* down from tbe room, rdjectirely quick. While the boy was gone for the gripr. my mar. msue a straight anoot for tbe bar, and when 1 next got a sight of him—fnm behind one of tbe big onyx-plated pillars of the bar room colonnade—be was pouring neat liquor down Lit throat as f It were water and be jo fire inside. That was about all there was to It. By the time Collirgwood got back'to the cierk’a counte., the boy was Cown with the bags, f ollingwcod looked up sort of nervousl} at tbe big clock, sod paid hts btlL Aon while the ciertt was getting hit change, he grabbed the pen out of be counter inkstand, nnd made out a*. If he was shading In picture, or soiftthlng. nn the open register. A hulf-m!i.ote later be was gone When the taxi purred av-fey 1 turned to the open register to see what onr irst.iac Lad been d.rax. ing In It. What be had done was completely to o! - literate h!s signature. He hau scratched It over until the past 'naster of all the Land-writing expert* (bat ever lived couldn't have told what the name wax It was while we were eating breakfast the next morning In tbe Builara cafe—tbe boas nnd I—that we got onr first news cf the Betrollte wreck. Tb* story was red-headitoed in tbe Morning Herald—the Hatch-owned paper— and besides being played up good and strong in tbe news columns, there was an editorial to back tbe front-page Bcrcatr. At two o'clock in the morning e fa« wen bound freight had left the tratk In I’etrolite Canyon, rod before they could get the flagman .t, a delayed eastbound passe tiger jd collided with tbe ruins. There were no lives lost, but a number of people, including the euglneman the postal clerks nnd the baggageman on the passenger, were injured. The editorial, commenting on the wire stuff, was sharply critical of tbe Short Une management. It hinted broadly tha. there had been 00 such riling as discipline on the road alnc* Mr. Shaffer had left tt; tbnt the rank and file was running things pretty much aa It pleased: and with thl* there waa a dig at general managera who lei old and lime-tried department beads go to make room for their rich and incompetent college friends— which was meant to be a slap at V Van Britt, our own and only millionaire. Unhappily, this fault-finding bad a good bit to build 00, In one way. Aa I have said, we were baring operating troubles to beat tbe band. With the rank and file apparently doing its level best to belt) out in the new “publlc-be-plenaed" program. It seemed as It we couldn't worry through a single week without smashing something. —— ■»»« ■. 1 I .utterly, even the newspipera tha were friendly to the Norcroas mar',cement were beginning to couimem on the epidemic of disasters, and nothing In the world but the boas’ policy of taking all the editors Into hi* confidence wl.cn they wanted to investigate kept the rising storm ot criticism somewhere within bounds. Mr. Norcross had read the paper before be handed it over to me. and afterward he hurried bis break fast n little. When be reached the office. Mr. Van Britt waa waiting for the chief. • We’ve got It in (he neck once more." he gritted, flashing up his own cop* of the Herald. "Did yon read that editorial?" "Never mind the newspap.r talk. How had is the trouble this tint*?" "Pretty bad. Tbe freight is practically a total loss; a good half oi It Is In the river. Kirgan says he can pick the freight engine up mid rebuild It; but tbe passenger irccalne ia a wreck." "How did It happen?" ’ It’s like a good many of the others. Nobody sc* ms to know. I.rockman pnt the freight engine crew ou tiie rack, and they say there was a small boulder on the track—that II rolled down the •anyoc. Mope Juw ahead of them as they were turning a curve. They struck It. and both men say that the engine knocked It off into the river apparently without hurting anything. Bui two seconds larar the entire train lett the track end piled up all over the right-of-way." Tbe tmss wa* sitting hack In bla chair and making little ring., -ax ,he desk blotter with tbe jioioi of hi* nk-otu.* Slave got