Show F I 1 J lt STORY S TOR RY R Y ca e 06 A FOOL OL FOR LOVIE by FRANCIS LYNDE Autho etc w coper ht I 1 Q bv b J P L pp neo t co CHAPTER II 11 continued it was a rather unnerving thought and when he considered it he was gidd glad that their ways coinciding for the mo ment would presently go apart leav ing him free to do battle as an honest soldier in any cause in the rosemary Ko party was rising and avinton rose too folding the seat tor for miss virginia and reaching her wrap from the rack I 1 am glad to have met you she said giving him the tip of her fingers and going back to the conventional aties as az it if they had never been ig i bored mored but the sincerity in reply transcended the conventional form of it indeed the pleasure has been wholly mine I 1 assure you I 1 hope the future will be kind to me ine and let me ine see more of you who knowse she rejoined smiling at him level eyed the world has been steadily growing smaller airye cliwe shakespeare called it narrow he caught quickly at the straw of hope then we need not say good bya no let it be aut auf wie dershen she 4 said and he stood aside to let her join her party two hours later when adams was reading in his section and winton was ing his short pipe in the mn s compartment and thinking things un peal able with virginia carteret for a nucleus there was a series of sharp shrieks a sudden grinding of 4 the brakes and a jarring stop bf the limited a stop not down on the time card winton was among the first to reach I 1 the head of the long train the halt 4 was in blittle a little depression of the bleak plain and the trainmen were in con 44 ference over a badly derailed engine when winton erne eme up A vast herd of cattle wa was lumbering away into the darkness and a mangled carcass under the wheels of the locomotive L I 1 clentry explained the accident well there s only one thing to do ka was the engineer engineers s verdict that s for somebody to mog back to arroyo to wire tor for the wreck wagon yes by gum and that means all night growled the conductor there was a stir in the gathering throng of half alarmed and all curious passengers and a red faced white mustached gentleman whose soft southern accent was utterly at vari aunce with his manner hurled a ques tion bol like uke at the conductor all ni ht you say seh then we miss auh denver connections 7 9 you can cat bet to win on that was the curt reply damn danin said the red faced gentle man and then in a lower tone I 1 beg your my dean deah virginia Virg inra I 1 was totally unaware of your pres ence winton threw off his overcoat it if you will take a bit of help from an outsider I 1 think we needa t wait tor for the wrecking car he said to the trainmen its bad but not as us bad as it looks what do you pa say now as everyone knows it Is not f in the nature of operative railway men i to brook interference even of the he help ap tul ful sort fort but they are as quick as other folk to recognize the man in esse as wel as to know the clan slogan when they hear it winton did not i wait for objections but tool over the command as one in authority 1 l think we can t do if III show you up on that tank one of you and heave down the jacks and frogs we 11 have her on the steel again be tore fore you can say your prayers at the hearty command churlish reluctance vanished and everybody lent a willing hand in two minutes the crew ol 01 the limited knew it was working brider a master the frogs were adjusted under the derailed wheels the jack screws were braced to y lift and push with the nicest accuracy and all wao ready for the attempt to back the engine in trial but now the engineer shook his head I 1 ain t the artist to move her gently enough with all that string 0 dickeys her he said unhopefully vo no said winton come up into the cab with me and show you how and h he I 1 climbed to the driver s footboard tte with the doubting engineer at his heek heels at the critical instant when the en ji tire weight of the forward half of the aft engine was poising tor for the drop upon the cpr rails he gave the precise added impels r the big ten wheeler coughed hoarsely hoarse lv and spat fire the driving wheels made a quick halt half turn backward and a cheer from the onlookers marked the little triumph of mind over matter you bet he s no prentice said tue the fireman not much the engineer he 3 9 an all round artist that s about what hels it wonder if he wa was the travella travel ln engineer for some road back in Gods god s country gravelin Tr avelin lothing said the con A ductor more afore likely he s a train mas ter r p raps a bigger boss than that call in the flag jim and we 11 b i get ting a move b odal eddit t 0 agh the comment oa on win ton did dio no pa ise with the encomiums of the train ci en ea when the limited was once nore ri bishing shing on its way gath gh th night and virginia and he co sin vei safely in the privacy of their state room miss carteret added her word do yo i know bessie I 1 think it was mr A lam who scored this aften oona she said ho v so soa inquired la petite bisque who was too loo sleepy to be over curlo is I 1 think he took tool a rise out of me ire a ao he lie p it its it mr winton is precisely all the hinds ofa of i man mr adams said he wasn gasn t CHAPTER III it was late breakfast time when the tal liml limi ed ej swept around the great curve in the eastern fringe of denver paused for a register ing moment at 3 ard limits and went clattering in over the switches to come to rest at the end of its long westward run on the in trad at the union depot han haeng ing wired ahead to han hae e his mall mail meet him at the yard limits registering station winton was ready to make a dash tor for the telegraph office the moment the train stopped that Is our wagon ever thereon there on the narrow gauge he said to adams point ing out the waiting mo intrain train have the porter transfer our dunnage and be with you as soon as I 1 can sen I 1 a wire or two he saw the yard crew crit cutting ting out the rosemary and had a glimpse of miss virginia clinging to the hand rail and enjoying anthi he fancied on the way ay across the broad platform her first view of the mighty hills to the westward the temptation to let the telegraphing wait while he went to say good morning to her was strong but he resisted it and hastened the more for the hesitant thought nevertheless when he reached the telegraph office he found mr somerville darrah and his big secretary there ahead of him and he remarked that the explosive gentleman who pre sided over the destinies of the colora do grand river appeared to be in but it winton co ild have been bean an eavesdropper behind the door u ul super In colbert s office on the second floor of the union depo his doubts would have been devolved instantly the telegraph operator oper j guess went weal straight to the mark mi darrah was rals ng ug particular sand because his wire cider for a special engine had not been G eyed to the saving saying of the alti mate se ond of time but between his objurgate ons on that eore core he was rasping cut question designed to ex haust the chief clerk s store of in formation concerning the status of at af fairs at the seat of war will you inform me sen seh why I 1 wasn gasn t wired that this beggarly appeal was going against he demanded wrathfully what s that you say seh sena 9 don it tell me you couldn t know what the decision of the cou con t wa go ing to be before it was handed down that s what you all are heah for to find out these things and what I 1 fa all this about cajah eva ts resigning and the utah s ending east tor for a pro tess fess lonal ional right of way fighter to take his place who Is this new mana man don dont t know seh its youl your business to know now when do fareh me with my engine thus the rajah and the ahlf clerk himself known from end to end of the colorado grand river as a quelled of men could only point out of th window where the rosemary and equipped tor for the race and ay meekly I 1 in awfully sorri sorry y auve on ve been delayed mr darrah very sorry indeed but your car la Is ready now shall I 1 go along to be on hand it if you need me mea no seh seli stormed the irate master and the chief clerks face became in scantly expressive of the keenest re lief you stay right heah and se sec that the wires to qua tz creek are kepi kepl open wide open seh and when yoi yot get an ordah from me for an engine a regiment of the national giua d or 01 a trainload of white elephants you fil it do you understand eha meantime while this scene was get ting itself enacted in the superintend 0 DON T a more than usually volcanic frame of mind now winton though new to the business of building railroads for the utah short line was not new to den ver or colorado hence when the rajah followed by his secretarial shadow had left the office winton spoke to the operator as to a friend what is the matter with mr darrah toma he seems to be uncommonly vindictive this morning the man of dots and dashes nodded he hes s always s crankier this time than he was the othe he s a holy terror the rajah Is I 1 wouldn t work on his road for a farm down east not if my job took tool me within cussing distance of him bet a hen worth ja 00 he Is ip in mr colbert office right now raising particular sand because his special engine wasn gasn t stand ing here ready to snatch his private car on the fly so s to go on without losing headway I 1 I 1 winton s eyes narrowed and he let his writing hand piuse while he said so he travels special from denver does hea he on his own roada well I 1 should smile nothing Is too good for the rajah or too quick when he happens happen to be in a hurry I 1 wonder he didia t I 1 have the T C pull him special from kansas city I 1 winton handed in his batch of tele grams and went hl v ay reflective what was mr somerville Soni erville darrah 9 particular rush As set forth by adams the plans of the pai baity ty in the rosemary contemplated nothing more than a leisurely trip to the pacific coast a pleasure jaunt with a winter sojourn in california to lengthen it why then this sudden change from limited regular trains to unlimited specials was there fresh news from the seat of war in quartz creek canyon winton thought not in that case he would have had his budget as well and so far as his own advices went matters were still as they had been A letter from the utah attorneys in carbonate assured him that the injunction appeal was ws not yet decided and arother from chief of construction evarts concerned itself chiefly with the major s desire to know when he ww w w to be relieved ent s office a mild fire of consternation was alight in the gathering room of 0 the rosemary As we have guessed winton s packet of mail was not the only one which was delivered by spa cial arrangement that morning to he incoming limited at the yard regia regis bering station there had been an other address addressed pd to mr darrah and when he had opened it there had been a volcanic explosion ard a hurried dash foi for the telegraph office as recorded sifted out by the reverend billy and explained by him to mrs carteret and bessie the firing spark of 0 the ex appeared to be some news ul 0 an untoward char charade acte from a place vaguely designated as the front it seems that there is some sort 0 of a right of way scrimmage going on up in the mountains between our road and the utah short line said the young man it was carried into the he courts and now it turns out that I 1 tha the decision has gone against us how perfectly horrid said miss bessie now I 1 suppose we shall have to tay here indefinitely while uncle So Some merille nille does things and placid mrs airs carteret added plaintively its it s too bad I 1 think they might let him tave have one little vacation in peace who talks of peace queried virginia driven in from her post of van tage on the observation platform by the smoke from the switching engine t I 1 see uncle somerville chang ing across to the telegraph office with war written out laige in every una line of himi I 1 am afraid you did affirmed the reverend billy and thereupon the explanation was rehearsed for vir ginia s benefit the brown eyes flashed mill militant tant sympathy oh I 1 wish uncle somerville would go to the front wherever that is and take us along she cried it would be ever so much better than callior hia the reverend william laughed and aunt martha put in her word of ex postulation lon as en n duty bound TO BG CONTINUED |