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The Huron Expositor, 1926-12-03, Page 7ee't1,/ r„ li. rt. ti .14 cin Se iii i74 +.isnot,amarauaesweuaw:nwwv. susen w.ss.nwm'; By. PETER Ba KT2?E GROSS e ,York - (continued from Inst ,*geek), a "1 wanted:isome (advice Suppose you wanted very, veryimuch totkno'v what two people were 'talking about, blit found yourselfin a position where you couldn't eavesdrop. What would you, do a, "L wouldn't eavesdrop," he. told her severely. "That isn't a nice thing to do, and I didn't think you would con- template anything that isn't nice," "I wouldn't ordinarily. But I have every moral, ethical, and financial right to be a party to that conversa- tion, only well-" "With you present there would be no conversation -is that it?" "Exactly, Mr. Cardigan." • "And it is of the utmost impprt- ance that you should know what is said?" "Yes " . "And you do not intend to use your knowledge of this conversation, when gained, for an illegal or unethical pur- pose?" ."I do not. On the contrary, if I am aware of what is being planned, I cant prevent others from doing some- thing illegal and unethical." "In that event, Shirley, I should say you axe quite justified in eaveedrop- in " p "But how can I do it -2 o I can't hide in a closet and listen." "Buy a dictograph and have it bid - HEIRS WANTED MissingHeirs are throught the world. Many people are to -day living in comparative pov- erty who are really rich, but do not know it. You may be one of them Bend for Index Book, "Missing Heirs and, Next of Kin," containing care- fully authenticated lista of missing heirs and unclaimed estates which have been advertised for, here and abroad. The Index of Missing Heirs we offer for sale contains thousands of names which have appeared in American, Canadian, English, Scotch, Irish, Welsh, German, French Bel- gian, Swedish, Indian, Colonial, and other newspapers, inserted by lawy- era, executors, administrators. Also contains list of English and Irish Courts of Chancery and unclaimed dividends list of Bank of England. Your name or your ancestor's may be in the list. Send $1.00 (one dollar) at once for book. International Claim Agency Dept 296, Pittsburgh, Pa., U. S. A. 20$0-t1 LONDON AND WINGHAM North. a.m. p.m. Exeter 10.16 6.04 Hensall 10.30 6.18 Rippen 10.35 6.23 Brucefield 10.44 6.32 Clinton Jct. 10.58 6.46 Clinton, Ar. 11.06 6.52 Clinton, Lv. 11.16 6.52 Clinton Jet. 11.21 6.58 Londesborough 11.35 7.12 Blyth ..... 11.44 7.21 Belgrave 11.56 7.33 Wingham Jct., Ar12.08 7.45 Wingham Jct., Lv12.08 7.45 Wingham 12.12 7.55 South. a.m. Wingham 6.55 Wingham Jet. 7.01 Belgrave 7.15 Blyth 7.27 Londesborough 7.35 Clinton Jet. 7.49 Clinton 7.56 8.03 8.15 8.22 8.32 8.47 Clinton Jet. Brucefield Kippen Hensall Exeter C. N. R. TIME TABLE East. Goderich Holmesville _Clinton Seaforth St. Columban Dublin Dublin St. Columban Seaforth •••• Clinton Hohnesville Goderich • .. West. a.m. 10.87 10.42 10.63 11.10 11.20 11.40 a.m. 6.00 6.17 6.25 6.41 6.49 6.54 Pan. 5.88 5.44 5.53 6.08 7.08 7.20 C. P. It TIME TABLE East. Godericli Menset McGaw Auburn Blyth. Walton...... MeNaught , Toronto • West:. Toronto illeNttught ••iia 129 1141 It45 r'3 p.m. 3.15 3.21 3.32 3.44 8.62 4.06 4.13 4.20 4.32 4.40 4.60 6.05 p.m. 2.20 2.37 2.52 8.12 8.20 8.28 p.m. 9.87 9.60 10.04 10.13 10.30 a.m. 5.50 5.55 6.04 6.11 6.25 6.40 6.52 10.25 a.m. "f.40 1 48 �r+046;air61,u,••••••• •most ,quite area e : that :-. Mair upon you ,t0 obligePie iia` t alt,err :4iGertaln/ehe But why pick on ,me, of all persona, toperform suc a;ant- sion Zfor..you?" ' an ': u �P �' x*at:•yPli haze Ile ft.. ' o ,aria. ay .��'d�.. Thank Ys . trek 1 o a' safer I a d ..to tif;e Yialtt : unTii�gdi, telkdl Mir; (lards "You are very` •I�d, gin: i11; )how is your dear old fattier? Moira told me sometime ago that he was `jIe's.?quite:,iielb again, thank you, By: e wny, Moira doesn't know that you•and;'have ever Met.' Why d2n't you tell her?" "I ,can't anserer that question -now. Perhaps some day I may be in a posi- tion to db so." "It's too bad the circumstances are such that we, who started out to he such agreeable friends, •see so little. of each other, Shirley." "Indeed; it is. However, it's all your fault. I have told you once how you can obviate that distressing sit- uation. But you're so .stubborn, Mr. Cardigan." "1. haven't gdt to the point where I like crawling on my hands and knees be flared back at her. "Even for your sake, I decline to stimulate friendship or tolerance for your un- cle; hence I must be contebt to let matters stand as they are between us." She' laughed lightly. "So you are still uncompromisingly belligerent- still after Uncle Seth's scalp?" "Yes; and I think I'm going to get it. At any rate, he isn't going to get mine." "Don't you think you're rather un- just to make me suffer for the sins of my relative, Bryce?" she demanded. She had called him by his first name. He thrilled. "I'm lost in a quagmire of debts --Pin helpless now." he murmured. "I'm not fighting for myself alone, but for a thousand de- pendents -for a principle -for an an- cient sentiment that was my father'a and is now mine. You do not under- stand." "I understand more than you give me credit for, and some day you'll realize it. I understand just enough to make me feel sorry for you. I understand what even my uncle does not suspect at present, and that is that you're the directing genius of the Northern California Oregon Railroad and hiding behind your friend Ogilvy. Now, listen to me Bryce Cardigan: You're never going to build that road. Do you understand?" The suddenness of her attack•amaz- ed him to such an extent that he did not take the trouble to contradict her. Instead he blurted out, angrily and defiantly: "I'll build that road if it costs me my life -?if it costs me you. Understand! I'm in .this fight to "You will not build that road," she reiterated. "may?" "Because I shall not permit you to. I have some financial interest in the Laguna Grande Lumber Company, and it is not to that financial inter- est that you should build the N. C. 0." "How did you find out I was be- hind Ogilvy?" "Intuition.- Then I accused you of it, and you admitted it." • "I suppose you're going to tell your uncle now," he retorted witheringly. "On the contrary, I am not. I greatly fear I was born with a touch of sporting blood, Mr. Cardigan, so I'm going to let you two fight until you're exhausted, and then I'm going to step in and decide the issue. You can save money by surrendering now. I hold the whip hand." "I prefer to fight. With your per- mission this bout will go to a knock- out." "I'm not so certain I do not like you all the more for that decision. And if it will comfort you the least bit, you have my word of honour that I shall not reveal to my uncle the identity of the man behind the N. C. 0. I'm not a tattletale, you know, and moreover I have a great curios- ity to get to the end of the story. The fact is, both you and Uncle Seth an- noy me exceedingly. How lovely ev- erything would have been if you two hadn't started this feud and forced upon Titre the task of trying to he fair and impartial to you both." "Can you remain . fair and impar- tial ?" "I think I can -even up to the point of deciding whether or not you are going to build that road. Then I shall act independently of you both. Forgive my slang, but --I'm going to heed you each a poke then." "Shirley," he told her earnestly, "listen carefully to what I am about to say: I love you. I've loved you from the day I first met you. I shall always love you; and when I get a- round to it, I'm going to ask you to marry me. At present, however, that is a right I do not possess. However, the day I acquire the right I shall ex- ercise it." "And when will that day be?" Very softly, in awesome tones! "The day I drive the last spike in the N. C. 0." Fell a silence. Then: "I'm glad, Bryce Cardigan, you're not a quitter. Good-bye, good luck -and don't for- get my errand." She hung up and sat at the telephone for a moment, dimpled chin in dimpled hand, her glance wandering through the window and far away across the roofs of the town to Where the smokestack of Cardigan's mill cut the sky -line. "How Pd hate you if I could handle you!" she murmured. Following this exasperating but il- luminating conversation with Shirley Sulfa irk over the telephone, Brice Catrin was ii4dtstressed and badly We. : ed: man. However, Bryce, Was etitrtnihnicant of -a very simple faith . to wilt, that one is nevelr'up pped till One is counted out, and the rat shook of Shirley's discovery ha ng.. passed, • t' i t. a%jar .et i i%Iyi t se me or *Wit se..114,41' z',- cbin en.brFetnte 'OW isfl Ileaoev4xefwuenddery npogbeer-',Is -ewesuo"n 'to. 'dlssocite,'the husixiese. froaii the pert sepal aspects of ':Isis .relations with "Shirley,. and he 'recalled; that she had, the very -best of reasons for placing their relationson a 'business basis rather than a sentimental one. ate had played a,, pare in their little drama which he knew mist have baf- fled- and infuriated her. More, had she, in those delightful few days of their early acquaintance, formed for him a sentimental somewhat stronger than friendship (he did not flatter himself that this was so), he could understand her attitude toward ,him as that of the woman scorned. For the present, however, it was all a profound and disturbing mystery, and after an hour of futile concen- tration there came to Bryce the old childish impulse to go to his father with his troubles. That sturdy old soul, freed from the hot passions of youth,2Its impetuosity and its prone- ness to consider cause rather than effect, had weathered too many storms in his day to permit the present one to 'benumb his brain as it had his son's. "He will be able to think without having his thoughts blotted out by a women's face," Bryce soliloquized. "He's like one of his own big redwood trees; his head is always above the steins" Straightway Bryce left the office and went home to the old house on the knoll. John Cardigan was sitting on the veranda, and from a stand be- side him George Sea Otter entertain- ed him with a phonograph selection - "The Suwanee River," sung by a male quartet. As the gate clicked, John raised his head; then as Bryce's quick step spurned the cement walk up the little old-fashioned garden, he rose and stood with one hand outstretch- ed and trembling a little. He could not see, but with the intuition of the blind, he knew. "What is it, son?" he demanded gently as Bryce came up the low steps. `George, choke that contrap- tion pff." Bryce took his father's hand. "I'm in trouble, John Cardigan," he said simply, "and I'm not big enough to handle it alone." The leonine old man smiled, and his smile had all the sweetness of a benediction. His boy was in trouble and had come to him. Good! Then he would not fail him. "Sit down, son, and tell the old man all about it. Begin at the beginning and let me have all the angles of the angle." Bryce obeyed, and for the first time John Cardigan learned of his son's acquaintance with Shirley Sumner and the fact that she had been pres- ent in Pennington's woods the day Bryce had gone there to settle the score with Jules Rondeau. In the wonderful first flush of his love a sense of embarrassment, following his discovery of the fact that his father and Colonel Pennington were implac- able enemies•, had decided Bryce not to mention the matter of the girl to John Cardigan until the entente cor- diale between Pennington and his fa- ther could be re-established, for Bryce had, with the optimism of his years, entertained for a few days a thought that he could bring about this desir- able condition of affairs. The discov- ery that he could not, together with his renunciation of his love until he should succeed in protecting his heri- tage and eliminating the despair that had come upon his father in the lat- ter's old age, had further operated to render unnecessary any discussion of the girl with the old man. With the patience and gentleness of a confessor John Cardigan heard the story now, and though Bryce gave no hint in words that his affec- tions were involved in the fight for the Cardigan acres, yet did his father know it, for he was a parent. And his great heart went out in sympathy for hie boy. "I understand, sonny, I understand. This young lady is only one addition- al reason why you must win, for of course you understand she is not in- different to yon." "I do not know that she feels for me anything stronger than a vag- rant sympathy, Dad, for while she is eternally feminine, nevertheless she has a masculine way of looking at many things. She is a, good comrade with a bully sense of sportsmanship, and unlike her skunk of an uncle, she fights in the open. Under the cir- cumstances, however, her first loyalty is to him; in fact, she owes none to me. And 1 dare say he has given her some extremely plausible reason why we should be eliminated; while I think she is sorry that it must be done, nevertheless, in a mistaken im- pulse of self-protection she is likely to let him do it." "Perhaps, perhaps. One never knows why a woman does things, al- though it is a safe het that if they're with you at all, they're with you all the way. Eliminate the girl, my boy. She's trying to play fair to you and her relative. Let us concentrate on :;tiixacaas hriv10 denness o f . t ;all ki s loss dumb. Why d duce the city"eouncil temporary franchise • buy your rails from, l''en l gton. : He has a mile of track running up Laurel Creek and Laurel CrecIV Was logged out three years ago. s3(3lieve that spur is useless to. Pen'gton, and the ninety -pound rails. arc rusting there." "But will he setlt them th. ine?" "Not, if you tell' him whir you want them." "But he hates me, old ,p1" "The Colonel never per,rtits senti- ment to interfere with htttiness, zny son. He doesn't need the rails, and he does desire your money.,, Consider the rail -problem settled." "How do you stand with the Mayor and the council?" "I do not stand at- all. I opposed Poundstone for the office; Dobbs, who was appointed to fill a vacancy caus- ed by the death of a regularly elected, councilman, was once a bookkeeper in our office, you will remember. I dis- charged \ him for lootieg !'the petty - cash dray er. Andrews' and Mullin are professional politicians and not to be trusted. In fact, Poundstone, Dobbs, Andrews and Mullin: are known as the Solid Four. Yates, 'and That- cher, the remaining members of the city council, are the result of the re- form ticket last fall, but since they are in the minority, they are help- less." "That makes it bad." "Not at all. The Cardigans are not known to be connected with the N. C. 0. Send your bright friend Ogilvy after the franchise. He's the only man who can land it. Give him a free hand and tell him to deliver the goods by any means short of bribery. I imagine he's had experi- ence with city cquncils and will know exactly how to proceed. I know you can procure the rails and have them at the intersection of B and Water streets Thursday night. 'If Ogilvy can procure the temporary franchise and have it in his pocket by six o'clock Thursday night, you should have that crossing in by sunup Fri- day morning. Then let Pennington rave. He cannot procure an injunc- tion to restrain tri from cutting his tracks, thus throwing the matter in- to the courts and bolding us up in- definitely, because by the time he wakes up, the tracks will have been crit. The best he can do then will be to fight us before the city council when we apply for our permanent franchise. Thank God, however, the name of Cardigan carries weight in this county, and with the pressure of public sympathy and opinion back of us, we may venture, my boy, to break a lance with the Solid Four, should they stand with Pennington." "Partner, it looks like a forlorn hope," said Bryce. "Well, you're the boy to lead it. And it will cost but little to put in i the crossing and take a chance. Re- member, Bryce, once we have that I crossing in, it stands like a spite - fence between Pennington and the law which he knows 'so well how to pervert to suit his ignoble purposes." He turned earnestly to Bryce and waved a trembling admonitory finger. "Your job is to keep put of court. Once Pennington gets th4 law on ns, the issue will not be settled in our fav- our for years; and in the meantime -you perish. Run along now and hunt up Ogilvy. George, pity that 'Suwanee River' quartet again. It sort o' soothes me." u • lay. sols ,.. e arid, o;re bad dig up?" ant you a grow, and Y1 CHAPTER XX% It was with a considerably lighter heart that Bryce returned to the mill - office, from which he lost no time in summoning Buck Ogilvy by telephone.; "Thanks so much for the invita- tion," Ogilvy murmured gratefully. "I'll he down in a pig's whisper." And he was. "Bryce you look like the deli]," he declared the moment he entered the latter's private office. "I ought to, Nuck. I've just rais- ed the devil and spilled the beans on the N. C. 0." "To whom, when and where?" t "To Penning -ton's niece, over the telephone about two hours ago." Buck Ogilvy smote his left palm with his right. fist. "And you've waited two horns to confess your crime? Zounds, man, this is bad." "1 know. Curse me, Buck. I've probably talked you out of a good job." "Oh, say not se, old settler. We may still have an out. How did you let the cat out of the bag " "That remarkable girl called me up, and accused you of being a mere screen for me and amazed me so I admitted it." Ogilvy dropped his red head in -sim- ulated agony and moaned. Present- ly he raised it and said: "Well, it might have been worse. Think of what might have happened had she called in person. She would have picked your pocket for the corporate seal, the combination of the safe, and the list of stockholders, and probab- ly ended up by gagging you and bind- ing you in your own swivel -chair." "Don't, Buck. Comfort and not abuse is what I need now." "All right. I'll conclude my re- marks by stating that I regard you as a lovable fat -head devoid of suf- ficient mental energy to pound the proverbial sand into the proverbial rat -hole. Now, then, what do you want' me to do to save the day?" "Deliver to me by six o'clock Thurs- day night a temporary franchise from the city council, granting the N.C.O. the right to rtiii a railroad grebe out drying yard across Water Street at its intersection with B Street and out Firont Street." - "Certainly. By ail meansi Has. fest thing I dot ,Suite yon doh,'t Wane to arrange to banter a gar 'i'r tem to make a to -rata for the lady that's ebaperonr joie 1, le to he icy 1i0' Qua G.'elite rtrd% ''l ase S nor, who, f-om ;r aceaunts is most brilliant and fascia athig. "Nothing doing!" Bryce almost routed. , "Why, she's the 'girl that bluffed the secret of the N. C. O. out of me!" "Do you hate her for it?" "No, I hate myself." "Then you'll .come. You promised in advance, and no excuses go now. The news will be all over town by d day morning; So why bother to keep up appearances any longer.' Meet me at the Canton at seven and cheek dull care at the entrance." And •before Bryce could protest; Ogilvy had thrown open the office door and called the glad tiding to Moira, who was working in, the next room; whereupon Moira's wonderful eyes shone with that strange lambent flame. She clasped her hands joy- ously. "Oh, how wonderful!" she ex- claimed. -"I've always wanted Miss Shirley to meet Mr. Bryce." Again Bryce was moved to protest, but Buck Ogilvy reached around the hallf-opened door and kicked him in the -shins. "Don't crab my game, you miserable snarley-yow. Detract one speck from that girl's pleasure, and you'll never see that temporary fran- chise," he threatened. "I will not work for a quitter --so, there!" And. with his bright smile he set out im- mediately upon the trail of the city council, leaving Bryce Cardigan a prey to many conflicting emotions, the chief of which, for all that he strove to suppress it, was riotous joy in the knowledge that while he had fought against it, fate had decreed that he should bask once more in the radiance of Shirley Sumner's adorable presence. Presently, for the first time in many weeks, Moira heard him whistling "Turkey in the Straw." CHAPTER XXVI Fortunately for the situation which had so suddenly confronted him, Bryce Cardigan had Mr. Buck Ogilvy; and out of the experiences gained in other railroad -building enterprises, the said Ogilvy, while startled, was not stunned by the suddenness and immensity of the order so casually Id dieing I1�yy 1. franchise. • . to' *Moak Up-: en .th blinc sides bloelks farther on, 11 paused and snapped his fc#,._ oronsly. "Eureka!" •" he 'ta urs "I've got Poundstone by the tail- on a downhill haul. Is it a cinch? Well, I just guess I should tell a Maser,' He hurried to the telephone linaitd ing and put in a long-distance eon. for 'the San Francisco office, of the Cardigan Redwood Lumber Company, When the manager came on the line, Ogilvy dictated to him a message. which he instructed the manager to telegraph back to him at the Hotel Sequoia one hour later; this pays'ter- ious detail attended to, he continued on to the Mayor's office in the city hall. Mayor Poundstone's bushy eye- brows arched with interest when his secretary laid upon his desk the card of Mr. Buchanan Ogilvy, vice-presi- dent and general manager of the Northern California Oregon Railroad. "Ah -h -'h!" he breathed with an un- pleasant resemblance to a ben vivant who sees before him his favourite vin- tage. "I have been expecting Mr. Ogilvy to call for quite a while. At last we shall see what we shall see. Show him in." The visitor was accordingly admit- ted to the great man's presence and favoured with an official handshake of great heartiness. "I've been hoping to have this pleasure for quite some time, Mr. Poundstone," Buck announc- ed easily as he disposed of his hat and overcoat on an adjacent chair. "But, unfortunately I have had so much preliminary detail to attend to before making an official call that at last I grew discouraged and conclud- ed I'd just drop in informally and get acquainted." Buck's alert blue eyes opened wide in sympathy with his genial mouth, to deluge Mayor Poundstone with a smile that was friendly, guileless, confidential, and singularly delightful. Mr. Ogilvy was a man possessed of tremendous personal magnetism when he chose CAN E)i A Bl..i;-E-`� fit,,,. to exert it, `'and° the opening. gunk, bar�dment, `f0 it; ways had, the observer, desire to belt, of disarming suspicion ing confidence. . 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