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About The news-herald. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1909-1911 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1909)
f A TRUE 3ja Former Secret Set-Vice Operative STOW ) x cji qi Government Probe Into Affairs In Western State Where Mail Threat' cned to Be Delayed Because of Walkout Brings a Friend Strange Condition of Affairs Related by Man Directly Im plicated in Them. $ is! T 13 human nature for very man to think that his troubles are great-ir than those- of any other son, but no one rcaly ever knows the sorrows gnaw ing at another person's In-art, even though the other be one's dearest friend. This fact was im pressed upon me In a man ner that I shall never for get while I was working on a simple proposition that grew out of a railway strike." Capt. Dickson, a former official of the United States Ferret service, now retired, was In a musing frame of mind, when I called on him the other enlng and ho gave expression to the lorcgolng words. Something that hap pened during the day, had brought to his mind one of the vivid experiences of hie days of active nervlro, and I had no trouble In getting him to relate the circumstances. I put them down In his own words. The P. & 0. was a little railroad that ran between two small towns In a certain western state, and I happened to bncomo mixed up with this labor dtfflculty because of the fact that the road carried the malls. My depart ment was brought Into play to prevent any Interference with the government mall service by the strikers. The country at large wbb not much affected by the tying up of this Insig nificant pnrt of the great network of railroads. Yet the government, with the thoroughness It displays In every thing connected with It, took the liveli est Interest In the casa. I was as signed to It with instructions to see that the mall train mado lis regular daily trip without being molested. I was much surprised to find an old college-male of mine officiating as gen eral manager of the real. 1 remem bered him as a studious, gawky, red headed youngster, who was taking a course In civil engineering. 1 had some work with him In tho surveying class, which was a part of the course of mining engineering to which I was devoting my attention. He was too self centered and too studious to be popular with the boys of his class, and because I appreciated his loneliness and showed him some slight courtesies, he formed a deep attachment for me. We promised to write when wo left colloge, but as those promises gen erally go, neither of us thought of It or, If we did, ever acted upon It. We quite lost track of each other until I walked Into his office one afternoon to confer with him about the strike. He was rot quite ns red headed and Rawky as In his college days, but ho had changed so little that 1 readily recognized him. He knew me Instant ly and greeted me with a warmth and a genuine pleasure that was most agreeable. He was snowed under with woik, but he brushed aside the mass of papers that littered his rieBk and made me sit down nnd tell him some thing of my experiences since I had left college before lie would take up business matters with me. He told mo of the struggle he had had in climbing from obscurity to his present responsible position, which was not In any sense an unimportant one. His road was n feeder or tap line for one of tho big transcontinental systems, and his post put him in direct line for promotion Into the p-ervlre of the lat ter. He was as frank and engaging and devoted to his work ns when ho had been an awkward, bashful collego boy, looked down upon, shunned and de uplsed by his classmates because ot his poor rlrcutnsfances and his lack of t!mo to be what they considered n good fellow. He had fought his way upward against tho greatest difficul ties, and 1 marveled at his ability to cope with the adverse conditions that 1 knew had confronted hltn In his bat tle. Since then I have come to know that it Is only by fighting that a man can d'vr ; the best that Is In hltn and that the more obstacles he encoun ters nnd overcomes the belter man he makes In tho end. After talking ever old times for a wlille we got down to business, and I soon ga'hered a thorough knowledge of the Fit nation. The trainmen had conei Ivrd that they were being uu Justly treated and had made certain complaints, coupled wl'h curtain de mands. Majors, my friend, had duly Investigated their complaints and con sidered their demands and had found that there was virtue In neither, but that both were inspired by labor agitators who saw a chance to advance their own selfish interests by bringing about a difficulty between tho road and Its employes. Tho demands had been refused and the men had gone out on strike. Majors had come up from tho ranks himself and had every sympathy for the men until he had convinced him solf that they were In the wrong. Onco convinced on this point, ho had bowed his neck and refused to treat with them further unless they returned to work unconditionally. Tho men knew his determined character and they realized that ho meant Just what he had said. I believe they would have discontinued the strike, so popular was Majors with tho men and so well was his honesty known, If It had not been for the activity of a walking dele gate of the trainmen's union. Another obstacle to a settlement of tho trouble was tho president of tho road. Ho was a wealthy mine owner, and one of the beat paying properties was situated at the terminus of tho his or.u.se In the Insolent manner ho displayed during tho Interview. Majors heard tho Impassioned ad dress of tho delegate without inter rupting hi pi and, when ho had finished, turned to tho others, whom he called by name, and whom he addressed as follows: "Hoys, I have looked Into your case as carefully as if It were my own. You are in tho wrong; there Is no virtue In your contentions and I cannot consider them further. You have been receiv ing better wages and better and fairer treatment than tho employes of any other road In this state. You haven't a legitimate cause of complaint and you aro wasting your own time and mlno as well to sick a further confer ence with me until you come to your senses und are willing to return to work on the old terms. Any of you who wish to return to the servlco may do so without prejudice. You are be In; deluded by a stilish agitator who is profiting by the misfortunes which his counsel ha3 brought upon you. If you prefer to follow him rather than me, I have nothing farther to Bay to you. I am going to run the P. & O. In splto of you or anything that you do. If you resort to violence I will He told me about this cne afternoon when 1 visited lilm nt his office. One of the office hoys hung about as wo talked. In a way that I did not like, and I cautioned Majors lest he be over heard and Halliday warned, but ho scoffed at my fear3 and said ho trusted the boy. Nevertheless, I didn't like the gleam that came into the boy's eyes when he hoard what Majors had to say about Halliday. Things looked threatening for the delegate. I knew that he was a dangerous character and I feared that ho might try to es cape from the net that Majors was weaving about him by trying to silence Majors In the only way that was pos sible. That night Majors had promised to call on me at my hotel to sample a bottle of SO year-old liquor that a friend in the revenuo service had sent me from Kentucky. I had Invited Majors more to get him away from his work than with any Idea that ho would caro especially for the liquor, as I know that he was temperate In all his tastes and habits. I knew that he needed the rest, that he was overtax Ing himself with the war he was wag ing with tho strikers, and 1 had not liked the haunted, worried expression Sprang (pom road. It was a sliver mine, and that metal was quoted at a good figure just then. Consequently, he chafed nt tho forced inactivity of his mine and fa vortd granting the concessions asked by the men. Hut Majors was as firm as a rock, his position once taken, and he fought the president hlms'df with the same dogged determination he had displayed towards the men. Majors was the key to the situation, tho stumbling-block to both Interests, and ugly threa's were made pgalust him by the strikers. He had succeed ed In operating the line after a fashion, although schedules wore dis arranged and the service was gem-rally demoralized. It was only his force ful personality that l.d a-voniplli-hod even this, ami as soon as 1 made even a cursory examination of conditions 1 saw that ay friend held a dangerous ns well ij a difficult position. Tl"j day after my arrival I was pies em When ho received a delegation of the strikers, and 1 wan mere than ever Impressed with his Indomitable, will by this Interview. There were four of the strikers, headed by n man named Hal liday, the walking di legate to whom I have reforml. lie w.u pompous, over bearing, pudgy, unscrupulous, and a man of most inalU-iuitit. countenance. Ho was the speaker for the strikers, and I thought that 1 detected sumo tblnc moru dangerous than ardor for have the guilty run down and pun ished If It takes a thousand years. I have nothing farther to say to you." Halliday. the agitator, glared dan gerously at Majors during tho Inter view, and as lie sulkily slunk out of the room 1 overheard hltn breathing threats against my friend to one of his companions. The climax of the strike came tho following day when one of tho trains was derailed and tho fireman and en gineer, who were strike-breakers, were killed. Majors went in person to tho scene of the wreck to investigate. It didn't take a prolonged examination to determine that the wreck was tho result, of direct and premeditated de sign. This aroused every drop of fighting blood In my friend, and he set about tracking down the guilty per sons with tho utmost vigor. He em ployed the best dote; lis e talent ob tainable, and It was not many days be fore two of the strikers, tools of Halli day, had been arrested and there was every chance that both of them would hr.tig for the job. Suspicion pointed nt iongly towards Halliday ns the insti gator of the plot, but wo were rat Is tied that he had not had any direct i ai t In can-vim; It out. He was loo wh o for that, but Majors gathered evl deuce against hltn that promised to put him In the same boat with bis con federates that he had assumed lately. It was Saturday night nnd, as the road did not operate a Sunday train. Majors could afford to take Ihe night off and enjoy the rest he needed so badly. I think ho appreciated this, for ho ac cepted my Invitation with alacrity. Hp came In late, and I saw nt once that something was preying upon his mind. I was far from guessing the real nature of his trouble for I at tributed It to the strike. Wo made a sorry endeavor to renew our old col lege paycty, but It wouldn't work. Majors was abstracted and let mo do most of the talking. 1 told him what I knew of tho old boys, and recalled many amusing Incidents of our school life, but I could not rouse him from the fit of despondence Into which he was sunk. And through It all. Majors sat with a faraway look on his face, and 1 saw that he was not following my rambling talk, for once or twice when 1 paused for him to nnswer some question, he was so deeply Involved in his own gloomy thoughts that he didn't know 1 had stopped speaking. Nevertheless, I am convinced that lie enjoyed tho evening, poor fellow, for towards the end of It lio rallied u bit. und we had a lively half hour of It before he had to take his departure. I wanted to walk with him to his rooms, which were over his office, but I ho would not permit mc to accompany hlni farther than the nearest corner to my own lodgings. When we came to shake hands, he held .n to mine like a drowning man to a plank and seemed half inclined to cor. lido something to mo. I lo opened his mouth several times as If he were going to speak, but each time he Fcemed to think bet ter of It and merely wished me a hearty "good night." As we stood talking, I noticed Halli day passing down tho opposite side of tho street and he scowled across at us malignantly. I asked Majors If he were armed, and hinted to him the sus picions that 1 had formed concerning Halliday; for I was certnin that the agitator knew that if Majors was out of the way the strikers would carry their polut and he and his confederates who had wrecked the train would probubly escape punishment. Majors laughed my fears away and said he had never carried a weapon in his life and that he had never seen the timo when he needed one. As I walked hack to my hotel, I saw Halliday skulk ing along in the shadows on the far side of the street. I didn't like the looks of It and decided to follow him and if he Intended harm to my friend to prevent him from accomplishing it. He dodged into a side street a short distance further on and I plunged in after him, as I fancied that he Intend ed Intercepting Majors on the way to his rooms. Nor was I wrong. Halli day cut through alleys and unfrequejit- ed streets until he camo out upon the main thoroughfare where the railroad offices were located and less than a block distant from them. He took up a position in the mouth of a dark alley, behind a telegraph pole and I was now convinced that he meant harm to my friend. The streets were deserted. It was about midnight and people In small towns retire early. Ilefore long I could hear footsteps approaching and I readily recognized the athletic tread of Majors. I slipped up behind Halli day with great caution, so that I might pinion hi.; arms if he attempted to fire the big levolver that I now detected In his hand. Majors had almost reached the mouth of the r.lley when I saw llalllday's hand being slowly raised. I knew It would be dangerous to wait longer so I sprang upon him from be hind and clasped him In a hug that mado his ribs pop like a pack of fire crackers. He was taken r,o completely by sur prise that be was at my mercy, and although he struggled like a demon, I disarmed '-'n and handcuffed him In a very short space of time. Just as 1 accomplished this, Majors came rush Ins up. The mouth of the alley was In complete darkness but out on the street there was a faint light from the arc light at the corner. I called to Majors so that he might know of my presence. At this, he stopped stock still and peered into the gloom of the alleyway. "(Ireat Heaven.-', Dickson," he ejac ulated, "what are you doing In there?" 1 blurted out a few words of expla nation, and Majors was in the the act popping into tho darkness to join me whrn there was a loud report and I saw hltn stagger and pitch forward on hia face. Ho fell half in the light and half in the gloom of the alley's mouth. I ran forward and gathered him Into my arms, lifting his face out Into the light of the street. I saw that ho was fatally wounded, tho clammy sweat of death being upon his brow. Halliday had not tried to escape but had run forward with me, and as I looked up at his from the face of my prostrate friend I saw that he was almost as white as a corpse. A moment before he had been intent upon taking the lifo of my friend, but now the enormity of his tot.teiui dated net was full upon him and he trembled like a leaf In a gale. "My Cod," he inonnod, "I might have been his murderer! Thank God I am not!" The s.al of death was upon the blaticlu J face of my friend, his brea'h cane In b ng, reaping rapu, and Id.-, eyes were rapidly setting in that glassy stare which comes but orco in the life of a human being, lie looked up at. me. an expression of content ment upon bi. mubk-d features, and made an effort to speak. 1 bei.t my car closa to his lips. "Old man," he breathed, so low that I could scarcely hear him, "you don't know what your friendship has been to me these last few days. I have never had anv oher whom 1 consid ered my friend. I knew this was com Ing. There was no v. ay to escape it nnd I am plad your hands will be tho ones to close my eyes." Me paused a moment for breath. The caudle of his life was burning low and I knew that the tiny flame could not la.it for long. I fuw that he was maUlti:; a desperate effort to live until he could tell mo soiucihini;, for a look of his old time determination came Into his lace and he half-lifted himself uiion his elbows. I knew enough of Resurrection ot an Old Chum of College Days In the Far West Its Consequences Thrilling Episodes of the Labor Trouble Reunited Two Men Major's Death and Its Tragic Revelation, Which Captain Dickson Saw In a Picture and Wisp of Hair. ) ) ) his character to believe that he would conquer even Death until his Iron will hail accomplished his purpose. I gathered him into a closer embrace against my throbbing neart. "Don't try to find my slayer," he resumed after a time. "It's no use. The strikers didn't do It. They are innocent. The key on my watch chain " A pause while he panted for breath and then he continued, broken ly, "Secret drawer desk explains all. (!ood-bye." I searched his desk for the secret drawer, supposing It was the big roll er top one at his office to which his laborious duties held him so constant a slave. Hut It contained no secret drawer, so I turned my attention to hig room. It was my first visit to his apartments and I was amazed at the bareness of them. The back room was fitted up as a sleeping apartment. It was not carpeted nnd it contained only a bed, dresser and washstand of tho cheapest kind. Everything about it suggested direst poverty. It wai as barren as a priest's cell. I could not account for this, as I knew that Majors made an excellent salary and his appearance had always been prosperous. Sorely troubled by. this discovery, I turned my attention to t lie front room. It was almost as1 bleak as his sleeping quarters, except for an easy chair, several cases of books, and a richly carved mahogany desk which would have set a col lector's heart bea'.Ing at a dangerous rate. I saw at a glance that this was the desk that Majors had referred to. Ono of his keys opened it and I looked about for tho socret drawer. It didn't take long to locate It but I experienced some difficulty In opening It. Within, I found a tin bond-box which the tiny key from his Wmcn chain unlocked. It containeJ two pockets, one ad dressed to me. Opening the latter packet I found a letter with my name upon It and I set about reading it at once. I'onr rrlcnd: I am within the shadow of death ns I write. A danger which haa hovered over my unfortunate head since the hour of my birth Is cloning In upon me. There Is no escaping It. If It were my secret alone. I would conAdo In you, but it is not mine and I trout let It die with me. 1 nm writing this no that sus pi -Ion will tint attach to tho striker!! should I be found dead, for they will have nottilnjr to do with my anamina tion. I do r.ot l;now when or how It will come, but I rjo know- that the end la not fnr o!T nnd I thank God for It. I have no relatives and none will come to claim m v body or the little property that I l:ive. I want you to take my desk, Imii'.ip, nid easy chair, the only pleasures that I hnve had In life, for It Is right tliut they should po to you who have been my only friend. S nre my earliest reeollertlnn I have n-.:r-cd in v r.-v-ii-t sorrow and endeavored to v.-nit with patience for the blow that si. nil full upen me when It Is least ex t r-i ted. You can.o Into my llfn at one of It j darkest periods and you have come Into It ir.;nln at a tlmn when I needed a friend more than even in my collate days, nnd yet I could not then nor can I now coniide: to you the trouble that la gr.awlnit nt niy vunls nnd keeping my rivil tornin d ns no poor spirit waa ever pnnlslii-d In the mystic hell of the blind est lilfT'it. 1 -'i not search fur my slayer. It will pmilt yen r"th!nc Your senreh will be In vain. My only apprehension la thnt srti;e of the (linkers may be suspected of mv tMirdrr. 1 I, nve one more favor to as is ef yon. I abjure you. by the friend ship f i- in.- nnd your hope of happiness l yeti.t the (.-rave, to burn every vestige (f raP'i' within tin- desk where you will find ihls Idler, enpecially being careful to do-troy the p-ieket In the secret draw er. If von cue tu ouunlne these papers yon are nt liberty to do mo. but I would prefer, for your own sake, that you avoid t' 'm. 1 nod by, my filind. One of the pictures was of a bright eyed, laughing cherub of five or six years. The other, was the girl, bios- somen mio mo rauiani neauty or a perfect womanhood. I have nover seen a prettier face nor a more kindly and loving one. I know that my friend had loved her and that thero was noth ing strange about this, but whether rhe was sister, mother or sweetheart (niy the odd heart of my friend knew an.l Ills secret was safe forever more. (iipvrU;H. !!". by W. O. Chapman.) o'lH-M'uhi In Great Hrllaln.) Calculating Childhood. It Is a curious sign of the tluiei that children nownd;.ys show a remarkable Interest In money. They want to-know ihe cost of objects, they love to play with coins, and money Booms to bo ihe present they prefer. Zeltung, Vienna.