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About Independence monitor. (Independence, Or.) 1912-19?? | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1914)
1 f THE Ne'er-Do-Weli fnitaniiiiiy Br FEX BEACH Ajxhar st The Spoilera," Tr Par. The Siivcr Horcio," Eta. Copyright, lao, uit. br Brat hot. "V, Ililt t.-lilllllet "When l'nuama seceded. She manln tinted ttiiit, nr nt least Stove Cortlandt did under her direction. It was one of the cleverest t-xplolts on record. Co lombia wouldn't let us build the cannl so Panama seceded. War was declared but the United States Interfered In time to prevent bloodshed. Ry the tinit the excitement had diod nut we had begun dipirinp. She knows Central America like the palm of her hand. When she gays Kirk Anthony wants a position, we hirelings jump about and see that he gets It. Oh, you'll have any Job you want." The two passed through the railroad pates and took their places In the lit tie car. When they were under way Runnels went on: "I am supposed to show you tills end of the- work and tell you what it all means. The ditch . bemud these fjriJrf powerful steam i shovels which rooted and granted quite . like Iron hoes. Along the tracks at va- nous levels flowed a constant current ; of traffic; long lines of empty cars j crept past the shovels, then, filled to overflowing, sped away northward up the valley, to return apaln and again Nowhere was there any idleness, no- - here a cold machine or a man at rest On every hand was smoke and steam tu:d sweat. The drills chugged stead lly. the hungry Iron bogs gouged out the trails the drills h:id loosened, the trains rolled past at Intervals of a mo ment or so. Lines of electric wire, car ried upon low wooden "shears," paral leled the tracks, bearing the white hot sparks that rent the mountain. At ev ery switch a negro fireman, crouched beneath a alantlng sheet of corrugated iron, seeking shelter alike from flying fragments and the blazing sun. From beneath the drills came occasional aub terranean explosions: then geysers of muddy water rose in the air. Cnder the snouts of the steam shovels "done" shots went off as bowlders were riven Into smaller fragments. Now and then an excited tooting of whistles gave warning of a bigger blast as the flag men checked the flow of traffic, indi cating with arms upraised that the ground was "coming up." Thereupon a brief lull occurred; men hid themselves, the work held Its breath, as it were. But while the detonations still echoed and before the flying missiles had ceased to shower the human ants were moiling at their hills once more, the wheels were turning again, the Jaws of the iron hogs were clanking. Through this upheaval the motorcar penetrated, dodging trains of "flats." which moved sluggishly to afford them passage up and down over the volcanic furrows at the bottom of the gorge or along some shelf beneath which the foundations were being dug. At times a shovel reached out its five yard steel 1nw and gently cleared the rnils of will lie about fifty miles long, and. debris, or boosted some bowlder from roughly speaking, the work is in three j the path with all the skill of a giant parts the dredging and harbor build-j hand and fingers. Cp and down the Ing at sea level on each end of the i canyon rolled spasmodic rumblings, like canal, the lock work and the excava- i broadsides from a fleet of battleships. tions on the upper levels. That dam you saw building at f!atnn will form a lake about thirty miles long quite a fishpond, eh? When a westbound ship arrives, for Instance. It will le raised through the Ontun locks, three of them anu men sail along eignry-nve reet I exclaim: above the ocean, across the lake and; "I had no Idea it was so big. It into a channel dug right through the i doesn't seem ss if they'd ever finish hills until it reaches the locks at it." Mile after mile the sightseers rolled on. past scenes of never varying ac tivitypast more shovels, more groups of drills, more dirt trains, more regi ments of men Runnels explaining, Kirk marveling until he was forced to Pedro Miguel. Then it will he lowered to a smaller lake five miles long, then down again to the level of the, racifle. An eastbound ship will reverse the process, (let the idea?" "Sure. It sounds easy." "You will start in with the P. R. R.. Mr. Anthony, under my despotic sway." "I know a little about railroading." "So much the bettor. There's a hi railroad, man by your name In tl states. Are you related?" "I believp so." Kirk answered, quie" ly. "(Jo ahead with the lesson." "The canal rone Is a strip of Ian ' tm miles wide running across tli f isthmus really an American colony you know, for we govern"lt, police it and all that. As for the work itself, well, the follows at the two ends of the cuual are dredging night and day to complete their part, the lock build ers are laying concrete like mad to get their share done first, the chaps in the hlg cut are boring through the hills like moles and breaking steam shovel seords every week, while we railroad - men take care of the whole shooting match. Of course, there are other de ' partmenta sanitary, engineering, com missary, and so forth all doing their share, but that ia the general scheme. Everybody is trying to break records. Lurd! It's fierce." "Why didn't you quit 7" suggested An thony. "Quit! What for? Good Lord! We ; Hke it. Here we are at I'edro Miguel, br the way. . We'll be into the cut shortly To his left ADthony beheld another scene somewhat similar to the one at Oatun. Other movable steel cranes with huge wide flung arms, rose out of another chasm in which were extensive concrete workings. "Oh, we'll finish it if we're let alone. Vou see there Is too much polities In it: we never know how long our Jobs will last If some senator whose vote is needed on an administration matter wanted my position for his wife's brother, he could get It" "I suppose I'm an example." Runnels looked at hlin squarely be fore answering. "You are." said he, "although I wasn't thinking of you when I spoke. It's something we all feel, however." Anthony flushed as he answered: "1 don't remember ever taking anything I wasn't entitled to, and I didn't think when I was shoved in here that I'd shove some other fellow out 1 suppose there is room at the bottom, and a fel low can work up?" "If he has It In him." "I think I'll start there." "I'm afraid you're a poor business man." said Runnels. -Rotten :M Kirk admitted. "Hut I've an Idea I can make good If I try." "If you feel that way I certainly will help you," said the other warmly. "Of course I'll try to help yon anyhow, but I like your spirit. With Mrs Cort landt to back me up. I'll see yon go forward as fast as you deserve." By now they were out of the cut and once more upon the main line at Bas Obslpo. beading back toward the Pa cifle. "Yon asked me to tell yon something about her," Runnels continued. "I'm not sure my information Is entirely correct, but. knowing who lit Is, I think I understand why she Is In Pan- south M en in--" our f.irstghtcn gov eminent is smoothing fie way, anc there's nobody better Httel for the pre liminary work than Mr. Stephen Cort land of Washington. l. C. husband and clerk of the smartest woman in tbe business of chaperoning adminis trations. He's the figurehead behind which she works. She's a ri.h woman, she loves the game her father was the greatest diplomat of his time, yon know-and she married Cortlandt so she i iiiild play It. Any other man would unve served as well, though I've heard that he showed promise before she blotted him out and absorbed him. But now hes merely her power of attor ney." Anthony pursed his lips Into a whis tle of astonishment. "It's been good thing for him.' Runnels ran on, evidently warmed to his subject. "She's made his reputa tion: he has money and position. For my part, I'd rather remain iDslgnifi cant and have a real wife." "Don't they love each other?" "Nobody knows. She's carved out of Ice, and as for him, well, gratitude Is a good deal like rust In time it de stroys the thing It clings to. I suppose I'm talking too much, but others would tell you the same things." It was with quite a different eye that Klrk looked upon his host and hostess that evening. To his genuine liking for the iHtter was now added a worshipful admiration and a boyish gratification at her regard, which rather put her at a distance "It's all settled." said he. "I'm go ing to work In a few days as train collet-tor." "What?" Mrs. Cortlandt turned upon him sharply. "Runnels didn't offer you that sort of position?" Her eyes were dark with Indignation. Klrk promptly came to the defense of his new friend. "No. I asked for It." "Oh, I Bee. Well, he will do ninch better by you than that." "I don't want anything better to start with." "But niy dear boy, a collector is merely a conductor. He takes tickets." "Sure! I can do that I might full at something bard." "No. no, uo! I'll see that you don't fail. Don't you understand?" "I understand a lot more than I did, Mrs. Cortlandt. That's why I don't want to rob some chap of a Job he's entitled to. and I sha'n't There's a collector quitting shortly." "Is that really the reason, or do you think the work will be easier?" Klrk stirred uncomfortably. "Oh. I'm not trying to dodge anything." he maintained. "On the contrary, the most amazing thing hns happened -something 1 can't quite understand. I I really want to work. Funny, Isn't It? I didn't kuow people ever got that way. but I'd like to help build this canal." "But a conductor! Why, you're a gentleman." "My dad was a brakeman." Continued next weak ' 1 We Repair All Kinds of AUCHINERY AUTOS and GAS ENGINES i We are equipped with steel drilling outfits, turning laflio fii4ta a(t laiia, luiuav-C) til. GASOLINE, 0R1T BATTERIES, AUTO SUPPLIES ALWAYS ON HAND AT THE INDEPENDENCE GARAGE & MACHINE SHOP EDWARDS S BALL, Proprietors ,,Kl."c'-" FOR SALE: Stock Hogs that averages 75 pounds. A cheap work horse or two, a good young milk cow, short time fresh, one horse wagon, heavy wagon. ENDOLANE ORCHARDS Phone Farm 2514, Independence raiTffviumu Burk's Cafe In Gain'slPool Hall The Best Meal in Polk County for 25c. Quick Service and Plenty to eat. Try our Dinner meal when In Town Remember the Place T Street Next Door to Monitor Office mi. It W politics big politic. To 8plRgotlea have an election next year, and It la necetisary to get our wire well laid before it romps off. General From a distance j Alfarea will probably be the next prea- the towers resembled parts of a half , Ment" constructed cantilever bridge of tre mendous height Arother army was tolling at the bottom of the pit, more ears shunted back and forth, more rook crushers rumbled: but, before Kirk's eye had phntosrraphed more than a small part, the motor car had sped pa it and was rolling out npon a bridge spanning the cannl Itself. To the northward api-sred an opening cat through the hills and Runnels wild, tin: ply: "lulebraT A moment later he announced: "We leave the P. R. R tracks here ami switch In on the I. C. C. Now you'll beirin to ee soniethlnz I'oi a Into the nit the little ear went ;vi f n-t Anthony saw the active pu:siL.flir heart of this stupendous un dertallnir. The low range was severed by a gortre bl istxi ont by human hands It wis a m.Mii t'n valley In the mak ing Filch up n its aides were dirt and rwk trains. dmcM of compressed air r,-M the r symrs resembling the -Alfaret! Not Karaon?" "Ilia father. You know w Ameri cans occupy a peculiar position here, set down as we are In the ruldnt of an alien people who tmte us. Oh. they bate us, all right all except a few of the better class" "WhyT "There are a gwd many reasons. For one thing, there's a sort of racial antipathy. Resides, when we stole Panama we made the CnlomWnns sore, and all Central America besides, for they realized that once we Yankees gut a foothold here we'd nana on and Are You Looking for a Reliable Drug Store? If you want good Service, good Drugs and Reasonable Prices, you wlllfindthem atourstore. We hare everything that is needed In the sick room and can secure in the shortest time possible any prepa ration or appliance that may be suggested by a doctor. Rsmsmbar Our Prices are as Low as Constant with good drugs not only d"'? ail the nei-v, "I t.-.d K:V ort-bnt I mii. h In It II Junirle count -U That's we-' by well nei-d who that Hr innte this 'ountry. but ''tie repuh I -a as well." !! sm: : t,ir of the ! f!' !d'-l t.V-:,- -, .; S S1 iit we dnu't waut thee ," said Kirk. you're w rong By and room to expand, and enme) we'll tnovs THE v, J, s Q .i iv y Mf J PHARMACY Frcqr., IndepanJence, Oregon I of a nee of rathae. ft ft
