IKE SLUMP
"Things are narrowing down and closing in," said the young engineer to
himself as he left the Fairbanks cottage.
Ralph started away at a brisk pace. As he had told his mother, he was
anxious to see the paymaster of the Great Northern. The general offices
were now closed, and Ralph had the home of the paymaster in view as his
present destination.
A vivid memory of what the torn sheet found in the riddled vest pocket
revealed engrossed his mind. That sheet was a scrawl, a letter, or
rather what was left of it. Enough of it was there to cause the young
railroader to believe that he had made a most important and startling
discovery.
The screed was from one scamp in the city to another scamp on the road.
Judging from the scrawl, a regular set of scamps had been hired to do
some work for high-up, respectable fellows. This work was the securing
of certain secret information, the private property of the Great
Northern, nothing more--for the present at least.
It seemed, however, that "Jem," in the city, had advised "Rivers," on
the road, that now was the great opportunity to work personal graft on
the side--as he designated it. He advised Rivers to keep the regular job
going, as five dollars a day was pretty good picking. He, however, added
that he must keep close tab on the paymaster deal. It meant a big bag of
game. It might not be according to orders, but the other railroad
fellows wouldn't lose any sleep if the Great Northern turned up with an
empty pay car some fine morning.
The hint was given also that the way to do things right was to get close
to the paymaster's system. Such suggestive words as "watching,"
"papers," appeared in the last lines of the riddled sheet of paper.
"The precious set of rascals," commented Ralph indignantly. "The
assistant superintendent knew what he was talking about, it seems. It's
all as plain as day to me. Our rivals have employed an irresponsible
gang to spy on and cripple our service. Their hirelings are plotting to
make a great steal on their own account. Hi, there--mind yourself, will
you!"
Ralph was suddenly nearly knocked off his feet. At the moment he was
passing along the side of a building used as a restaurant. It was a
great lounging place for young loafers, and second class and discharged
railroad men.
Its side door had opened forcibly and the big bouncing proprietor of the
place was wrathfully chasing a lithe young fellow from the place. His
foot barely grazed the latter, who pirouetted on the disturbed Ralph and
went sliding across the pavement to the gutter.
"Get out, I tell you, get out!" roared the irate restaurant man. "We
don't want the likes of you about here."
"I'm out, ain't I?" pertly demanded the intruder.
"And stay out."
"Yah!"
The man slammed the door, muttered something about stolen tableware and
changed eating checks. Ralph did not pause to challenge the ousted
intruder further. One glance he had cast at the ugly, leering face of
the lad. Then, his lips puckered to an inaudible whistle of surprise and
dislike, he hurried his steps.
"Ike Slump!" uttered the young railroader under his breath.
It only needed the presence of the detestable owner of that name to
momentarily cause Ralph to feel that the situation was working down to
one of absolute peril and intense seriousness. Ike Slump had been a name
to conjure by in the past--with the very worst juvenile element in
Stanley Junction.
Way back in his first active railroad work, about the first repellant
and obnoxious element Ralph had come up against was Ike Slump. When
Ralph was given a job in the roundhouse, he had found Ike Slump in the
harness. From the very start the latter had made trouble for the new
hand.
Ike had tried to direct Ralph wrong, to slight work, to aid him in
pulling the wool over the eyes of their superiors in doing poor work.
Ralph had manfully refused to be a party to such deception.
A pitched battle had ensued in which Slump was worsted. Later he was
discharged, still later he was detected in stealing metal fittings from
the roundhouse. After that Ike Slump joined a crowd of regular yard
thieves. As Ralph went up the ladder of fortune, Ike went down. He was
arrested, escaped, made many attempts to "get even," as he called it,
with the boy who had never done him a wrong, and the last Ralph had
heard of him he was serving a term in some jail for train wrecking.
How he had got free was a present mystery to Ralph. That he had been
pardoned or his sentence remitted through some influence or other was
evident, for here was Slump, back in Stanley Junction, where Adair, the
road detective, would pick him up in a jiffy, if he was a fugitive from
justice.
Ralph had no wish to come in contact with the fellow. On the contrary,
so distasteful was Slump and his many ways and his low companions to
Ralph, that he was desirous of strictly evading him. Ralph, however,
could not help experiencing a new distrust at coming upon Slump at a
time when presumptive villainy was in the air.
"Hey!"
Ralph did not pause at the challenge. He realized that Slump had seen
and recognized him. He kept straight on, paying no attention to the
hail, repeated, but at the corner of two streets, under a lamplight, he
halted, for Slump was at his side.
"Well, what do you want?" demanded Ralph bluntly, and with no welcome in
his voice.
"I--want to speak to you," stammered Slump, breathless from his run. "I
suppose it tickled you nearly to death to see me kicked out of the
restaurant back yonder, hey?"
"Why should it?" inquired Ralph.
"That's all right, Fairbanks; natural, too, I suppose, for you never
liked me."
"Did you ever give me a chance to try."
"Eh? Well, let that pass. Don't be huffy now. See here."
As Slump spoke, he extended his hands. They were coarse and grimy. With
a smirk he inquired:
"See them?"
"See what?" demanded Ralph.
"Clean hands."
"Are they--I didn't understand."
"Yes, sir," declared the young rowdy volubly. "They've worked out the
sentence on the stoke pile, and I owe the state nothing. I'm as free in
Stanley Junction as any goody-goody boy in the burg, and I want you to
know it."
"All right, Ike," said Ralph, pleasantly enough, "hope you'll improve
the chance to make good, now you've got the opportunity."
"You bet I will," retorted Slump, with a strangely jubilant chuckle.
"That's good."
"Don't go, I've got something else to say to you."
"I'm pressed for time, Slump--"
"Oh, you can spare me a minute. It may do you some good. Say, you've
managed to climb up some while I've been locked up, haven't you?"
"I've had good steady work, yes."
"I'd give an arm for just one run on that dandy Overland Express of
yours," observed Slump.
"Why don't you work for it, then," questioned Ralph. "It's in any boy
who will attend strictly to business."
"Oh, I don't want the glory," explained Slump.
"What, then?"
"Just one chance to spurt her up till she rattled her old boiler into
smithereens and run the whole train into the ditch. That's how much I
love the Great Northern!"
Ralph was disgusted. He started down the walk, but Slump was persistent.
The latter caught his arm. Ralph allowed himself to be brought to a
halt, but determined to break away very shortly.
"Just a word, Fairbanks, before you go," said Slump. "You're going to
come across me once in a while, and I want a pleasant understanding,
see? You won't see me getting into any more scrapes by holding the bags
for others. I'm after the real velvet now, and I'm going to get it, see?
I know a heap of what's going on, and something is. I'll give you one
tip. I can get you a small fortune to resign your position on the Great
Northern."
The way Ike Slump pronounced these words, looking squarely into the eyes
of Ralph, could not fail to impress the latter with the conviction that
there was some sinister meaning in the proposition. Ralph, however,
laughed lightly.
"Thinking of starting a railroad of your own, Slump?" he asked.
"No, I ain't," dissented Slump. "All the same--you see, do you?"
Slump smartly put out one hand curved up like a cup.
"Yes, you told me before," nodded Ralph--"clean hands this time."
"Now, this is a different deal."
"Well?"
"Hollow of my hand--see?"
"I don't."
"Maybe it holds a big railroad system, maybe it don't. Maybe I know a
turn or two on the programme where the tap of a finger blows things up,
maybe I don't. I only say this: I can fix you right with the right
parties--for a consideration. Think it over, see? When you see me again
have a little chat with me. It will pay you--see?"
Ralph walked on more slowly after a long wondering stare at Ike Slump.
He had never been afraid of the young knave either in a square fight or
in a battle of wits. There was something ominous, however, in this new
attitude of Slump. He had told just enough to show that something
antagonistic to the Great Northern was stirring, and that he was mixed
up with it.
The home of the paymaster was located over near the railroad, quite away
from the business centre of the town. Ralph reached it after a brisk
walk. He found the place dark and apparently untenanted. It looked as if
Mr. Little and his family were away, probably at some neighbor's house.
Then going around to the side of the house and glancing up at the
windows, Ralph discovered something that startled him.
"Hello!" he exclaimed involuntarily, and every sense was on the alert in
an instant.
Two flashes inside the downstairs wing of the house, which Ralph knew
Mr. Little used as a library, had glinted across the panes of an
uncurtained window. Somebody inside the room had scratched a match which
went out, then another which stayed lighted.
Its flickerings for a moment illuminated the apartment and revealed two
men standing near a desk at one side of the room.
"Why," exclaimed the young railroader--"those mysterious men again!"