St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-08-11
IhC EHgiRPcf's Story.


. engine in charge-thc "s;an Francisco
g the prctticst engine on the road, an
rs we managed, if | say it, the best
+ 1t was Il southwestern road, running
so we will say, from A. TO L. At \.
my good old mother lived, at T. | la,
tl!c sweetest little wife and baby undc
the sun, and always had dollar or tw,
put up for Il rainy day. was an od,
kind of Il man. Being shut up with al
engine, watching with all your eyes an,
heart and soul, inside and out, don
make a man talkativc
My witr'S name was Josephine, and
called her Jo. Some people call me un.
Sociahlr, and couldn't understand how d
man could feel friendly without saying
ten words an hour. So, though had a
few irirnd--dear ones tool did not
have 50 many arIuaIntancrs IL mu-; pco-
pie, and did not care To have The
hou-c which held my wife and baby.
was 'thr dearest spot on earth" except
the old house that hrll my neither up at
! 4.
never hcI"n"rl to Il club, or mixed
myself up with strangers in any such
way, and never should, il it hadn't been
| for CRANKY. You see Grunby was nn,.
of the -!avrh"llcr%, Il hamd~nmc, snowy
fellow. | liked 10 talk with linn, and
We were friends. IL. often rode from
L. TO a, and back aann with me. and
once lac said:
y nu ought 10 hrlrng Ia the Scientific
Club, Gueldrn."
Il never heard OF it," said l.
Il am a member of it, said hc. We
meet once Il fortnight, and have Il Jolly
GOOD time. We want tLinkin" men like
You. We have some anon" u- now.
I'll propose you it you like"
| was fond Of such things, and had
ideas that iaucicd mi@ht bc worth some
thing. But the engineer don't have
nights, or day, 10 himself, and the club
would take one cvcnin" Il fortnight from
Jo. sad.
"Tll ak her. Ii she like, it. y,.S"
ASK whom - said he.
so" said l.
III every man had asked his wife,
every mans wife would have sald. "Can't
spare yr, my dear" and We should have
no club at all, said CRANKY
But | made no answer. At home |
told .Io. She said:
Il shall miss you, Ned; hnt you do
love such things, and then if Cranky be
longs, they must be superior men"
''No doubt" said |.
"It isn't everybody who could be made
a member" said ,Jo why, of course
you must say yes
So | ,aid YES, and CRANKY proposed
me. Thursday fortnight went with
him tn t!lc rooms. The real business of
the evening was I'll" supper. AMI SO it
wa~ every evening.
Td always been temperate mam.
did not know what effect wine actually
would have ON me hut coming TO drink
more of it than ever had before at the
club table, | found it put steam ON.
Atter 50 many glasses, | wanted TO talk
after ~ many more, | did
seemed like somebody else, the words
wclc 50 ready. My little ideas came out
and were listened TO. made sharp
hits; INDUCED in rcpartcc; told stor-
ic-; even came 10 pun-. | heard
somebody say to CRANKY:
'.iiy George, that man worth know
ing. | thought him dull at first" Yet
knew it was better II I've quiet Ned
Gur!dcn, with his ten words an hour,
than the w;ne.madc wit | WAS.
was sure OF it three month, after, as
stumbled up stairs 10 tiId ,Io watin.
for me with her baby on her breast.
'.lou'vc been drceiving NJ" said .Io.
Il suspected it, but | wasn't sure. a
club couldn't smell like Il bar
room.
One cluh ni"ht, as WAS dressed to
20, .Io stood before me.
"Ncd," sad she, II never had u t,ult
to find with You before. You've been
Kind, anI good, and loving alwaye: but
shall be sorry we ever met. ii yuu 90
un in this way. Don't ask me what
mean lou know
".gn," said |, cts only en- club mishi -
1t will GROW" said she.
Then she put her arms around my mc,l,
"Ncd," SAID she, do you think Il
thing SO much like bottled up and
strapped down demon as steam i, i, fit
to put into the hands of n drunken man
And some day, mark my words. not on
ly Thursday night, hut all the days ot
the week will be the same. I've often
heard you wonder what the feelings OF
an engineer who has about the same as
murdered train full of people, must he,
and yun'u know if you dnn't stnn whrr,. |