The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-12-13


shaking her head and smiling.
81 feel,n rambled Caspar, filing his
senses and his jaw with perfumed roots,
until blind man would have pro
nounced him a Mexican, if his nose had
sat in judgment over Caspar, rally
feel as if needed somethin' refreshin',
workin' hard day after day for nothn',
you might say Sort of seem your
work go to pieces under your eyes, and
KNOWN the danger To them on the
road"
"What do you mean, grandpa ?" cried
Madge, turning white as her bread and
butter.
"Why, honey, you see we've picked
and picked in that cut, and the sile's as
unstiddy as water. The stones and
earth list roll on the track contlneral.
The company orto do somethin' 10 that
cut. Stones as big as you is Jared down
every train. But then the roads new,
the roads new, yet"
I" Men amt got no sense" broke In
the old wife. Don't you see you re
skeern ne that child to death for fear
Charleyll git smashed up. lie runs on
| that road"
Two blades of keen remorse leaped
from Caspar's bleared eyes.
"Now, don't you be skeered, honey.
Take an ingen, honey
He reached over to pet her fingers.
"Charley didn't pass the day when
the dirt was rattlin' down so. He don t
pass till halfafter eight this evening,
| and we left the track Us clean as this
table. Yes, sir, them rails is as free and
bright as new tin pans. SO, don't you
be skeered, honey"
"Fm not scared about anything,
grandpa" said Madge TREMENDOUSLY, but
smiling like rainbow.
There, new, MOTHER" cried Caspar
triumphantly, returning to his onions,
you come down on me for nothin'.
| She amt skeered bit.
No. not bit. She flew about the
room like bird, washed the earthen-
ware, brought her grandfather his pipe,
and dropped at his feet to him some
funny story aAoat. In his enjoyment
he wrapped himself in such a cloud
that she could hardly see the clock.
Madge slipped out to the gate. She
was often there, looking up the road.
| ne TWO Oib I0OBit SiI ihoiNt,
of the days when they were young.
She was restless, and fitted over the
cinder sidewalk, following a magnet
which would have drawn her from the
center of the earth. To the road, Of
! course. How often had she watched
the rails converging horizonwards until
they sharpened themselves to q needle
point Tn; railroad had a fascination
for Madge. When baby, she used TO
follow her grandfather 10 his work, and
hide among bushes to see the big freights
numbering by, anl the express trains
whirling INTO town like screaming land
demons. She had heard Of the sea, and
the spell it had upon sailors, but she
saw the railroad and felt the spell,
which nobody seemed 10 remark, that
il cast over inland laborers. She saw
her boy playmates sucked up 10y " the
road = heard her grandfather tell of
hair breadth escapes from collisions, of
cool courage in men who placed them.
selves between the people they carried
and most horrible death. She had
learned the power and mission OF " the
road" In short, she was as loyal
daughter of the rail as any Maine skip.
per's child is of the sea. Madge had
affinity for an engine. To this day
her throat swelled, her eye kindled,
when the great iron animal swept past
her. Charley drove an engine, and his
engine was, in her eyes, fitting eX-
ponent of the strength and beauty of
his manhood. Such was the romance
of her little dry life. Everybody must
have his enthusiasm. She had been IN
the towns great depth at night, arrived
from a holiday trip, and had laughed
aloud to see some busy engine hurrying
up and down, picking up freights like a
hen gathering her chickens; now
breathing loud enough to deaten null.
titude, now concentrating his strength
and painting slowly away at the head of
its charge. She had walked from sleep
to hear them calling to each other
through the darkness, and translated TO
herself what they said.
1t was proper thing for Madge to be
an engineers wife. She thought il
fitting thing to be Charleys wife under
any circumstances, | assure you. There
was now only little strip of time be-
tween Madge and Charley. She looked
over that little strip, and saw just how
it would be. They were 10 have a cot
tage on the clean street; her grand
parents, If they became intirm, were to
have home with her; "and these two
little hands, said Charley, twill make
me the dearest nest; I'll be so glad to
run into IL at night"
Madge's pink face took on rose as
she thought of all these things, looking
up and down the cut to see If the track
was clear, as her grandfather had said
1t was clear. She felt relieved and
foolish about coming out there through
the twilight to spy for Charley welfare,
and much inclined to hide from the
smoke rising far off, But those unsta.
bic sandy walls towering over his way;
Madge watched them jealousy. Just
as the thunder of the train could be
heard, her heart stood still to see them
dissolve, like pillars ground down by
some malicious Samson. and piled upon
the track until nothing could be seen
for yards but one long hill of earth and
stones
Now, little Madge, if there is heroism
IN you, 1T must meet and lasso that iron
beast whirling a hundred people upon
death! A hundred The whole world