The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1872-06-27
THE STORY-TELLER.
ON A CONSTRUCTION TRAIN.


In the old country they would call me
navy; here, they call me railroad
hand, and a good one at that, though 1
say it. L left fine job on the Erie
road, last spring, to go do xn to Decatur,
Illinois, where there was o chance for
me to boss a construction train on the
Toledo, Wabash and Western line.
Now, as everybody knows, the Toledo,
Wabash and Western runs through Har-
rlstown, which is a few miles from De-
catur. Belle Carroll lived at Harris
town, and it was because she lived there
that / left the job OH the Erie road.
man called Smith was master of the
line between Decatur and Danville. I
broke for him as soon as 1 stepped off
the cars, and showed him my recon-
mendations. He was well enough salts
fled with my papers and my appearance
you can see for yourself that look as
if knew what work was-and he put
me on right away. He even took the
trouble to introduce me to the engineer,
who was young fellow called Joe
Handley.
Now, 1 can't say that didn't like Joe
from the start, because / really thought
him as good as they make them down
here-I mean railroad men, of course
but 1 can say that did not like his eyes.
They hadn't cast in them mind and
there wasn't by any means bad cx-
preston in them.
The whites of his eyes were like wet
china, and the pupils were hazel. You'd
have called them handsome eyes. What
was the matter with them, then! I'll
tell you. They were brighter than any
eyes l ever saw before in man or wo-
man they were never still; and every
now and then they seemed to swell and
start in their sockets, as if they were
going to drop out altogether.
Otherwise, you couldn't find a flaw in
him, for he was curly y-headed, fresh
complexioned, good-looking, and clean
limbed.
AS was stranger in the place. Joe
volunteered to help me get gang to-
gether.
We went to all the cheap boarding
houses and low saloons, where railroad
men most do congregate, and in two or
three hours L had engaged twenty-four
Dutch and Irish hands, all good men, in
respect of work, to all appearance; and
had resolved, in my own mind, to keep
out of Joe Handley's company as much
as possible from that nj ght. Not on ac-
count of his dancing, shining eyes,
mind but because he drank like fish,
seemed desperately fond of cards, and
squandered his money as if there were
piles of it in every gutter.
Before L knew Belle Carroll, l
shouldn't have found fault with him on
account of his prodigality, for had been
as foolish with my time and money as
ever he was, perhaps; but, you see, since
Belle CAROLS eyes had cast beam of
light across my soul, so that could see
what was, had tried to become what
1 ought to be.
left off drinking, only taking nip
cold; l set gnard on my lips, for fear
bad language might slip through; and
was ike miser with my months
wages, for had sober thoughts of
home of my own, and little ones to make
it heaven.
had to pay in my turn that night,
though, and drink in my turn, too, when
couldn't throw the whiskey down on
the floor without being seen; for it was
necessary to keep well with my en-
gineer; and if he had discovered any
backdown in my good fellowship, he was
just the sort of man to pick quarrel
there and then.
There was good deal of ditching to
be done about Edwardsville, and grad
ing about Hillsbro', and track raising all
over, west, and as far down as st.
Louis. r...
This gave me no chance to see Belle
Carroll, and 1 was getting low-spirited
to such an extent that / would have
jumped the job for cent, when, run
ming into Decatur one December night,
got orders from Smith to finish off a
deep cutting, a mile and half below
Harristown.
l crossed the Sangamon River the
next morning in high spirits, / tell you.
The fat cars were on the switch at Har-
ristown, so left Joe to hook on the ca
boose and engine, while walked down
with the men to the cutting, looking
this way and that behind me for Belle
but no Belle did see.A "
There was plenty of work there for
weeks, saw at glance, and was
mighty glad of it. The face of the en-
bankment had to come off for half a
mile, and good deal of earth had to
come out of the base on each side for a
mile or more. ~ q Il
set the men to work, and walked up
and down the track, to keep myself
warm, until Joe brought the Hat cars
HSown.
- was very fond of practical jokes,
Se of the men bore him a grudge
pre-. believe there wasn't a
The twenty-four, indeed, that
him.