The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-08-13
Getting A Free Pass.
.Ts the superintendent about. "

.'Is the superintendent about
Rhe clerks at the Boston and Provi-
deuce railroad Office, in Boston, look
ed upfrom their books and accounts
and saw a genuine specimen Of the ge-
| nus New England Yankee since the
days of enterprise yearly getting scar
Ger. An old man of about seventy
yearsyof age, whose face continually
exposed to the sun had Drowned TO 4
mahogany color, whose thin iron gray
! hair struggled out from under a fell
hat q little the worse for wear, whose
store clothes" were dozen years old
in fashion, whose expanded bony
hands and vast extent OF wrists pro-
jected far beyond the coat cuff, anC
broad, square brogans, tied with lesth'
er strings and guiItless of blackinG
stuck far through the ends of his pan
I falcons.
One OF the officials, in answer tC
the inquiry, pointed towards 4 desk
where sat an alert looking, clean cut
all alive sort Of man, and said, "Fhai
sir, is Mr.. Folsom"
"Harnsome 90 said the old fellow
''yas, SO, SO but praise to the face i;
open disgrace, as Aunt Jerusha USED
to say.n
HWhat can 1 do for you to-day ?'
asked the superintendent, curiOnsly
cycling the visitor that stood before
him, in the midst OF subdued snick-
er from the clerks.
HDay? Yaas, fine day. Don't spose
you remember me, do ye?"
"Your name / must have forgot
ten.n
"Mustapha Cotton ? Thunder, no
Cotton was the feller that done the
grAdin', 1 only furnished the sleep
ers." .
"What grading do you mean ?" said
the superintendent.
s'Gradin, done mean Gosh all hem
lock! 1 should think it was. Bottom
dropped right aOut ont"
"Whst contract are you talking OF
sir, and what do you want Of me ?i
said the official little nettled.
"Who do want to see, why yew, II
yew are the superintendent. Yew are,
amt ye"
ayes" said the railroad officer, with
q nod, 81 am"
"Wall, ye see, Pm little deaf, and
L used to furnish sleepers for the road,
1 did. Sold nigh six hundred, an on
ly forty thrown out"
"You must be Mistaken" said the
railroad man, shouting into his visi-
tors ear, i've haven't made any con-
tracts for sleepers for some years"
"Seven years Wall darn it all,
twas longer ago than that made the
trip with Rsymund Lee d'ye remem-
ber Raymund Lea little feller, not
ser tall as yer-smart ez er steel trap"
ayes, 1 remember him, he was
superintendent on tine road twenty
years ago."
"Twenty years ago! Yaas, yaas.
Wall moved east more'n ten years
ago. l was farming on it then up
back of Attleberry, owned piece OF
land up there on sheers with Jos.
Faifbanks-him a. broke his leg in q
harrow in the widow Burt's field
derned fOol-told him the steers
would start as he might hey known"
"Well, WELL" said the railroad Of
fficer impatiently, "what-is your busi-
ness ?n
avail, Ihev been runnin' thrash
in machine last fall down ter Agusty,
Maine, tendin' a saw-mill till last
week lumber amt mov'n 80 quick
as ez it used to, and"
"What is your business here,
mean ?'' bawled the Superintendent :
''What do you want m
"Want? why, want to go to At
tleberry p
"WelI, why don't you go? There's
the station, and the train leaves in
ten minutes" #f
"Wall, hadn't got any ticket-en
ef you could give me free pass"
"Why should l pass you free ? L
can see no reason"
"Why, you know, 1 sold them sleep
ers TO Rsymund Lee, cuSsed sight
too low, an he said"
"What ~ shouted the exasperated
officer. "Do you mean to come to me
for free pass over the road because
twenty years ago you sUld Mr.. Lee
fifty dollars worth Of sleepers ? This
is too MUCH"
IiFew much No, sir, yew couldn't
the money, an Raymund Lee he
WANT so close of his passes, fur when
I cum down here an settled with him
an got talkin' with him, he told me
IL I'd only go up to Attleberry he'd
gin me pass"
"GoOd gracious :" said Folsom,
sinking back into his chair, hoarse
and exhausted with shouting, with
the great drops of perspiration on his
forehead. So will I If you'll only go.
Mr.. g., buy him ticket for the next
train, and charge it to my account. ]
won't write him q pass, he might
come back here on it."