The Portland daily press., 1874-06-11
Getting a Free Pass.

rs the souprntendent abaout?"
The clerks at the Boston and Providence
railroad office in Boston looked up from their
books and accounts and saw specimen of
the genus New England Yankee, since the
days Of railroad enterprise yearly getting
scarcer. An old man of sixty-seven or seven
ty years of age, whose face continued expos
ure to the sun hail Drowned to mahogany
color, whose thin iron gray hair struggled out
from under felt hat little the worse for
wear, whose ''store-clothes' were a dozen
years old in fashion, whose expanded bony
hands and vast extent of wrist projected far
beyond the coat cuff, and broad square brogans
tied with leather strings and guiltless of
backing stuck far through the ends of his
pantaloons.
One of the officials, in answer to the in
quiry, pointed towards desk, where sat an
alert-lookng, clean-cut, all-alivs sort of man,
and said, ''That, sir, is Mr.. Folsom.
"Harnsome ?" said the old fellow, 'syaas,
so, so; but praise to the face is open disgrace,
as Aunt Jerusha used to say"
"What can l do for you to-day ?"asked the
superintendent, curiously eyeing the visitor
that stood before him, in the midst of a sub
dued snicker fiom the clerks. 9.
DAY? Yaas, very fine day. Don't spose
you remember me, do ye"
'Your name | must have forgotten"
"Mtstapha Cotton? Thunder, no! Cot
L
ly furnished the sleepers."
What grading do you mean?" said the su-
perintendent. nr
''Gradn' done mean Gosh all hemlockl I
should think it was. Bottom dropped right
aoat ont.
'What contract are you talking of, sir, and
what do you want OF ?" said the official,
little nettled.
''Who do 1 want to ee?-why yew, if yew
air the superintendent. Yew air, aint YEP"
eyes," said the railroad officer, with a nod,
II am"
"Wall, ye see, Pm a little deef, an l used
to furnish seepers fur this road, 1 did. Sold
nigh six hunered, an only forty thrown
aout."
'You must be mistaken" said the rail-
road man, shouting into his visitors ear;''
we haven't made any contracts for some
years."
''Seven years! Wall, darn it all, twas Ion
ger ago n'that. made a trade with Raymun
Lee-d'ye remember Raymun Lee-lttle fell
lar, not ser tall as yew-smart ez er steel
trap"
tendent of the road twenty ago."
Twenty years ago! Yaas, yaas. Wall,
moved east more'n ten year ago; was farm
in on it then up back of Attleberry, owned a
piece of land up there OH sheers with Jo Far
bnk-him as broke his leg in harrar in the
widder Burt's field-darned fool---tod him
the steers would start, and he might bey
known"
''Wall, hev been runnin' thrasbin, ma
chine. last fall daown ter Agusty, Maine,
tendin' saw mill till last week lumber amt
mov'n so quick ez it used to. and,
''What is your business here. | mean ?'
bawed the superintendent. 'sWhat do you
want?"
Want? Why want to 90 Attleberry.'
swell, why don't you go there's the sta
ton, and the train leaves in ten minutes"
wall, hain't got no ticket-en Ell you
| could give me free pass"
| 'Why should pass you free? can see no
reason"
| "Whv. Won know, I sold them sleepers to
| Ravmn1 .ee cussed sight too low, an lie
| said
| sWbatr p, shouted the exasperated officer.
| IeDn yon mean to come to me for a free pass
over This road because twenty years ago you
sold Lee fifty dollars worth of sleepers? This
| is too much"
| STEW much! No, sir, yew couldn't buy
| them air sleepers naow for double the money,
h an Ravmun Lee he want so close of his
\ passes, fur when cum down here an settled
| with him an got talkin' with him, he told me
\ if I'd only 60 up TO Attteberry he'd gin me
pass"
"Good graciousr' said Folsom, snkin back
| in his chair, hoarse and exhausted with
| the great drops of perspiraton on his fore
head, $50 will if youth only go. Mr.. s.,
buy him ticket for the next tram, and
charge it to my account. won't wite MIN
pass: he might come back here on IL.