The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1878-08-27
ROqagce on tbe Rail.


blood until he felt that every man was
brother; or he might have been more re-
served about this episode in his checkered
life. For Cap seldom spoke of his wife to
the boys; and when he did it was with a
deferential air unusual in one of his class.
There was legend current that a
SCREEN hand on the road had once hailed
him with:
"Well, Cap, how's the old woman and
the babies?"
The story ran that, without deigning
an answer in words, Cap struck straight
from the shoulder, and his would-be friend
went to grass with shanty over his eye"
for his undue familiarity. The chivalrous
spirit of the act appealed to those rude
natures more forcibly than a volume of
sermons could have done; and all along
the line Cap Lollard's wife was invested
with sort of halo of romance.
"Wal, gentlemen" began Cap, in re-
sponse to the solicitations of the crowd,
''if nothin' else IL do ye, I suppose you
must have yer way; so hyer goes.
"In the summer of '65 was haulin' a
construction train, though I was put on
to passenger that fall. There want
much business on the road an we was
ordered to ballast up long stretch O.
track, dodgin' out o the grand pit an
back ag'in between the reg lar trains.
GAIL along the road thar was some Nigh
ty fine arm-houses; an one struck my
eye in partic'lar. 1t was the reglar old
style-low an spreadin' out over the
ground SOS to be comfortable an roomy.
A lot O clamberin' vines an half dozen
wide-spreadin' oaks made it mighty cool
lookin' place on hot summer afternoon;
and an old-fashioned weIl-sweep to one
side made you think that water was q
pretty choice article after all.
"Wal, hoss, you bet it was mighty slow
work settin' on the box in the sun, with
that house in sight, while the Men was un-
loadin the flats; an it didn't take me long
to make up my mind that was powerful
thirsty when we got jest opposite that
partic lar place. So down jumps, leayin'
the fireman in charge, an makes fur the
house, all legs an no ceremony.
81 was jest fetchin' up at the well, when
| turned, an'-Jerusha Jane!--thar in the
doorway stood about the trimmest bit of
female flesh an blood that ever sot eyes
on-you hear me! Lord love ye! I allow
thar couldn't no two-legged man critter
look at her without its maxim his mouth
water!
"Fellars, felt jest like schoolboy
caught in melon patch! My breeches
was in my boots; had only one gallus-
no vest-no coat-no collar, and an old
felt hat with three-quarters of the rim
torn away, leavin' the rest stickin' out like
the visor Of cap. An thar she stood, a.
lookin' at me an larfn' little, l thought,
because I was so all struck in a heap! l
had waltzed up thar as brash as sky ter
rier; but one blink o her roguish eye an
you could a. knocked me clean out O. time
with a feather.
":Heml Kin git drink, ma'am, if
you please? says l. kind O stammerin'.
"'Yes, sir says she, as clipper as a
bird. Jest wait, an Ill bring you dip
per-
"She skipped into the house and out
ag'in before you could toss up fur the
beer, bringin' a dipper that you could %
shaved by deuced sight better than ary
three-cornered piece o lookin' glass.
"1ts hot work ridin' on locomotive
this weather, amt it?' says she, droppin
her eyes, modest-like; but | knowed she'd
took me in from top to toe, one gallus an
all.
"Gt's ALFRED hot says I; an fur the
first time in my life lost my tongue fiat,
fact! dummern wooden man with his
mouth shut!
) "But didn't lose my eyes, hoss, you
bet! Lord love ye! she looked like as if
she'd jest stepped out of fairy book,
with her sleeves rolled up almost to the
, shoulders, an apron-strings circlin' waist
that Queen Victori' herself couldn't a
matched. AS trim as pin, an as neat as
wax!-fellars, I felt as if I'd jest drop down
on my marrow-bones in the grass an wor.
ship her!
l "But all the time knowed she must be
a-thinkin' that looked like slouch. an
that made me sweat, you bet! So says
= says L:
'Thankeey ma'aml'
San givin her Lack the dipper, | jes
! bumped myself fur that engine, cussir
) my luck at every breath.
3 "Wal, you. bet yerself, the next day
was tricked out like drill sargent boot
: shiny-black pants, with roll at the bot
: tom, SOS to show the stiff n'-b'ileC
., , shirt, with rufied front--red butterfly