Litchfield enquirer., 1879-12-04
DICK.

bor. My Unfinished cigar led me to enter the smoking-car, where took the second seat from the rear, and presently began studying the very unusual company of passengers in front of me.
 The car was nearly filled with men who were returning from California ; a wild, rough set of fellows, wto had gone out with high hopes and large prospects, but were now coming back disappointed and reckless. They were rudely dressed, and each man wore at his belt strapped on outside his blouse, either knife or a revolver, while arms of greater magnitude leaned against every seat.
 The party had been travelling for more than three weeks, having been showed in again and again on the jar Western roads. Weary and desperate as they were, they sang roaring songs. and shouted and quarreied; but more than all, they drank. A large demijohn stood on a shelf in the front left-hand corner of the car, and from this the cups and bottles were filled from time to time as it became necessary
 AS we swept around the head of the lake, we halted for the first time since starting, at Michigan City. Here new passenger enter ed the car and took the seat immediately be- hind mine. A nasty glance showed him to be a man of about thirty five, stout, with dark complexion, brown eyes and hair, heavy mustache, and an air of vigor and business that made me look at him twice. He wore a some what faded, shaggy overcoat, fur turban cap, and heavy top-boots into which his trowsers were tucked He had no baggage, but held lantern in his left hand, swinging it carelessly between his knees and often looking thoughtfully at it for some minutes at time. Again and again found myself half turned in my seat, gazing at him.
 | Meanwhile the din and rowdyism in the car grew more and more boisterous. Presently one of the loudest and worst-looking of the company, having filled large bottle from the tank in the corner, began to pass it to each one in turn as he staggered down the aisle. On he came toward the rear, drinking, cursing, yell ling; and every man that he passed drank with him. At last he stood at the seat before mine. 1 saw that he was about to offer me the bottle, and to avoid hlm, 1 turned and looked out of the window. As he came even with me, he reached over and pulled me by the shoulder, forcing me to face him, and told me to drink. He was well-built fellow, SIX feet and over, brawny, and with two navy revolvers in his belt, and large dirk-knife at his breast, and he was thoroughly drunk. looked him straight ln the eyes, but he only leered at me and renewed his demand. apologiZed told him I never drank, and beg ged off as best 1 could, but it was all of no avail. tried to get out of the seat, and so out of the car, but he stood across the passage and raising the bottle nigh over his head with one hand, he held me by the shoulder with the other. and with terrible oath, command ed me to drink or he would break the bottle over my head. In stature 1 am five feet eight, and both Howe and Fairbanks agree that 1 kick the beam at one hundred and twenty-five. | Under these circumstances it occurred to me 1 that discretion was the better part of valor, so, taking the bottle from his hand, I choked | down e<D0llnw of it's vile contents.
 l Pushing me back into the seat, tho rnffian 1 proceeded to the stranger behind me and offer ed him the liquor. The man was bending over, holding his lantern with both hands, and slowly swinging it backward and forward. He raised his keen brown eyes to those of the rough, dropped his chir slightly, and then, without emotion, said deliberately
 s'Go to hell!'
 l The assaant was daZed for an instant, but | recovered -hiaseH, rand ruu1wed his demand Then the stranger set his lantern upon the floor, stood up to his full height, and said quietly; ., .+o..--
 Stranger, I don't want no fuss with you, an don't ealc'late to have any, but the best way for you to get clear of knockdown Il be to get away from here about as quick as you can! Do you hear ?"
 He looked him full in the eye, and stood there so quiet, yet so determined, that the drunken man, after eynlg him for a minute dropped his head, turned, and went mumbling to the front of the car and sat down. The stranger stood till the man was seated, and then, seating himself, took up his lantern and quietly swung it. as before. l was over- | whelmed with shame and turned and apolo- gized to him.
 The keen brown eyes looked frankly into mine as 1 spoke, and seemed to read me | through and through. When 1 had finished the man placed his hand almost tenderly upon my arm which rested upon the back of the seat and said:
 Stranger, don't you fret. You did all right, for man in your fix. It likely don't hurt you to take a swaller O whisky, and it would "a hurt you to "a got lick over the | head with that bottle, the way that feller was handlin' it. You did the best thing for you Now for me- the thing that wont do, even if 1 have to be strung up the next minute if I don't, is to drink whisky!" And after pause "It warn't always so, though for, God knows, I've drunk enough O the stuff in my time. Lord, stranger I've seen many night such es these fellers is havn' Eve seen the time when I wouldn't a asked nothin bet tern to "a done just as that feller did that come back here with that bottle minute ago. But quit about ten years ago. and since then I haint put drop between my lips. I'd rather, thousand times, be took home with | hole in me big enough to drive yoke O cat | tie though! You see, stranger it aint every body that's got such wife as me and when | a man gets such woman as mine-why, Lord bless you, stranger, if you only knew what | woman Dick is, and something O what she's lived through, and how she's done it, you | wouldn't wonder! You see the difference be- tween you and me now, don't you But l don't you fret, stranger you did all right" He had taken his hand from my arm after l the first few words, and sat there, swinging ! his lantern as he talked. At the mention of Dick his eyes grew strangely bright. My in- | terest in him grew, as he spoke, and when he | stopped. as he did somewhat abruptly, found myself exceedingly anxious to know more of him, and especially of Dick. , consdera.;e--, l.o.vcver, offered the ordinary comments upon the weather and the night. It | was bitter colo. the thermometer ranging sev- eral points below zero The moon was full and the sky was clear. The ground was GOV I cred with snow to depth of nearly three feet on a level, and three locomotives were doing their best to ''make time" with our train over 4he heavy track. The wheels ran on with that muf1ed, echoless hum which only deep snow and extreme cold can produce The wheels thugged the rails with an icy crunching, while | the frosty rattle of frozen iron made one feel that every piece of metal either on or under the train must be as brittle as glass. In reply to my remarks on these matters, my compan- 1 ion went hn as follows:
 "Yes, it's a bad night for run; and it wouldn't surprise me any minute to see us go into the ditch. You see I know this road pret- ty we'll I've been braking here on a through freight fer something more'n year now, and when felier makes four trips week over road, in all kinds O weather, and .atsall hours O the day and night, he getsto know the thing pretty we'll, after while. We're on pretty scaly piece O track now, just con,in' down to the bridge over Kenney's Run. The bridge went out last fal1, and when they put it back theyput in a lot of old rails that had been bent and Strengthened, and they're just about like 8 string O. clay pipe-stems tonight. If Jack don't take her slow over that hole he'll leave us all in it, as sure as-therei thought he'd pull her up. He's mighty fine fellow, Jack is, and he knows what he's about See him hold her level, now, round tins curve just ahead"
 As the train sped on, the noisy crowd, one