Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-07-15
BY MARY KYLE DALLAS.

"Fare, ma'am," said the conductor.
The passenger took no notice. She
was shabby-loOking old woman, in
rather rusty looking black, with fray
ed lace scarf around her neck, the old
fashioned, heavily worked lace veil fas-
tened about her bonnet brim.t
"Farep repeated the conductor again.
The passenger looked at him, dipped
her hand into her pocket, rummaged in
a queer little reticule she carried, and
after exhausting all the patience of
which car conductor is supposed to be
possessed, said slowly:
81 haven't got a penny. l suppose
I've lost the change, or else I've had my
pocket picked, and I'm going to
street, too"
There was pause. The conductor
looked at the passenger and heSltated
1t was a damp. misty evening. The
streets were ankle deep with mire. 1t
was three miles to - street, and the
car was not half full. 1t seemed only
common humanity to permit the old wO-
man to ride to her destination, whether
she had fare or not. But there on the
platform, staring through the glass door,
our conductor saw the face of car spy
"a spotter, the men called him-who
was watching him with eager, green
eyes, anxious to catch him tripping.
Poor as his place was, twenty men
were waiting for it. His receipts must
tally with the number of passengers re-
corded on the dial provided by the COM
pany for that purpose, or off went his
head Saturday night. Still he could not
put the old woman off his car; only one
alternative remained-he could pay her
fare.
Now, a fare on the - road was only
FIVE cents, but six o'clock was coming
and he was hungry, and the supper he
would have Just time to snatch before
his evening trips began, would cost him
ten centS-five cents for bread and
cheese, five cents for cup of coffee. He
gave up one of these if he paid that old
womans fare. You see there was an
other old woman whom he called gran
ny, to be cared for, and clothes of some
sort must be worn, and there were no
pennies to spare. But it was the MEM
ory of old Granny that arose in his
heart as he dropped i'll the coin, touched
the bell, and nodded "all right to his
passenger; and, as he stepped from the
car to take his brief rest, he handed the
old woman to the curbstone, and saw
her safe on her way.
NO, don't want anything but the
coffee" he said, waving away the restau-
rant keepers boy, as he pressed the bas-
ket of rolls and sandwiches upon him.
"Take that stuff away"
The bread was out of reach before he
felt quite safe, he was so very, very hun
CRY.
At that moment an old woman touch
ed the car starter upon the arm.
"Tellime the name of the conductor
on car number five?" she said. There
he sits under the shed, drinking some
coffee"
"That's Tom Varnham-Tom Warm
ham," replied the starter, rather eagerly,
for he had a relative waiting for the
place. "If you have any complaint to
make, there's the Office" But the old
woman toddled away.
Oh, the long, long winter, cold and
cruel-a winter full of terrible storms
of snow and sleet. Two drivers on the
- line were badly frozen. Many died
of lung complaints. The conductors
suffered too, though not so terribly, and
Granny had been sick, and there was
money to be spent for medicine and
nourlshing luXuries, and Tom Warm
hams old gray coat was stolen one night
by thief who made his way into the
crowded lodging house.
After that he went without it, and he
often wondered what it would be to be
warm, and to sit at a satisfying meal.
Life seemed very hard, but to give up
hoA oif nd hnffnr
was not to be thought of, with Granny
on his hands.
The passengers who rode in car num-
ber five often snubbed their conductor,
took him to task for the inconvenience
they suffered, and abused him at their
dinner tables, or as they sat before their
warm CRATES, toasting their toes, while
he shivered ON the car platform. Per-
haps the shabby old woman with the
worked lace veil may have done it also,
for she rode in the car very often, tho
she never found herself again without a
fare.
whats the matter?" asked passen-
ger.
"Three cars ahead stopped-some one
hurt" replied the other. what Is 1t,
conductor?'
Conductor of number five dropped
down." was the response. "SOme say he's
dead"
Tom Varnham lay in the midst of a
little crowd, quite unconscious and very
rale.
The men were talking about him.
Hes been starving himself and freez-
ing, too" said one. "A sick old grand
mother on his hands; and he was clerk
or something, never used to out of door
work. I've seen this coming for days.
"You are the doctor. sir" asked n
shabby old woman, laying her hand on
the arm of gentleman who knelt be-
side poor Tom. The gentleman looked
up.
"You said last week that l did not
deserve to be called one, Madam Hover,
ha aaiI dauuralv