The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1880-11-19

her neighbors the ''cheeriest. condol-
ingest' woman In Twinrip.
food luck. according to her. was
always coming 10 the Magans. II was
good luck brought them To America
by good luck Tim became brakeman.
II was good luck that the school for
Common was free Of expense and so con-
vcnienf.
Her loyalty 10 her husband rather
modified the expression Of her views,
yet she often expatoted TO her eldest
on his advantages. beginning. "There's
your father, Connor--l hope you'll be
as good man! remember il wasn't the
fashion in the ould country 10 bother
over the little black letters people
don't hare to read there but YOU Just
mind your books, and some day you
may come to be conductor, and snap
"A punch OF Your own"
No doubt Connor made good resolu-
tons, but when he sat BY the window
in the schoolroom and looked at the
dimpling. sparkling river, so suggestive
OF fishing. or at the green trees filled
with birds. he was not as devoted 10
literature as free-born expectant
American citizen ought TO be. The
teacher was somewhat strict. and il may
have been in some Of her passes with
Connor. the "bubblingovercst'' Of all
her youngsters, that she earned the
name of daisy Hammer"
But the boy knew some things by
heart that could not be learned at
school. To his ear. the steam whistle
of each boat spoke its name as plainly
rs il ii could talk. He need not look TO
tell whether a passing train was on the
q. 4 NJ. or on the l.. &. a L. He knew
the name Of every fiery engine. and felt
an admiration-a real friendship for
the resistless creatures.
To climb tree was as easy for him
rs ii he were a eat; there were rumOrs
that he had worked himself 10 the top
Of the tall flag-staft-which was As
smooth as creased pole-but 1 will
not vouch for their truth. He could
swim like duck. and padded about on
board in the river till an ill-naturcd
ilaf-boatman often snarled out that
''that youngster would certain be
drowned. ii he wasn't born 10 be
hanged"
But the delight OF Connor's life was
20 :. catch the first wave" from a big
steiner. Dennis Maloney was his COM
ia lie in this perilous game. They rowed
their egg shell of boat close To the
wheel. Drenched with spray-for a
moment they felt the wild excitement
of danger. -Four alert ewes, four steady
hands kept them from being sucked I'M
dcr-then came the triumph Of meeting
the first wave that left the steamboat,
and the ecstatic rocking motion of the
skiff as she rode the other waves in the
wake but TO catch the first was the
point in the frolc! Connor was known
to many Of the pilots as an adept in
catching the first wave" Sometimes
he was tipped" by an unlocked for
motion Of the machinery. but was as
certain as an india-rubber ball 10 rise to
the surface, and a swim TO shore was
but fun to the young Magyar
In the house Mother Maggie was
happy when little Mike was tied in his
chair. and bar put in the doorway 70
keep him from crawling into the
attractive water II he should break
loose: and when the door was bolted on
the railroad side. he was allowed 10
gaze through the window nj the engines
smoking and laundering by all day.
and fixing each blazing red eve on him
nj niyht--an enhancing spectacle 10 the
child. And when the still younger Pat
was tucked up in bed sucking moist
rag with sugar tied up in il, her world
was all right and at rest
But il would have taken a person Of
considerable penetration. or. as Maggie
said. one who knew all 1.-THE ins and
the outs to see the peculiar good luck
Of his dav. The water was smashing
round within few feet Of the door.
Some ~ the workmen had moved their
beds TO the space between the tracks,
which was piled up with kitchen uten-
sis. and looked like secondhand
store.
In these DAYS Of devotion TO antiques
we hear dealers in such wares say that
things are more valuable for being
carefully used. This would not apply
to Twinrip's relics. The poor shabby
furniture looked more than ever dilapi-
dated in the open daylight. The social
air Of home that was lived in per-
vaded this temporary baggage room
between the tracks. One child was
asleep in cradle. others were eating
their coarse food of board. When a
sprinkling of rain fell. an old grand
mother under an umbrella fastened TO
bed post went on knitting serenely.
Youngsters. who needed rubbers and
waterproofs about as much Is did New
foundland dogs. enjoyed the fun. One
four-year-old, sitting on tub turned
upside down. was waving a small flag.
a relic Of the Fourth Of July-and look
ing as happy and independent as q
king.
It took all his wifc's hopeful elo-
aucnce to comfort Tim. There was no
water in Tins cellar. because he had
no cellar. The COW. their most valua-