Daily Los Angeles herald., 1882-06-04
BOB SURDETTE'S 0vERCOAT.
The Absent Minded Humorist Hunts
Through Several Trains to Find 1t.

Then somebody said it was about time
for our train to start. On hearing this
the Jester began to count the packages
and shawl-strips and things, and an ex-
preston of weary resignation settled
down upon his beautiful features like an
oil spot spreading over Pennsylvania
creek. In anxious tones he ask
"Dd anybody bring my overcoat from
the other train?''
And when anybody" said they did
not, that it was just about all they
could severally do to convey their own
effects and the general light stock of the
court, without looking after his individ-
ual effects, he made rush for the other
train. And when he got out he found
no less than four or five trains standing
all around that distracting triangular
depot at Newark. Every train had pre-
cisely the same number OF cars, all paint
ed just alike and ranged in the same
order. And the bewildered Jester ran
around the triangular course twice be-
fore he could make up his mind in which
train he had left his new spring over
coat And when he stopped on the
second lap and stared, every engine bell
began to ring, preparatory to starting
"Great smoke E" walled the Jester
and he made dash for the nearest
train. As he entered the car he recog-
nized the faces of the court, and knew
he had boarded the car he had Just left.
When he landed on the platform again
two or three whistles blew all his sense
of locality and being clear out of him.
He caught hold of brakeman.
Say" he shouted, (which is the
train came here ON. 2"
"Where did you come from ?" asked
the brakeman.
For the life of him the Jester couldn't
answer. 81 am going to Urbana,"
he said "and l think l came from the
moon.
"All right" said the brakeman,
''then that's your train-air line"
But the coat wasn't in there, and
when the Jester came out, after having
been called several names and kicked at
twice for grabbing up coats that had
been made for other and larger men, a
conductor shouted "All aboard!" and
one train began to pull slowly away
from the station, while two other loco
motives blew off steam with the most
distracting effort. Then another train
started out, and wildly shrieking that
his overcoat was lost forever, the be-
wildered Jester started for his own
train, but suddenly remembered that he
didn't know by this time which train he
belonged to. With despairing gesture
he started at full speed after the
wrongest one of the three. A postal
clerk stopped him.
''Show me the train that goes to Hall
fax, groaned the wretched man, sink.
ing upon trunk.
But Just then he heard the Prince
shouting to him, he heard his name
called, and he saw tAe court sitting in
car standing perfectly still, about ten
feet away. He climbed aboard and be-
gan to explain to the conductor how he
had left his overcoat on one of those
other trains, and that it was very valu-
able ovorcoat, perfectly new, Just
cleaned this spring, and worth more
than all the rolling stock of the Balti-
more and Ohio Railroad, and wouldn't
the conductor telegraph for it and have
it sent to Urbana?
"What kind of coat was ?" the
conductor asked, signaling the engineer
to 60 ahead.
The distracted passenger began an
elaborate description, which was cut
short by the conductor.
Something like the one you have
on?" he asked.
"You needn't telegraph abont it, ="
presently the Jester said, in broken
tones; 81 will write to the Superintend-
ent about it" And all the way to Colum-
bus he sat beside the man on the wood
box and tried to look unconcerned and as
though he was happy and had never
seen anybody on that car before.