The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1883-09-28
HIS BABY WAS DEAD.
Peck's Sun.

~# Ef 1E |H#T-
off for q few days on account of sickness
at home, but one day he appeared on
his train locking pale, and the brake
man who had run with him for years
knew the conductors mind was away at
the bedside Of his BABY. With punch in
hand and his heart in his throat the
conductor entered the smoking car and
said, "Tickets,n in a voice not at all like
its usual sound, 1T was more like an APP
peal to the Heavenly Father to watch
over the baby at home. Four drum
tmers were sitting together in two seats,
all good friends ofthe conductor, and as
he tooktheir thousand-mile. tickets to
punch one said, "Old man, you we're up
late last night. Beware efthe wine cup,"l
and he laughed, and the other boys
laughed, and the conductor tried to
smile, but lie couldn't. Another drum-
mer who had travelled with the conduc-
tor for years, and loved,him as a brother,
tl hiking he 9 q little off. said:
so boys, wait ill he goes through the
train and collects a few cash fares, and
he will brighten ID. Then ! will tell
him the last Story" and they all laughed
aftheir old friend. and he punched the
last Of their tickets and went on with &
forced. smile, and as q tear rolled down
his dark cheek the boys thought he had
a cinderin his eye The last drummer
slapped him on the arm and said, Come
back soon to your own ch%lckabiddv,".
and rs he went out of the car Il langh
arose, and he stood IN the platform a
minute, because he felt faint, and then
entered the other car. lie knew almost
every passenger, and oil any other day
he would have been proudto have them
speak to him as they did, and chat and
joke; but that day every word seemed
to beia bullet. He was present in body,
but his mind was far away, and when
he put check in the band Of lady's
,turban hat, instead of putting in on the
window, and she blushed, and the pas
seneers laughed, they thought he did it
for, ajoke, but 1t was because he did
not know what he was doing, his mind
beng with the sick baby at home. lie
hurried along and a lady 'with'a little
the age of his sick one. The mother
had thought it would please the con.
ductor to let the child hand the tleket to
him, and the little one had the ticket in
its lat nand. and was shrinking back be.
hind the mamma, trying to muster up
courage to hand the ticket to the big
conductor, who had often held her in
his lap when she was on his train, when
he would laugh so hearty that the child
would be surprised, and he would tell
her ofhis little baby at home. The
child peeked around mammals shoulder
and saw the conductor before he saw
her, and he looked so changed and sad
that the little III opened her eyes in
wonder, and handed up the ticket care
fully, as though he would bite and when
he saw her he almost tainted, and when
she said "where's'oor baby" he thought
his heart would jump out of his breast.
The tears ran down his face and he
s M,,lSpsfsa as 'ns h may De vent eHtns n0% ~ut
on the platform at a station he felt that
it would almost be a mercyif the train
would run V him.. He went in the
car and finished his work, and returned
to the smoker and sat down in an end
seat. then got nervous and went in the
baggage car, passing the large hearted
druinmers, who were full of fun and
wanted him to be, and they said,
"Come old boy, sit down here and have
a smoke" but he said, in a husky voice,
that he hadn't time, and as he ven out
the door he braced up enough to turn
and smile at the boys through the win
dow and threw a kiss at them, because
lie didn't want them 70, think he would
go back entirely on old ~trien:s; but
when ho got in tho baggage car and sat
down in a chair he looked like q man
that had lost every friend. At the next
station a woman with a little girl was
cross to the CHI Id, and jerked it along
by the arm, and he snatched the little
one from the mother and tenderly lifted
it'on the car. and the mother looked in.
pushed the little one along the
aisle and yset;it down in q seat as though,
she would like to break its bones, end
shes conductor looked n shar as though
X she were q maj he would everlasting
sly wipe the platform with her. He got
On the, car in the ear Of the smoker
that time because his old friends, the
,druinnlers, were so thoughtless of his
feelings. He did not realize that they
we're unaware of his sorrow. Every
Kindly expression from the passengers
seemed to him like an unfeeling remark
and he would have given a months sal-l
arytto have been at home, or anywhere
that everybody felt'as bad as he did. AT
the next station he got.ai dispatch, and
his hand shook like a leaf, and he dare
not look at it out doors, but he wentin'
the Smoker an sat down in front ofthe
'druniners and opened the dispatch,
glanced at it, and put his. head,o n his
hand and leaned his elbow on the win
low. The boys looked at him, and one
said, not thinking that anything hadioc-i
CURED more than the usual order to
s sq'd " Z p ,sain "h dG5 anG I'll
old man has got his discharge. O; ],
have deenexpec citing it since he collected
that twenty cents from the .trdmp last
week and knocked it down." Then they
laughed; and one OF theGhoys touched
the c%oncuctor on the shoulder and said,
Never mind old boy, US fellows will see
you through, We viii get a sample case
for You to carry" THE conductor
reached tie dispatch over to the travel
ing man, and said tread it," and the
friend read, "'your- baby is dead,,l come
back on No. Give, your train to your,
head brake man." 1t was signed by the
division Superintendent. The four pair
Of eyes that read the dispatch had tears
in them, and four throatslchockad up so
s j. Was 3 ma a'a tSeen b bss e. s5Rsy bSHs e Veht
,andIsa down by the conductor. who was
crying like child, and said, sold friend
all of us have babies at home, and not
n OF us would have joked you had We
known of your sorrow. Forgive US, old
pard." The conductor said 1t was all
right and he knew II they pitied
him, b ut it had almost
broken his heart to have them talk so,
and he went in the D%aggage-car to pre-
pare to leave the train at the next sta
ton. Az he left the train four large