The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1883-05-18
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a Pathetic story Told by an Ex-Tranp.

NO." said the engineer ms he closed one
valve and opened another, 81 wasn't always
an engineer. wasn't anything for Il long
time. hid the knowledge in my head all
the while, but it was lost under heap of
| rubbish.
"What fools men are when they're left to
themselves sometimes! Now look at me -
| Would YOU say was ever tramp"
tramp his white muscular throat-whte
and wholesome under the coal dust-his
strong, wcllknitted frame, clear eye and firm
hand, denoted n man of pluck and courage,
| a practical worker, not the idle, nervecss
relaxed object, which is dcnomnated n tramp
and which is a blight on the face of nature
| No, this man guiding the good engine Mo
| hawk, was never tramp, and we told him
SOL
"But was gentleman" he said, coolly
sighting a long stretch of road over the back
bone of his engine and letting her out little
for n dead level heat. 81 was not only
tramp, but the meancst kind of one, and
worked harder and suffered more to get my
selfin that condition than ever did to reach
this" and he looked proudly at the polish
ed trimmings of his flying steed
81 tell you how it was" he said at last ms
he slowed up to round II curve and Then
went easily on past the fields clad in their
summer Verdure, past woods that were PIANO.
ramc in n flush of beauty, and away into the
open country. 81 was Il tramp-nO matter
how | came to be or why. lost home. friends,
selEIespeCt, all that makes up manhood-but
| didn't wear n red ribbon at my watch charm
then and my brain was muddled-therc are
many more like mc-and | went from bad TO
worse, but | had never broken the laws,
never Wronged any one but myself, when |
fell in with some fellows who thought they
had found a tool and they had They say
every man has his price, and they offered me
mine it was the price OF my soul too, and |
agreed to take the money and do the work.
at was this--to sneak around and get ac-
quaintcd with the inside of Il house-the
house of the richest man in the place, and to
show them the way they said looked the
most respectable for the purpose. Gentle
men, you wouldn't have trusted one of the
gang with Il ten cent Bit least all of me rs
looked then, but | felt almost proud of the
compliment, and that afternoon was to go
up to the house to look for work or to ask
for food, just rs it happened to strike me,
when there was no one home but the women
folks, and look round to see how they would
get in that night-for robbery and perhaps
murder, was what they meant.
at was just such pleasant, peaceful after
noon as this, and all the doors and windows
were open and not soul saw me as | loung-
ed in through the garden and up to the YER
anda. The gang had fallen in with had
made one mistake; they had kept me sober
for the work, not entirely clear headed, but
sober enough TO make me feel | was doing Il
mean, dastardly trick, to make me for the
first time in many day ashamed of my own
company. | had gone so far must go on
| had walked up the steps and into the house
without meeting soul, and stepped into
long, cool room, and there saw ON the man.
tie in great, clear gold framed glass, n white
face and two red blood-shot eyes-my own;
but what a fright they gave me, and then
saw something else, II small iron bank, such
rs children keep pennies in. II was made of
lntticed bars of wrought iron, and between
every bar was the CLEAN of silver quarters
and half dollars, and smaller gold coin. |
hadn't penny to my name, | was hungry,
tired and footsore and Disguised with what
| had undertaken. 1t came over me like a
flash that could take this money, and get
out Of the reach OF the gang; it would be dis
honest, but not such ms this they had planned.
] reached out my hand and stopped. There
at my feet, on n lace pillow-and all white
and fluffy like an angel-lay the lovelist baby
| ever saw in my life She was asleep, but
as | looked ut her startled and in wonder
she opened her eyes as wide and blue as
daises, held up both hands, laughed like n
bird singing, and said Joe, joe which
wasn't my name at ALL l didn't touch the
baby. While stood there pale little wo-
men came into the room and nearly tainted
when she saw me, and sat down there and
toll the whole story, and asked her TO have
me sent to Jail for protection from mysefand
others She sent for her husband and all the
time we were talking the baby laughed and
coocd and called me by the name she had
given me, joe and the rest of the gang
were waiting at a turn of the road for me to
come back to them.
III didn't give them up-it wasn't worth
while, when had put the people they had
designs on on their guard-and left The town
that night. ! didn't go TO Jail; the man
whose house was TO be robbed gave me some
work but | didn't reform all IN one minute,
and he never could have reformed me at all
it was the baby did it. She trusted me;
when felt the old boy getting the better of
me went to the baby and she smiled at me,
and grew strong right oft made man
of me. never could tell what that baby
saw in my face to make her help me in that
way, but it wasn't Of this world She knew
she could save me, and she did That was
10 wears ago, gentlemen, and Pm more ola
man to-day then ! ever was, and it's her
doing"
"She must be quite a large girl now" we
said, inquirngly.
MAY he so don't know how that is
some folks say they don't reckon there by
months and years | like to feel she's the
same sweet, smiling baby. holding out her
hands in that confidmg way and calling me
Joe'-she loved to call me that-but never
wanted any one else to use the name since