Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-09-13
HIS BABY WAS DEAD.

on his train, looking pale, and the
brakeman who had run with him for
years, knew the conductors mind was
away at the bedside of his sick baby.
With punch in hand, and his heart in
his throat the conductor entered the
smoking car, and said, Tickets" in =
voice not at all like its usua. sound. 1t
was more like an appeal to his Heaven
ly Father to watch over the baby at
home. Four drummers were sitting to-
gether in two seats, all good friends of
the conductor, and as he took their
thousand mile tickets to punch, one
said, "Old man you were up late last
night Beware of the wine cup" and
he laughed, and the conductor tried to
smile but he couldn't.
Another drummer who had travelled
with the conductor for years, and loved
him as q brother, thinking he was lit
tie off, said, 20, boys, wait till he goes
through the train and collects few
cash fares, and he will brighten up.
Then will tell him the last story" and
they all laughed at their old friend, and
he punched the last of their tickets and
went on with forced smile, and as a
tear drop rolled down his dark cheek
the boys thought he had cinder liz his
eye.
The last drummer slapped him on the
arm and said, ''come back soon to your
own chickabiddy," and as he went out
of the car laugh arose, and he stood
on the platform minute because he
felt faint, and then entered the other
car. He knew almost every passenger,
and on any other day he would have
been proud to have them speak to him
as they did, and chaff and joke, but
day every word seemed to be 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, in
stead of putting it on the window, and
she blushed, and the passengers laugh
ed, they thought he did it for a joke, but
it was because he did not know what he
was doing. his mind being with the sick
baby at home.
He hurried along and lady with a
little three year old girl was next, a
child Just the age of his sick one. The
mother had thought it would please the
conductor to let the child hand the tick
ct to him, and the little one had the
ticket in its fat hand, and was shrink
ing back behind 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 of his little baby at home.
The child peeked around mammals 8
shoulder, and saw the conductor before
he saw her, and he looked so changed
and sad that the little one opened her
eyes in wonder, and handedup the tick
ct carefully as though he would bite,
and when he saw her he almost tainted,
and when she said, "where's S 'oor baby, "
he thought his heart would jump out of
his breast. The tears run down his
face and he whispered, "she may be dy-
ing now,n and as he went out on the
platform at q station, he felt that it
would almost be q mercy if the train
would run over him.
He went in the car and finished his
work, and returned to the smoker and
sat down in the end seat, then got ner-
vous and went in the baggage car, pas
SHY lUS ldTre-ucdIlCu III uluuCLSs WIN
were full of fun and wanted him to be,
and they said, ''come, old boy, sit down
here and have smoke,' but he said in
) husky voice that he hadn't time, and
as he went out the door he braced up
enough to turn and smile at the boys
through the window and throw a kiss at
them, because he didn't want them to
think he would 90 back entirely on old
friends, but when he got in the baggage
car and sat down in chair, he looked
like man that had lost every friend.
At the next station a woman with a
little girl was cross to the child, 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 indignant, and she
got on the car and pushed the little one
along the aisle, and set it down in the
seat as though she would like to break
its bones, and the conductor looked at
her as though, if she were q man, he
would everlastingly wipe the platform
with her.
He got on the car in the rear of the
smoker, that time, because his old
friends, the drummers, were so thought
less of his feelings. He did not realize
that they were unaware of his sorrow.
Every kindly expression from the pas.
sengers seemed to him like an unfeeline
remark, and he would have given 9
months salary to have been at home,
or anywhere that everybody felt as bad
as he did.
At the next station he got a dispatch,
and his hand shook like leaf, and he
dare not look at it out doors, but he
went in the smoker and sat down ir
front of the drummers, and opened the
dispatch, glanced at it and put his heac
Oh his hand and leaned his elbow ON the
window.
The boys looked at him and one said
not thinking that anything had oc
cured more than the usual order tx
hold the train for another to pass, ''Hel
10, the old man has got his discharge
o, have been expectingit since h'
collected that twenty cents from the
tramp last week and knocked it down. )
Then they laughed, and one of thu
boys touched the conductor on thu
shoulder and said, "Never mind, ole
boy, us fellows will see you through.
we will get sample case for you tt
carry
The conductor reached the dispatcl
over to the travelling man, and said
"read it," and the friend read, "you
baby is dead, come back on No. Civ
your train to your head brakeman"
1t was signed by the division superin
tendent The four pair of eyes tina