Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-11-03
Ms soey Was 0ea0.
Milwaukee sun.

Us ~ AoA lew ddyS, on account
or sickness at home, but one day ne
appeared on his train, looking pale.
anu 1.-THE brakesman who had run
with hun for years, knew the CON
uuctor's mind was away at the bed
side OF his sick baby. With punch
n hand, and his heart in his throat
the conductor entered the smokin0
car, and said, "'rickets,n in voice
not at all like its usual sound. IT
was more like an appeal TO the
Heavenly Father to watch over the
baby at home. Four drunnners
were sitting together in two seats,
all good friends of tine 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 theo ther BOYS laughed.
and the conductor tried to smile.
but he couldn't. Another drum
mer who had travelled with the con-
ductor for years, and loved him as "a
brother, thinking he was a little off,
said, 40, boys, wait till ne goes
through the train and collects a few
cash fares, and he Will brighten up.
Then [ will tell him the last story"
and they ali laughed at their old
friend, and he punched the last OF
their tickets and went ON with a
forced smile, and as a tear drop
rolled down his dark cheek, the
boys thought he had a cinder in his
eye. The last drummer slapped
him on the arm and said, "cOme
back soon to your own chickabid-
dy," and rs he went out Of the car
laugh arose, and he stood ON the
platfyrm a minute because he felt
faint, and Their 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 that day every word SEEM
ed to be bullet. He was present in
body, but his n.iud was far away,
and when he put check in the
band of lady's turban hat, instead
OF putting it in the window, and
she blushed' and the passengers
laughed, they thought he did il for
a joke, but it was because he did
not know what he WAS doing, his
mind being with the sick child at
home. He hurried along, and q
lady with a little three year old girl
was next, a child just the age OF his
sick one. The mother had thought
il would please the conductor to let
the child hand the ticket to him,
and the little one had the ticket in
its fat hand, and was shrinking
back behind its mamma, trying to
muster up courage to hand the tick
ct 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 peeped around mammals
shoulder, and saw theconductor be
fore he saw her, and ne looked so
changed and sad that the little one
opened her. eyes in wonder, and
handed up the ticket carefully as
though he would bite, and when he
saw her he almost tainted, and
when she said, "Where'S 'OOr
lump out of his breast. The tears
run down his face and he whispered,
'she may be dying now" and as he
went out on the platform at sta
ton he felt that it would be a mer-
cy if the train would run over
him.
He went in the car and finished |
his work, and returned to the smo- |
ker and sat down in the end seat, |
then got nervous and went in the |
baggage car, passing the large hear
ted drumners, 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 went out the door he |
braced up enough to turn and smile |
at the boys through the window
and throw kiss at them, because
he didn't want them TO think he
would go back entirely on old friends
but when he got in the baggage car
and sat down in a chair, he looked
like a man that had lost every
friend. At the next station WO-
man with 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
1t 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 al
her as though, il she were a man,
he would eVerlastingly wipe the
platform with her He got on the
ear in the rear of the smoker, that
time, because his old friends, the
drummerS, Were 50 thOughtleSS OF
his feelings. lie did not realize
that they were unaware OF his SOr-
row. Every kindly expression
from the passengers seemed TO him
an unfeeling remark, and he would
have given "A months salary to have
been at home, or anywhere that
ANYBODY felt as bad as he did.
At the next station he got a dis
patch, and his hand shook like
leaf, and he dare not look ut it out
of doors, but he went in the smoker
and sat down in front of the drum
mers, and opened the dispatch,
glanced at it and put his head on
his hand and leaned his elbow on
the window. The boys looked at
him and one said, not thinking that
anything had occurred more than
the USudl OIOtI 10 llOltl lIiG Tram lOl
another TO pass, "tIellO, the old
man has got his discharge. O, l
have been expecting it since he col
Iected that twenty cents from the |
tramp last week and knocked it !
down" Then they laughed, and |
one of the boys touched the cOnduc- !
tor or the shoulder and said "NeV- |
or mind, old boy, us fellows will see
you through. We will get a sample |
case for you to carry The conduc- |
tor reached the dispatch over to the |
travelling men, and said read it,"
ami the friend read, ''yOur baby Is |
dead come back ON No. Give |
your train to your head brakeman |
II was signed by the division SUI |
pcrintendent. The four pair OF eyes |
that read the dispatch had tears in
them, and the four Threats chOked |
up SO il was minute before any |
body could speak, anJ then one of |
the boys went and sat down by the |
conductor, who was crying like n |
child, and said, "Old friend, all of /
Us have babies at home, and not a
one of Us would have joked you
had we known your sorrow. For
give Us, old pard."
The conductor said it was all |