The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-06-12

I'LL 1e makes me tired, ana aln one oil
the tired kind. I've been railroading =
train boy, brakeman and conductor
twenty Two years, and I've seen things
to make fellow laugh till he split. and
tragedics-real tragedies-to make a
white mans heart ache. But sad and
glad. first and last and all along be-
tween, have never had anything
strike me more in heap than the
other night when / had one of them
Broadway cut-throats--1m mean cut-rate.
scaiping fellows-on my train. He
swung on just as did, as she was pull
ing out, and went direct to the smoking
car and took seat, although he had a
whole section in the Chicago sleeper
and is well fixed. Our Pullman con-
ductor put me on him as scalper or l
wouldn have known who he was from
a side of Illinois sole leather. When ]
came through punching tickets the
scalper says to me in an off-hand sort
of way:
'.Say, conductor, keep an eve out for
ticket No. 1854, and whom you come
back let me know where it is located"
handing over irst-class cigar rs he
spoke.
"All right" said !, thinking there's
woman in the case, or else some fell
low has put up job on him about that
ticket and he is laying for him.
When l found 1854 it wasn't any
woman or any job-only poor, hump
backed cripple, tit to make your heart
ache to look at A bright face and all
that-too bright for the kind of body
it was hitched >o-just the sort of face
to make fellow want to kick up row
with all creation that such things could
be. He wasn't in sleeper, neither,
but in a day car, all wrapped around
with shawls and made CONFERENCE.-The
az though somebody loved him, and
had fixed him TO go through with as lit
tie bother and shaking up as possible.
Well, went back after I'd been
through the train, and said to the
scalper, who was putting away nervous
like:
Il have found your 1864"
''She's in the Chicago sleeper, amt
she? She's comfortable. isn't she?"
"Well," 1 said, you'd better see for
yourself, She is in the fifth seat from
the front, on the left-hand side in the
next car back"
He threw his cigar away and hurried
into that car. moment later he came
back. looking black and ugly.
What do you mean by monkeying
with me?" he said. where is the
young lady with Chicago ticket No.
3,6S4?''
81 don't know your racket" said I,
"but if you think Tn fooling about it
just walk back with me and I'll soon
convince YOU"
He followed. and when we had
reached the cripple's seat said:
Excuse me, sir, but is your ticket
for Chicago?"
With that he reached down, and
hauling out his poeket-book handed me
ticket No. 1854. The scalper stood
close by and held my lantern up while
looked so that he could see plain at
the same time. There was vacant
seat behind the cripple and the scalper.
without word. sat down in it. Invent
ahead to smoke. When came through
next time the scalper had the cripple IN
his arms and was carrying him back to
his own section in the Chicago sleeper,
while the train boy followed with the
crippless things-a shawl, a bag, pill
low for his back and big envelope box
full of lunch. The cripple was put into
the scalper's lower berth, while he him
self climbed into the upper, and that's
all know about them, except that 1
thought then, and 1 think now, and l |
amt ashamed to say it, that whoever
and whatever that cripple was, it was a
kind act the way that Broadway scalper
treated him.