The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-06

BIZ ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS.
PART II.

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longer than it would of different day, but no
man, unless it was lineman, could have got
there so quick, for being practiced at it, and
ran and I looked up, and when looked up
s-ma'am, went as cold as the ice beneath me.
and then turned from cold TO hot, and then
went from hot to horror, for the sight saw.
Maam, it was him / saw-it was Charley
Scattergood.
It was him atop of that there pole, hanging
senseless eighty foot above my head acrost the
cross-arms It was him l hate-hate-hated
from my soul. 1t was him that sent me on
from mad to murder when thought of him. 1t
was him could have stamped on, or see beneath
an mime, or flung over the ferry-boat and get be-
meath the paddle-wheel 1t WAS him. 1t was
him that took my girl away from me.
Now, I'll have to explain to you. I'll have to
explain to you about that guy. You couldn't
understand the nature of my feelings unless you
understood the situation of that pole and guy.
-there-seea And you've got another con-
necton-there. Maybe you guy over to roof,
or to another row--so
And if your guy breaks, your poles might begin
to 90 the way told You. like row OF nine pins
from the storm. And they've all gone down,
we'll say, like these had, five or six of EN-. in
gale, it blowe6 So and this one, it's made
stand This one stood its ground and there it is,
all them broken wires dangling and grooming in
the ice and wind, and trouble man he's sent up
to guy it over to this roof or to this other pole
tell You Of to make it fast and stop the rest
from going. Maybe he guys it over to a stump
that's what we call broken pole-and he has
the wires to tie, and he has his strap and wise to
join 'em with, and his pliers TO twist em with,
and his spurs upon his legs-and that's all he
has except his pluck and the ice-storm
So see in a minute Charley Scattergood had
been up to guy that pole over, and see it
wasn't done-it wasnt guyed over-when he was
taken with whatever took him. for saw the
pole shook considerable and that the wires hung
fabby and maam, saw another thing. saw
the pole was cracked pole. They are some
times
Now it takes me great while to tell you
these here things because / amt an educated
man, but didn't take me long enough to think
sem-not so long as If you was to say: Charley
Scattergood! If was an educated man could
explain to you the nature of my feelings.
You've got learning yourself. and maybe you
can understand 'em without was to tell EN-
maybe that's what learning does for folks. /
don't know.
But, ma'am, though they didn't take time
they took my mortal lfe-the feelings that
had 1t seemed as if III die of EN- before it all
went through my mind:
"That's him. That's Charley Scattergood
He took your girl away from you. He's miser-
able drinkin' cuss. He'll drop. You amt moth
ing to do with it.
drop before they get here. Nor they wouldn't
60 up. I don't know q Teller or that crew would
20 up It's cracked pole You didn't
do it. 1t amt your work. You didn't hang
Charley Scattergood eighty foot above the
ground, him senseess cross arm You amt
got to do nothing but let him be. It's God
A'mighty's business
Now when got so far as God Almighty it did
Beem as if the feelings that had would kill me-
1t seemed like I'd die before he would. 1t
El-a I'd ha ora in SoamG if
the Last Trumpet. and the Day of Judgment
and the Great White Throne and all them
things read about in the Good Book, you
know, kind of got together in crew and made a
dead set at me. Seems as If they said:
go up! Go up! Go up"
Then It seems as If / answered:
Don't you do it! Stay where you be!'
And then it come:
"Goup Go up"
And then says:
at amt my business It's God A'mighty's."
Aud then:
ut amt God A'mighty's. It's your business.
Go up! Go 1pr
And then it comes to me this way, crash! like
charge Of electricity in a thundershower:
GAS layin' between God Almighty and Charles
s. Scattergood, which is the lineman of them
two2 Him that is the lineman it's his dooty to
climb that pole"
business and obey our orders, and once it was
clear to ME In that minute-for all this only
took time at all to 60 through me-once IL
was plain to me I'd got my order and Id got it
from the Chief-from tother Chief that sends a
seet-storm and blows o gale easy as ours would
set in his Office and send message out acrost a
wire-once understood it was my dooty, say
no more about it. (! set my spurs into that pole
A brave deed you say2 Well, don't know
was all about it. didn't think about it partik-
kellarly. I'd got my orders
So weat up, for it all took quick as could
think 1t. And did the best l could. That's
the pole >-asn't sound. Yes. And he'd taken
my girl away from me. Yes But there wasn't
anything said about that in the order So
went.
Now, it's this way You know what cross
arm is. You've seen 'em on the telephone poles,
and the telegraph. They run acrost the top and
hold the oak pins and the insulators. Each
cross-arm might have ton pins to screw the in
sulators on There may be one or two, there may
be six or more of these crossarms. This pole
it was a tall poll aud in the thick Of business
there might be, maybe eighty to a hundred
wires on such a pole-and it had eight cross
arms, and Charley Scattergood he hung acrost
che highest of 'em ALL the top one doubled over
that way. couldn't help thinking as went
up how like rag doll he looked hanging acrost a
close horse-for it was so high and he looked
small.
struck my spurs in hard, for it was slippery
as death, and from the excitement and from
knowing that the pole wasn't sound. it seemed as
il couldn't make footing, and I thought of
Annie, for loved her, and felt bad to think if
30 we both come crashing down, she'd feel worse
to think it was Charley Scattergood than she
would for'thinking it was me.
But said, for l felt a little giddy and it blew
So as l went up said
annie Annie Hope" just as I've always said,
to keep a steady head.
Heaven bless Der dear name. ma'am, whether
1t steadied me as 1t always had, don't know as
can prove to you, not being an educated man
but felt steadier for saying Of it, and for feel
Ing Of the feeling that made me say it.
"Annie. Dear Annie. Annie Hope'-for the
loving feeling that had to her, and it was like
as if my love turned into nerve, ma'am, while
went up. and turned into firm muscle and into a
cool brain, and into all those things a lineman
needs If he's got deed like that to do to save a
fellow -creetur's life, or maybe give his own.
And it was like as il the love had, turned out