Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-06-05
Written Tor TINE EVENING srAR
A BRAVE DEED.
AsToRY BY ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS
Copyright. 1881

made short work ot IT. pushing everybody
oy, Tor ran. and IL slippery, and 1t took
me longer than IL would OF different day, hui
NO man unless IL was a Iineruan could have
got There So quick tor being practiced at IT. and
ran and looked up and when looked up
ma am, went cold the ice beneath me
ana then turned from cold tai hot, and then
went from hot to horror for the sigh, saw.
Maam, 1t was bin i saw-it was Charley
Scattersood.
Ii was him atop of that there pole, hanging
senseiess eighty foot above my bead, acrost the
oross-arms- IL was him ! hate-hate- ted
rom my soul. IL was him that sent me on
from mad to murder when thought of him. II
was him could have STAN ped on or see beneath
N inJine or fuus over the frrry-boat and get
beneath the paddie-wIieel. II WAS him. IL WAS
MIN thut took my girl away from me.
Now III have To explain To you. I'll have Ia
explain To- you about that guy. You coudn' I
Understand the nature III my feelings unless
You understood the situation OF that pole aud
guy.
You see it's this way. You've got a lire OF
poies-there-see? And you we got anot er con-
nection-tnere Maybe you guy over 10 ROOT
or TO another rOw-so.
And ~ your guy breaks, your poles might DE-
gin 10 ~ the way Ioid you like a row nj nine
down. we'll say, like these had, rive OF six of
EN-, Ia the gale, IL olOwed sd, and this one, it's
there u Is, ali Them broken wires dangling and
eruantug Ia the Ice and wind, and a trouble
man hes sent up To guy itover To this roof or to
THIS other pole tell on OF, To make 1T fast and
stop the rest from going. May be he guys IL over
70 d stump-thaI's what We call "a brUkeu pole
and he has the wires to tie aua he i..s his strap
eod-vice To Join em with and his ~ iers 10 twist
EN- with, and his spurs upon his legs-und
that's all lie LAS except Ills pluck aud The Ice
storm.
So see In a minute Charley Scattergood had
been up Ia gny thai pole over ANU see IL wasn't
taken with sr took n,n. sur sns T sns
pole shook consider bic aud that the
wires hung nabby, and ma'au, ! saw another
thing. saw the pole WAS - cracked pole. They
are sometimes.
Nov 1t takes me q great while to tell you
these ne Things because 1 Amt AL educ aLed
man, but IL didu'l take me long enough t.
LINK ... s.n-not SO lonE ~ y You Was 10 say;
man could explain 10 you the nature vi my
feelings. You've got learning yourself anu
maybe you can understand 'eIn Without was
To Tell em.niaybe that's what learning dues
for ioiks. don't know.
But na'am, though they didn't take time
they took my Mortal life-the feeling, that l
had IL seemed ii Ia die oI EN- oeiore IL all
Went through my mind:
That's him. That . Charley Scattergood. He
bIs 5osi si, c,.s rH . you a,, s;n ,nsra
Ing ~ 40 Wi Tia a..
Those other linemsn are too far on He'll
go up. Idont know ,eIer on that crew wouid
go up. Its cracked pule. You didn't
do IT, IL Amt your work. You didn't hang
Charley sssttersood eighty feet above the
ground, him senselcss I'll a cross-arm. You
ain't got to do nothing but let him be. Its God
Na uhsn ! snt ., for q. 10, .,,,,,,,,, :,
did seem as II the feelings that had would kill
me. IL seemed ike I'd die before he would.
i,,ss 's., $500, oe ,o,e ~ 'wenty; Seei,s ~
and me Great White Throue, and ali them
sas ,' iea .. aoo Ut ~ ING uooa DooA, you
dead set al me. Seems as ii they said:
..Go up. Go up. Go up."
Then IL seems as II answered.:
u III STAY Wh0r0 Won bel
Anu theh IL come:
10 up! Go up.
''It Amt my business Its God A'mightys"
Anu theh:
Go MA am ,io G %%I AmishtyA It's your business
Anu ihsn IL COMES 10 me this way, crash! like
acDargs of electricity in a thunder shower:
As iayia' betWeen God 4 mighty ane Charies
Scaiergood, Uhtch /, the ts.eDsa,. " then. ttcos
En-" usdf v Les h"e"sas a. his dOoty to climb that
pole
Ma am, we're taught to do our dooty In our
business and oLsy our orders. and once il was
Clear 10 me in that minute-for ALL this only
TOOK no time at all To 90 through me-once #
was plain Ia me d got my order and I'd got il
Rom The Chief-from toiher Chief that sends "A
sieet storm and blows gale easy ours would
sci III MS Office aud send = message out acrost
awire-once l understood IL WAS my doOty,
say NO more about II. set my spurs into that
pole and went up.
A brave deed, you say. Well, 1 don't know
II didn strike NE 80. IL was my dooty. That
was all about ~ didn't think about il pertik-
so / went up, for IL all t,uk quick a. / could
think it Aud did the best could That'sau
II WAS pretty slippery. Yes And I knew the
pole wasn't sound. Yes. And he'd taken INV
girl away me. Yes. But there WASN'T
any thing said about that In the order so
went
Now its this way. You know what a Cross
arm Is You've seem em on the Telephone
poles and the telegraph. They run acro.t the
top aud hold the oak pins and the insulAtors
Zach crOs~-arm IN xht have ten pins In screw
the insulator. on. there may te one or Two two.
there may be six or more OF these crsSs-rms
This pole, ii Was a tail pole and In the Thick of
business-there might be maybe eighty to "A
hundred wires such pole-and IL had eight
cross-arms, and Charley ScatteryoOd he him
acrosl the bi hest OF em ALL the tssp one doubIs3
over-shat way. couldn't help thinkins .s I
went w how ike u rag doll he iuoxe ed han.iny
acrost u cIose-horse-ior 1t was SO high and he
looked small.
stuck my spurs In hard for Ii was sIipperv a.
death, and from the excitement and from
knowing that the pole wasn't sound il seemed
a. II / couldn't make q footing. and thou IN
of Annie, tor loved her aud Ielt bad 10 IIIink
II SO we both come crashing down she'd feel
wore to think IL MAS Charley Scaitergood than
she would Tor thinking III WAS me.
But said, for ieil \ little giddy ana A. blev,
so, | went up said:
.~Annie, Annie Hope" lust an I've ALWAYS
said To keep "a steady head.
Heaven bless her dear name ma am wbethor
il steadlsd me IL always had DOH, kno,y
as prove to you, not being an educaIed
man-but felt stsadier for saying of H. aud
Tor feeling Of the ieeling that made ME .av In
"Annie. Dear ANNE. Annie Hope.-.or The
loving ieeilny that had 10 her, and IL like