Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-05-29
Written for THE EvESISa STAR.
a BRAVE DEED.
Copyright, 1851
PART l.

and begin at the beginning 1 amt used TO
telling things-onIy yarns TO the boys. But /
never sat down by the job, before, and made
head'n tail of what happens to folks
me nor other folks You'll excuse me
ma'an, if i don't get my hand In. I'm
greeny al 1t. IfyOu hadn't asked me to tell
you. wouldn't ha thought of it. When my
wife says TO me: "She wants you to go and set
In her setting-rOom, of an evening and tell her
all about it, I was struck of heap. But I
couldn't back out alter Id got my foot in. So
here be. I'll tell you I'll tell you the best way
know how don't knows care much about
your tellin other folks; but I'm not against it.
haven't only one thing I'd like 10 stipperlate
about that Bamboozle EN- with the given
name. That's all. I'd rather you wouldn' t
use my given name I amt partikkelar on
any other points as 1 know of. I'll leave the
rest TO you. I'm within If you are.
My name is Charles S.-caI it Scattergood;
Charles ;. ScattergoOd- That's good any,
for bamboozling purposes knew man once
named ScattergOod. He was in hogs out to
Chicago; packed pork; he came to q violent end
from mistaking of a bottle OF solfurious acid for
hot scotch; thats the way come To remember
the name.
am a lineman in the Atlantic and Pacific
Telephone company. I've been on the force
six years. IL aiu I an easy life. Any lineman
Will tell yon; Ask EN-. But 1 haven't come to
that yet That isn't the beginning. The begin
You see there was-a girl. The beginning was
about a girl. don't know but that's the be-
ginnin OF bother anyhow you fix it; seems So
don't IL. I can't say. don Z know much about
'em, onlv this one speak about. She was my
girl The boys called her my best girl, but they
hadn't ought to. hadn't any second-best nor
any other girl but just this girl. i amt that
sort i never took To women folks that way.
was kind of shy with en- never cared about
any girl but this We'd been keepin. company
quite awhile. / think it was as much as a year
We warn promised, but l never thought of
anybody else, ma'am. I'm that kind. There
warn't anything in the way but to wait till she
felt like IL, herself. She knew that. She warn t
a 4
skeer her. didD say much 10 her, only TO try
To please her. I liked her. / never liked any.
body SO much in all my lite. 1 couldn't help it.
Her name WAS Annie Can ii Annie-well
call 1t Annie Hope. That's pleasant-soundinG
name. think Hers was pleasant too. I used
to say it over good deal To- myself. while was
to work / used To think IL kept ME from get
ting gtddy sometimes on top OF extry high poles
and crossing roofs, and when 1t was slippery,
and In dom Of dangerous jobs hundreds OF
feet above lsater men that earned their Twin
on the sidewalk II steadied my head. said
II over. as if you was to say: "Annie-Annie
Hope, while was tracing trouble or doing any
dizzy thing.
"You want to know what is tracing troublep
I'll tell you presently. I'll explain myself as I
60 along. but We got TO go my own ways. I'm
Ike amudturtle-hell get there give him time
enough, but he II double ana hedge and 90 like
he was mollycoddled out OF his points of
compass, all the way. m sort of slow, in nv
disposition and set. never could be hurried
There's another one I've got to get in first
want TO be quit OF explaining how he got here
! want TO clear my mind OF Charley Scattergood
before go ahead H wasn't turtle: there
wasn't anything slow about ham; he was differ
ent from me, hed do what he d what he
pleased, anyhow you fixed il quicker a fellow
OF my sort could hnd out he meant to do it,
He was more like tarrier, Charley was You
can understand, ma am, that there was a differ
ence between Us just from that point OF the way
We was called. We had the same name YOU
see-happened TO. III does happen. but il amt
SO likely with the name oi-Scatteryood. But
there we were on the same force. doing the
same jobs. answering to the same orders and
round among tue same folks, they
told us apart, like twins, that way. Charles
b Scattergood, that's me. always. But hin,
they called Charley. Nobody ever called me
Chariey- 1t didn't come natural. Charles s.
that Was me, and Charley, that was him. Folks
knew US apart well as IL we'd been Moses
and Yankee Doodle. He had curly hair for one
thing, and I've noticed when fellow by the
Dame OF Charles has curly hair folks cali him
Shariey. He was n very good-loOking fellow
He was better looking than / be. And he had
way about him, "a roilicking sort of way
business have. 1t comes 'em in good stead 7
Tell you, squirting Up rotten pole after a sieet
storm. The girls all took to Charley Scatter.
good.
Now. there's one thing Inever could see the
sense of; and that's a drunken lineman. saw:
building shaking out crosss 1 don fn drinE.
II amt sense. But Charley he had his spreeS.
nothin' never harmed him either. I've seen
him SO far under couldn't walk Straight to- din
ner, and bed crawl out onto the caves to- unite
twist or fasten guys or any of those jobs and
boys always said Charley Seattergood had luck
Some said it was because he was such a hand
Dck
now, ma am. his making up to my giri-that
comes next I've got 10 tell you about that or
you wouldn't understand the story. When
nrst see him maxim up to her says: That's
Charley Scattergoods luck But didn't be-
heve he'd get her, somcways. / couldn't
Sned Kept company with me- thought ii was
one OF her little ways-Ior she was full of EN-.
she wasn't like me; she had the mischief in
her, Annie had: she was always up TO some
thing and she liked a new man to find ont
what a pretty girl she was-there most gener-
ally was one was used 10 it / put up with it
<xrFst
made difference between me and them And
i saws TO myself: .'She is pretty, She ID
ought to nave her little ways. I'm different
mona sue Is I'm slow and set. And then L
amt a handsome fellow. L must be patient
with Annie.
/ was pretty patient, take it all. 1 guess. for I
never riled her. nor upset her mind by Jealous
Ness and nagsed her ! says myself: ..She
don love you hard enough, Charles :. Scatter
good for you 10 leave her. Wat. Be patient
with her. shes SO pretty, Let her have her
NAYS Nay, out ,, ana f You keep sii You just wait
I'd like to tell you what she looked like them
DAYS Ii knew how She wasn't like the other
s!rls- she had lots OF pluck. She had a queer
little way with her-a sort OF mannish way
she WASH manniSh, no; Bit. / don't like
Una, mat SiHd; II was only sort OF trick of hers,
Ike chiidrens tricks when they play at being
sonethlns. II kind of tickled her To play al ~
tGouSht. she cHt her hair snort, but /, was
clIiy mar OF u yellow color, very Hight; aud IL
Wr1nkied ali over her mead like "A little girls
she Couldn't look like fellow To save her
o0me OF EN- can. don Z like that sort Annie
never could. she wore "a little linen collar
sometimes, Choking up her pretty threat with a
stiu necktie, but her throat was So soft il made
You laugh 10 see II. Then she had a
notion one time OF running her hands into
Aer sack pockets, and shed put her arm
over u sOIa-that way. Bat you'd have
laughed-It was so round: she couldn't SQUARE
on al tue elbow TO save her. Sine had a diInnIe
tool liked that. And she had the biggest o Yes
you ever see; blue eyes. She was always laugh
Ing, Annie Was. And wRen saw her put ON
thOse little ways, those mans ways tell YOU
o, didn't scOid her. Mebbe I'd ought To. but
Couldn't Tor II amused me. ! used to think
o wnen played house up country when was
little shaver with some other young one and
II she was "a girl yOuug-One maybe she say:
=" II take turns TH play husband this time:''
AS IL Annie was up 10 some such game. There
wash mucn man In my glri. No.
. Nor she wasn't that way much to me- I'd
folks She was different with me- That was
what liked about il. She'd treat them other
men as II she Was another fellow. But she kept
company Win me-. She kept company with
HE like she I, girl.
Now the time speak OF was this time II
Was IN winter. come January, two wears
ago. III had been a very cold winter IL you re-
member III wasn't a lineman's winter YOU
better believe. IL come hard on us Hut il
about that when get to II. We'd had a great
oetI OF snow, aud blow Tbered been a power
oil sieet They Kept me pretty busy.
Mayo IL was along of being buster than usual
enu Oh not seeing her quite regular that
annie ana nm made up SO TAR. thought so
siterwards Girls like bein' remembered of
AOru KNOWS never forgot her-used to wish
could But There 5 one thing I've noticed about
girls. They want To be told things-they,re
Ihs-T. -, -