Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-06-01
RI II.

lineman, could have got there so quick for
being practiced at it, and | ran and ]
looked up and when looked up-ma'am,
l 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.
Ma'am, it was him saw it was Char
aey Scattergood.
1t was him atop of that there pole, hang
ing senseless eighty foot above my head,
.acrost the cross-arms. 1t was him hate
--hate-hated from my soul. 1t was him
shat sent me on from mad to murder when
| thought of him. 1t was him could
have stamped on or see beneath an injne
or flung over the ferry-boat and get be
meath the paddlewheel. 1t WAS him. 1t
was him that took my girl away from
me.
Now III 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 situa-
ton of that pole and guy
You see it's this way. You've got II
line of poles-there-see And you've got
another connectiOn-there. Maybe you
guy over to a roof or to another row-so.
And if your guy breaks, your poles
might begin to go the way | told you, like
a row of nine pins from the storm. And
they've all gone down, we'll say, like
these had five or six of 'em, in the gale, it
bowed 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 Il trou-
BILE man he's sent pto 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 Il broken pole-and he has
the wires to tie, and he has his strap-and-
vice to join 'em with and his pliers to
twist 'em with, and his spurs upon his
lees-and that's all he has except his
pluck and the Ce-StOrm.
So see in Il minute Charley Scattergood
had been up to guy that pole over, and |
see it wasn't dOue-it wasn't guyed over
when he was taken with whatever took
him, for saw the pole shook considerable
and that the wires hung ilabby and,
ma'am, 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
adllca. ed man, but 1t didn't take me long
enough to think 'em-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 'em
maybe that's what learning does for
folks. ! don't know.
But, ma am, though they didn't take time
they took my mortal life-the feelings
that ! had. 1t seemed as if I'd die OF 'em
before it all went through my mind
That's him. That's Charley Scatter
good. He took your girl away from you.
al. Il, ut,
drop. You amt nothing to doWith il.
Those other linemen are too far OFF. He'll
drop before they get here. Nor they
wouldn't go up. don't know Teller on
that crew would 90 up. It's Il cracked pole
You didn't do it. 1t amt your
good eighty foot above the ground. him
senseless ON a cross arm. lOu amt got
30 do nothing but let him be. It's rod A.
mighty's business"
Now when | got SO far as God A.
mighty, ii did seem as if the feelings that
die before he would. 1t seemed like I'd
be tore in twenty. Seems as if the Last
Trumpet and the Day of Judgment and
the Great White Throne. and all them
things we read about in the Good Book, |
you know, kind Of got together in crew
they said
Then it seems as if answered
Don't you do it Stay where you be ~
And then ii come:
"Goupl Coup
And then / says:
at amt my business It's God A.
mighty's."
And then:
at amt God A'mighty's. It's your bus
ness. Go up Go up
And then it comes to me this way,
crash! like charge of electricity in "a thun-
der-shoWer
"As ldyin bctlCeen God A 'mighty alld
Charles s. ScdttGrgOOd, rhich is the line.
man Of them ttCO? Him that Isl the Tine
man it's his dOOty to climb that pOlc."
Ma'am, we're taught to do our dooty in
our business and obey our orders and once
il was clear to me in that minute-for all
this only took no time at all to 90 through
me-once il was plain to me I'd got my
order and I'd got it from the Chief-trom
tother Chief that sends "A sleet-sto and
blows gale easy as ours would set in his
office and send message out acrost a
Wire-Once ! underst God it WAS nv doOtV
= 9eY no more about 1t. | set my spurs
Int that pole and | went up.
A BRAY e deed you say Well. | don't
know. 1T didn't strike me so. 1t was my
doOty. That was all about it, ! didn't
think about it pertlkkellarly. I'd got my
orders
So | weat up, for it all took quick as
could think 1t. And did the best
could. That's all. 1t was pretty slippery
Yes. And knew the pole wasn'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 i
cross arm is. You've seen 'em on the tele-
phone poles, and the telegraph. They run
arrost the top ana hold the oak pins and
the insulators. Each cross arm might
have ten pins to screw the insulators on.
There may be one or two, there may be
ak or more of these cross arms. This pole
it was tall pole and in the thick OF bust
ness-there might he maybe eighty to a
hundred wires on such a pOle-and 1t mad
eight cross-arms, and Charley Scattergood
he hung acrOst the highest of 'em all, the
top one, doubled Over-that way.
couldn't help thinking az / went up how
like rag doll he looked hanging acrost Il
a close horse-for it was so high and he
Looked small.
stuck my spurs in hard for it was slip
perry as death and from the excitement and
from knowing that the pole wasn't sound
1t seemed AS if | couldn't make footing,