Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-09-30

candy.
81 don't see how she did it, he went
on, meditatiyely, throwing a shovelful
oil coal III at The furnace door. "Some
women is made that way, / suppose.
As soon as we see how things we're 20
ing, and how bad they were likely to
be, that girl kind of set herself to keep
along. She had a mighty gentle way
with her, too. You'd never have
guessed that she was so plucky.
Plucky, By George. never saw any
thing like her pluck"
WAS she pretty?" asked Miss
Vaughn, urged by true feminine
curiosity.
well. don't know ifyou'd a called
her so or not. She was slender built
girl. and her face looked sort of kind
and bright both to me. Her voice was
as soft-well. as soft as a voice can be.
| and 1T kind of sang when she felt
happy. She looked you straight in
the eyes when she spoke. | don't be-
lieve the worst man ever lived could
have told that girl lie il it had been
to save his life. Her hair was brown.
She was different from girls in 3 neral,
somehow"
81 think we must say that she was
pretty" observed Miss Vaughn, with
a smile.
II amt so sure of that. There's
plenty of ladies come over the road
since that l suppose folks would say
was better looking than she was,
but | never see any face quite
like hers. Il was still like a lake,
and you seemed to feel as il there
was depth to it. And the farther
YOU went down the sweeter it got.
She never made any rustling when she
walked. She wasn't that kind
Another pause, which Miss Vaughn
was careful not to break.
81 don't know what them children
would "a done without her." went on
the engineer, as If talking to himself
Then, with sudden energy, al don't
know what any OF US would done
without her The only trouble was
she couldn't be everywhere at once
There was a sick lady in the drawing
room at the end of ono of the Pull
mans. She had weak lungs, and was
going out to California for her health.
Well, the cold and the snow brought
on bemorrhage. That was the sec
ond day alter we was blockaded
There wasn't no doctor on board, and
her husband was mighty scared. He
come through to the front car to find
the conductor, looking as pale as a
ghost.
My wife's a-dyin, said he. Amt
there no medical man on the train?'
And when we said no, he just gave q
groan. Then she must die, he said.
Great heavens why did / bring her
on this fatal Journey
"'Perhaps the youns lady'll have
some remedies, suggested one OF the
porters; for we'd all got into the way
already of turning to the young lady
whenever things were wrong.
"Well, I went for her, and you never
see any one SO level-headed as she
seemed to be. She knew just what
TO do; and she had the right medi-
cine in her bag; and in less than an
hour that poor lady was quite COM
Portable, and her husband the most
relieved man that ever saw. Then
the young lady came along to where
was standing-there wasn't nothing
for me to do, but was waiting, for
didn't know but there might be-
and said she: ''Mr. Scott, am grow
ing anxious about the fuel. Do you
think there is plenty tolast? Suppose
we were to be kept here a week. I"
Now just think of it, not one of us
dumb fools had thought of that. You
see we was expecting to be relieved
from hour to hour, for we had tele-
graphed both ways, and the snow had
stopped by that time, and none OF us
had any notion it was going to be the
Job it was to dig us out. Only the
young lady had the sense to remember
that it might take longer than We were
calculating on.
"Says ], IF we stay here a week, there
won't be O shovelful OF Goals left
for any of the fires, let alone the en-
gine.'
"sThen don't you know says she,
in her soft voice that it would be a
wise plan to get all the passengers to-
cether in one car and keep coed fire
ND there, and let the other stoves go
cut? It's no matter il we are little
crowded, says she.
.sWell, of course, it was the only
u
was put into our heads. We took the
car the sick lady was in, SOS she d not
have to be disturbed, and We made up
beds for the children and somehow all
the passengers managed to pack IN,
train hands and all. 1t was tight
squeeze, but that didn't matter so
much, because the weather was so
awfully cold.
ssThat was the way l come to see
so much of the young lady. hadn't
ANYTHING to keep me about the en-
CINE. so kind OF detailed myself off
to wait on her. She was busy allday
long doing things for the rest. It's
oueer how peoples characters come
ont at such times. We got to know
ali about each other. People stopped
string and ma aiming and beng polite
and lust showed what they were worth.
The selfish ones, and the shirks, and
the towards, and the mean cuses who
wanted to blame some one besides the
Almighty for sending the weather.
there warn't no use for any OF them
to try to hide themselves any more
than it was for the other kind. The
women, as rule, bore up better than
| the men. 1t comes natural, lsuppose,
for woman to be kind OF silent and
pale and patient when she's suffering.
But the young lady wasn't that sort,
either. She was rs bright as button
ali along. You'd suppose from her face
that she was having lust the best kind
of time! -.
II can see her now, standing before
the stove roasting jack-rabbits, Tor
the Others supper. Some oil the gen
tlemen had revolvers, and when the
snow got crusted over SOS they could
walk on it, they used to shoot en-
And we were glad enough of every one
shot. provisions were so scanty;;
The last two days them rabbits and
snow water melted in pail over the
stove was all we had to eat or drink.
II suppose there was nothing Tor
Won to do but to watt" said Miss
..No. ma'anl; there wasn't nothing
at ali for me to do bu. help the young
iadv now and then She let me help
bsr moro than the rest, ] used to
| think. She'd come TO me- and say,
sMr. Scott, this rabbit is foryou and the