The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-30
IPFiassd oy Special Arrangement Copyrighted 1885,
A BRAVE DEED.
BY ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS.
PART /.

am trouble man. That's what they cali IL
IN by business.
But first let me tell you. ought to 60 back
and begin at the beginning. / amt used to tell
ing things-only yarns to the boys But never
set down by the job before. and made head'n
tail of what happened to folks-me nor other
folks. You'll excuse me. maam, if L don't get
my hand in. I'm greeny at it. II you hadn't
asked me to tell you 1 wouldn' 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 couldn't back out after I'd got my foot
In So here l be- I'll tell you. TIL tell you
best way know how. 1 don't knows I care
much about your telin' other folks; but I'm not
against it. haven't only one thing I'd like to
stipperlate about that Bamboozle 'em with the
given name. That's all. I'd rather you wouldn't
uEe my given name. I amt partikkelar on any
other point as 1 know Of. I'll leave the rest to
you. Pm willin, if you are.
My name is Charles S-call it Scattergood;
call it Charles S. Scattsrgood. That's as good
as any, for bamboozling purposes. I knew a
man once named Scattergood. He was in hogs,
out to Chicago; packed pork; he come TO a VOL
ent end from mistaking of bottle of solfurious
acid for hot scotch that's the way come to
remember the name.
I am lineman in the Atlantic & Pacific Tele-
phone Company I've been on the force elk
years It amt an easy life. Any lineman will
tell you. Ask 'em. But I haven't come to that
yet. That isn't the beginning. The beginning
is-no; let me think.
You see there was-a girl The beginning was
about girl don't know but that's the begin
min of bother anyhow you fix it; seems so don't
it9 / can't say. l don't know much about EN-,
only 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
ether girl but just this girl. / 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 keeping company
quite while / think it was as much year.
We warn't promised but 1 never thought
of ANYBODY else, maam. Pm that kind. There
warn't anything in the way but to wait till she
felt like it herself. She knew that She warnt
In hurry to be married. I didn't want to
skeer her. I didn't say much to her, only to try
to please her. liked her. / never liked any
body SO much in all my life couldn't help it.
Her name was Annie. Call it Annie-well,
call it Annie Hope. That's pleasant sounding
name, think. Hers was pleasant. too. used
TO say it over good deal to myself, while was
80 work. used to think it kept me from get
ting giddy sometimes on top of extry high poles
and crossing roofs, and when it was slippery,
and in dom of dangerous jobs, hundreds OF feet
above safer men that earned their Twin on the
sidewalk. It steaded my head. I said 1t 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 trouble!
I'll tell you presently. III explain myself as
20 along, but I've got to go my own ways. Pm
ike p mud turtle-he1l get there, give himitime
enough, but he'll double and hedge and go like
he was mollycoddled out of his points Of
compass, all the way. I'm sort of slow in
my disposition, and set. / never could be hur-
ried.
There's another one I've got to get in first
I want to be quit of explaining how he got here
want to clear my mind of Charley Scattergood
before / 60 ahead. He wasn't turtle; there
wasn't anything slow about him; he was differ
pleased, anyhow you fixed it, quickern fellow
Of my sort could find out he meant to do 1t.
He was more like tarrier, Charley was. You
can understand, ma'am that there was a diff
ference between Us just from that point of the
way we was called. We had the same
name, you see-happened to- 1t does hap
pen, but it amt 30 likely with
the name of-Scattergood. But there we were
on the same force, doing the same jobs, answer
ing to the same orders, and round among the
same folks so they told US apart like twins. that
way. Charles S. Scattergood, that's me, always;
but him they called Charley. Nobody ever
called me Charley. 1t didn't come natural.
Charles S., that was me; and Charley, that was
him. Folks knew us apart as we'll as II we'd
been Moses and Yankee Doodle. He had curly
hair, for one thing; and I've noticed when fell
low by the name of Charles has curly hair folks
call him Charley He was very good looking
fellow. He was better looking than be-. And
he had way about him, rollicking sort OF way,
for he'd been sailor; a good many OF our bust
ness have 1t comes EN- in good stead, tell
you squirting up a rotten pole after sleet storm.
The girls ali took to Charley Scattergood.
Now, there's one thing | never could see the
sense of and that's drunken lineman l say:
Suppose you're on the roof of a seven-story
building shaking out a cross9 don't drink. 1t
amt sense. But Charley he had his sprees;
nothin' ever harmed him either. I've seen him
so far under couldn't walk straight to dinner,
and he'd crawl out onto the caves to unite twist
or fasten guys or any Of those jobs ana not so
much as topple. 1t was his luck. The boys al
ways said Charley Scattergood had luck. Some
said il was because lie was such handsome fell
low. But some said it was drnk-luck
Now. ma'am, his making up to my girl-that
somes next I've got TO tell you about that or
you wouldn't understand the story. When first
ley Scattercood's iuck.' But I didn't believe
he'd get her. someways. / couldn'r. Shed
kept company with / thought it was
one OF her little ways-for she was full of
en-: she wasn't like me- she had the mischief In
her Annie had; she was always up to something;
and abe liked new man to find out what a
pretty girl she was-there most generally was
i x;sA L. L..