The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-10-10
Seletteo Storp.
No Thieves in the Tar BucLet.*


had staunch, manly air, as he stood
by the door of their little tenement at
the railroad terminus, holding his lam
tern and tin lunch pail.
"Live at your best, John; that is the
only way in which you can have an in
fluence over the others. Set yourself
like rock against everything like dis
honesty"
{" tell you l have always done so,
Mary, but it looks now as if had got
to wink at this thing or lose my job.
The new conductor suspects that | am
true blue for the company, and he will
have me turned off before | know it.
If had only myself to care for l would
let the job go, but"
"Let the job 90 as it is, if it comes
to that" put in the wife quickly. 81
didn't marry you for thief, and rob-
bling the company is no better than any
other kind of robbery, however the
men may excuse it on the ground of
low wages and corporations having no
souls. You have a soul and you have
a family. | would starve and allow the
children to do the same before would
put upon my table food stolen from the
train, and if you allow your fellow
workmen to do this without a protest
from you, the Lord will not hold you
bameless. There is the whistle to No.
S, goodbye" and with kiss the earn
est-faced wife sent her husband out
into the night with the parting injunc-
ton Remember, there has never been
any stealing of freight on the Knone-
luck branch, and you hold the honor of
the road in your Keeping"
A brakeman on a night freight
with the honor of this wealthy road in
my keeping" he said scornfully to
himself, as by the light of the lantern
he made his way across the labyrinth of
switch-tracks and swung himself up on
the little, black, smoky caboose of No.
s, called by the boys the tar-bucket, it
had been so long without painting.
He disposed of his lunch-pail mended
the fire, and examined the lanterns to
see if they were all right, although
none of these details were in his line of
duty
eff that red light should 90 out on
our hands, the honor of the road would
90 to smash by the time we met the
local at White Feather BRIDGE" he
said to himself as he proceeded to adj
just the wick-and added in an impa-
tient tone to the tall, slim young fell
low who came slouching in at the door
Pretty shiftless housekeeping, this
young man; l have trimmed your Ian
terms for you now right along ever
since this accursed plot has been a
brewing-and | tell you, Joe Griggs
my mind is made up. | am going to
break up the scheme as far as this
branch is concerned"
you can't do it," whined the young
fellow, " it has gone too far. You've
no idea what lot of the boys have
been coaxed into it, and made to be.
lieve it's no harm, or it's just for q
frolic, or it serves the company right
1t all came through hiring that new
conductor from off the Pan Handle, ,
groaned John Nye. g He's cookbook.
ing and carries brass enough in hi:
face to make an alarm bell and a tongue
that would make good clapper. Some
of the boys think it is good enough fol
the company if they will keep putting
. up fellows from outside over their old
faithful men instead of promoting some
one-if we report him he will sweal
out case of persecution and say it is
all on account of jealousy" " Well
if worse comes to worse, shall ask fO'
a bill of my time. l will not stay here
and wink at the operation of gang o
thieves"
:" You are the first one to raise {
kick, - said Griggs. " have wondered
all the while why you did not. Yol
are older than some of the rest of us
and have been on the road longer
You are a family man, you don't drink
and the boys look up to you. don
. like the look of the thing myself, but
am only tail brakeman"
You are mani" roared John Nye
with strength that astonished him
f. self, and so are you, and YOU" as tn
two other brakemen entered the cos
little car. NOW, while l have tn
opportunity, | want to say, l shall hav
nothing to do with robbing that poultr
car that is coming down tonight. |
| can't have green goose without steal
ing it, will eat dry Goldfish. If we ar
only workmen on a night freight, W
have a duty to ourselves and our fam
lilies, and it is our privilege to make tn
best of ourselves" Involuntarly h.
went on, repeating his wife's words
There's never been any thieving OIL
the branch, and while we are here W
have the honor of the road in our keep
ing"
am glad to hear you come out S.
strong" said Jim Corning. Z" hav
thought it strange, your keeping s.
quiet, and Pm with you. wouldn'
like to have my good mother back Eas
= hear that her boy had turned into
thief as soon as he got out of her reach.
reckon we can none of us get on
of the reach of our mothers prayers,
put in Bob WEIGH. /" | have beef
thinking that ever since this ney
man came whispering and insinuatin
around, but l didn't like to be the frs
to come out against him, and | suppOs
a good many of the boys feel the sam
way They sort of fell in with it, som
of them, because they feel ugly towar'
the company for setting up this ney
man"
Histl" said John Nye, "here h
comes. Remember every man of yo
is to say to every other man he meet
on the road tonight, no thieves in tn
tar hucket ,