Mower County transcript., 1889-07-24

lightenea by this narrative.
Joe has run a locomotive over the g. q u.
ever since the road was built, twenty years
ago. He now pulls the fastest and most
important mail and passenger trains, and
his namo heads the list on the engineers
payroll. He has always been known and
recognized as a skillful mechanic, faith
full, steady and reliable man, with nerves of
steel and eyes like an eagles; he has, from
the first, attended diligently to his duties,
seldom lost time on his run-and has always
been respectfulto to his superiors, corteous to
his equals and kind to his subordinates.
And yet during all those twenty years,
the c. & O. "boys" felt that Joe Burdett
had never been really ore Of themselves,
and We're constrained to confess that
they knew very little about him.
But there aUoS q little romance connected
with Engineer Burdett, and a good deal of
sentiment has woven itself into his life's
history.
Before Joe went to the G. & O., he was
a promising young knight of the throttle in
the service of railroad company whose
line ran eastward from Chicago. He was a
very young man-not yet twenty-four-and
with all the depth and intensity Of quiet,
earnest nature he loved (even more than he
loved his profession) q fair, sweet girl.
And when pretty Anna Redman showed q
preference for, and finally married the
handsome but "ne'e--do-Well' Dick Pender,
Joe Burdett loved her not one whit the less.
He was bitterly and sorely disappointed
himself, and he was, in a manly way, gen.
timely and honestly sorry for the girl; for
he could not bsS think that Dick Pender
would deteriorate instead of improve. But
Joe said never q word to Anna Or to Pender
or to any one else; only ho resolvednot tc
lose sight Of the one woman who might have
made him supremcly happy.
Too soon Joe Bsrdett's expec tations in re-.
gard to Dick Pender proved true. A little
chad, a girl, was born to Anna; but instead
of awakening feelings of fatherly and hu S.
bandly pride in Pender, the advent of the
little one seemed to start the thoughtless
and unprinciplcd young man on headlong
career to the ''the dogs" It almost broke
Joe Burdett's heart (for he had a large,
tender heart under his greasy blue blouse)
as he perceived that things were going from
bad to worse with the Penders; and the
consciousness that he could not proffer any
practical assistance to poor Anna only made
it all the harder for him to bear. At last
the worst came. The once beautiful and
light hearted girl died, aud (more's the
PITY died of starvation and neglect.
Burdett did not learn the fate of his old
love until she had been several days in her
grave, and when he set about to discover
the shameless father and his luckless babe,
both had disappeared-no one knew whith-
er. Joe looked up shrewd private de-
tective, to whom he took two hundred dol
lars of his savings, which he thrust into
the hands of the professional solver of
many social riddles. To the detective Bur-
dett told his story. 'Ffnd the babe," said
he, land obtain her fathers consent to let
me keep her, and will give you two hun
dred dollars more.''
But neither money or skill were of any
avail, and gradually Joe Burdett gave up
all hopes.of adopting Anna Redman's baby
girl.
Six years passed away, and on a pleasant
day in summer Engineer Burdett, enjoying
''lay-off," strolled through the busy
streets of the great Western metropolis.
AS he sauntered along be came upon the
entrance to the central police station and,
prompted by mere curiosity, entered the
courtroom. The court was at that moment
considering the disposition Of a little waif,
brought in from one of Chicago's bustling
highways by burly police officer. The