Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-09-16
A QUIET LITTLE OLD MAN,
HOW HE EARNED A PASS TO UTICA
AND RODE ~ A PARLOR CAR.

and closely trimm ed mustache, was a pas
senger on the limited Chicago express that
ieit the Grand Central depot at $50 O'Clock
one morning some weeks since over the tracks
oil the New York Central railroad. He was
avery slight man, aud could not have weighed
over 100 pounds. he was modestly dressed
IN ol'le serge, and vore a turn down collar, a
olack grenadinesilk tie and a soft hat There
was an air OF confidence about him that be
tnkened the exper enced traveller, and al
though his features were naturally severe
they frequently relaxed into pleasant smiles
as his reveries turned TO pleasing subjects.
The 800 train Is made up entirely of Wag-
ner drawing room ars, and is about as com.
plete train as even the most luxurious
could desire As there is an extra charge for
tickets ON this train, only the wealthier tray
elers indulge in them Among these aristo-
Gratis the little man looked quite at home,
and none among them appeared more dis
tlnguished and ace cIstomed to the luxurious
surroundings than lie. As the train puffei
out Of the depot he lrew from the depths of
a satchel by his side small black silk skull
cap. With great deliberation he removed
his hat and put 1t on bracket Then he
pulled the cap down on his forehead, took a
newspaper from an inside pocket of his coat,
and settled down in the depths of his chair to
read
The gray haired man leaned back i'm his
chair with closed eyes, and remained In that
attitude for some time after the train had
emerged from the tunnel into the sunshine.
The first stop was made at Albany During
the interim lie had alternately dozed, read
the paper and chiltted with the banker.
When the conductor came around and
punched the tickets he was doing so heavily.
apparently, that the conductor had TO shake
him quite heavily 20 arouse him The old
ladies were quite ino gnant at the conductor.
and vowed that he was really unnecessarily
rough with the nice old gentleman, and
thought that he oug 1t to be reported for his
rudeness
1t certainly did seem as though the con-
ductor rather overdi his duty in this regard
IL was also odd to observe the way the con-
ductor started when he first laid ewes on the
Old man. He seemed to recognize him, and
yet, after the first glance of startled recog-
milton, there was nc indication that he had
ever seen him before except a cold look of
disdain and an evi lent satisfaction in the
way be jostled HIM. As for the old man, he
seemed To pay no attention to the conduct
ors action, except that he was unusually
earnest in the way he studied his newspaper
after the conductor had left him.
To the close observer there were three mat
ters worthy of noticn. In the first place, the
old man was travelling on pass issued from
the main Office OF the company. The conduct
or studied it closely each time that he came
around TO examine the tickets, and appeared
to take malevolent pleasure in making the
old man wait, but tie latter did not seem to
be at ali disturbed by that Secondly, the
old man always looked at his watch in a
guarded way after the conductor had passed
out of the car; and, thirdly, his left hand
seemed to be busily moving in the lower left
hand pocket of his sack coat for some min
utss after be had thus observed the time
Whenever the conductor was in the car the
old man was entirely occupied, 10 all appear
ances, In reading, duzing OF deep conversa-
ton with the banker. The latter, who was
entirely Oblivious, "a were the other passen-
gers, OF the byplay between the conductor
and the old man, wa frequently startled by
the abrupt manner in which the latter
launched out into some discourse on Wall
street When the conductor was not in the
car the old man seemed to be dreamily en-
gagged in studying its interior. He Travelled
as far as Utica, and during this time the CON
ductor must have entered the car a dozen
weary of sitting still left his chair and wan
dered through the train with an air of great
abstraction. After each of these little exer-
cises he resumed his seat and his paper, but
his eyes were not on the latter, and his left
hand was busy in the mysterious pocket
When he got out of the train the conductor
watched him enter the waiting room Of th.-
Utica depot and nodded derisivey to one Of
the brakemen
Two weeks thereafter the old man returned
TO New York on an afternoon train. There
was different conductor this time, one who
certainly did not recognize the passenger,
but the latter conducted himself in the same
peculiar manner as bcfore When he left the
train he carried his Cripsack in his left hand.
and from other indie ations it was apparent
that he was left haI ded man. After he had
walked out into Forty-second street he di-
rected his steps 10 Vanderbilt avenue, and
not long thereafter er tered one of the offices
OF ti'c company II. was shown into an in
ner room, where one If the officials was busy
writing.
"Ah. / see you have returned, Dobson,n
said the official, pleasantly
''Yes, sir, and here is my reportn
As he spoke he tool; from the mysterious
pocket a small pad of paper and a number of
leaves, which had evidently been torn from
it. The leaves were covered with writing
and so was part of The top leaf of the pad
Tha writing consisted of paragraphs like
these:
elS p. M.-Chicago limited going to New York
from Utica Train In gpod condition. Conductor
businesslike aud attentive. No fares were col
lected, all the passengers being provided with
tickets
414 P. M.-Two passengers got on at Albany
...A eu..e L..
wife should cover both their fares. Conductor
refused to accept this aud collected isrs Cor one
Gave slip and punched T. properly.
pla A NJ, July K hicago limited to Utica
from New York. No remarks, except that con
ductor recognized writer and took occasion to
show IT, No money coll scted
80 - spotted you. did he7" asked the
official, smiling
Yes, and made tn ngs rather unpleasant,
too" observed Dobson, with grimace.
How do you man age to write out your
report 50 clearly in your pocketf' asked the
official, studying the 1iny leaves before him.
Ten years OF exp rience as a detective
have made me expert, said Dobson 81 have
"a stub pencil with soft lead, and can feel
my way easily. i know / can write Just so
M, many lines ss to .sp page and can feel when
The official glanced over the report care
fully and put IL aside
Come In again wh,n you want to make
another trip" he said You can have pass
at any time.h
Dobson nodded and withdrew. An hour
later he entered the Office Of the Pinkerton
agency In Temple court.
Have pleasant timer he was asked by
one of the men there.
YES and a cheap one, too. NY travelling
the bargain for reps rting the condition of
the traihs. That's tn, way TO take "a vaca-