The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-11-05
THE ROANOKE TIMES WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, Iseo

Then he talks it over with his inA.
mate friends, all of whom are capitalists,
and having interested them in the prof.
cot, he comes down to tho landing and
stirs things up. His arrival never fails
to make talk. When no drives up in
the stage, imaginative people fancy that
they hear locomotive whistles blowing
back in Tho woods.
Then Blake (who is Familiarity called
Garth" because his front namo is Ar
thur, throws out few hints about tho
railroad, including the mention of vasS
sums of money, and thus acquires an
Importance in the eyes of tho people,
which seems to mako him feel good. l
can't find that he has any other object
in his railroad talk.
earth" turned up again last August
while was ut tho Landing. and no
made the wheels of "the keerS" rumble
louder than ever before in tho ears Of
tho inhabitants. He had brought little
maps of Maine, whereon Stubs Land
ing and its harbor, and tho adjacent ter
ritory occupied q space proportionallY
far greater than nature has allotted.
Also the namo Of Stubs Landing was
printed in large letters, whilo Portland
and Bangor were TYPOGRAPHICAL out of
the race. The map further slowed how
easy it would be for tho Can adian Pacific
to locate it's principal Seaport ut the
Landing. There was q picture OF an
ocean steamer sailing out of the harbor,
which was palpablJa very natural thing
for all ocean stea mer to do, US quickly as
possible, if She. ever sailed into it.
1'haSp H.tt
which grew to real sensation when it
was learned that "Arth'' had asked the
landlord OF tho little hotel to be ready
at twor.ty-four hours notice to serve Il
dinner to four capitalists, and afterwards
| provide them with n private room for u
| session with plugged kcyholcs.
| heard all about this from the barber.
| He was so interested in tho subject that
he drew map of tho proposed road on
my lathered face with his thumb nail,
and while I was finding ont that he
wasn't using his razor for that purpose
| l worked up quito an interest too.
Afterwards l asked him TO shave me
with that thumb nail instead Of with his
razor, because / thought it was sharper
But he hacked away just the same,
talking about the railroad all the time:
and grew to wish more and more that it
would come, and come soon, and that ho
would be run over by freight train of
seventeen cars, and thus get somo idoa
OF how it feels to be shaved by man
who doesn't know his business.
II tell We, itwould be goldarned handy
to have railroad here" said the barber
81 want to go some'rs most every year,
and 'spose there's others It feels tho
Same way. Yo can't stay alters in a
little place like this, an it amt handy
TO take tho stage or go 'crost the bay
in bot. 'Arth' told me yesterday,
kind O. confidential, but guess faint no
harm tellin' you, that there was only
two questions to be decided now One
was whether the road could be built for
SO, 900 a mile, and the other was wheth-
er they'd put an $4,000 bridge across
the Penobscot river"
| The railroad had not made its appear-
ance when left. so took the stage and
| eventually reached place which had
| some communication with the outside
world The driver talked railroad into
my car all the way. He said that it
would be the ''ruination' of the place.
l told him that I didn't believe it ever
| would.
All over the country there are men
who have got out into the living world
| from such places as Stubs Landino
They can not wholly sever the ties of
sentiment which bind them to their
birthplace, and they watch tho advance
of its ruin with real sorrow. But if any
mothers son of them knows what to do
| TO check it., | am not he.
HOWARD FIELDING.