The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-10-30

linen no talks it over with his intI-
niate III ends, all of whom are capitalists,
ana N wing interested them in tho prof.
cot' ne comes down to tho landing and
SUI IS things up. His arrival never fails
&c, make talk. When he drives up in
shc stage, imaginative people fancy that
they hear locomotive whistles blowing
back in the woods.
Then Blake (who is familiarly called
S'Arth" because his front name is Ar
thur, throws out 4 few hints about tho
railroad, including the mention of vast
sums of money, and thus acquires an
Importance III the eyes of the people,
which seems to mako him feel good. l
can't find that no has any other object
in his railroad talk.
Garth" turned up again last August
while l was at the Landing. and hc
made tho wheels of "the Kccrs" rumble
louder than ever before in the ears of
the Inhabitants. He had brought little
maps of Maine, whereon Stubs Land
ing and its harbor, and the adjacent ter
ritory occupied a space proportionally
far greater than nature has allotted.
Also the namo OF Stubs Landing was
printed in largo letters, while Portland
and Bangor were geographically out of
the race. Tho map further showed how
easy it would be for tho Canadian Pacific
to locate its principal seaport at tho
Landing. There was a picture of an
ocean steamer sailing out of the harbor,
which was palpablya very natural thing
for an ocean steamer to do. as quickly as
possible, if she over sailed into it.
These maps made quito nuttcr,
which grew TO Il real sensation when it
was learned that "Arth" had asked tho
landlord of tho little hotel To be ready
ut twenty-four hours notice to serve Il
dinner to four capitalists. and afterwards
provide them with private room for
session with plugged keyholes.
heard all about this from the barber
lie was so interested in the subject that
he drew n map of the proposed road on
my lathcrcd facc with his thumb nail.
and while 1 was finding out that he
wasn't using his razor for that purpose
l worked up quito an interest too.
Afterwards l asked him to shave mo
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 moro and moro that it
would come, and come soon, and that he
would be run over by a freight train of
seventeen cars, and thus get some idea
of how it feels to be shaved by man
who doesn't know his business.
Il tell We, it would be goldarned handy
to have 4 railroad here" said the barber.
II want to go somc'rs most every year,
and l 'spoSe there's others t feels the
same way. Yo can't stay alters in n
little place like this, an it amt handy
10 take the stage or go crost the bay
in a bot 'Arth told me Yesterday,
kind O. confidential, but I guess faint no
harm tcllin' you, that there was only
two questions to be decided now. One
was whether the road could be built for
S25, 900 n mile, and the other was whcth-
er they'd put an $4,000 bridge across
the Penobscot river"
The railroad had not made its appear
ancc when l left. SO took the stage and
eventually reached place which had
some communication with the outside
world. The driver talked railroad into
my ear all tho way. He said that it
would be the "ruination" of the place.
l told him thaG l didn't believe it over
would.
All over the country there are men
who have got out into the living world
from such places IA Stubs Landing.
They can not wholly sever the tics of
sentiment which bind them to their
birthplace, and they watch tho advance
of is ruin with real sorrow. But if any
son of them knows what to do
to check it. I am not he.
HOWARD FIELDING.