The Washington bee., 1891-10-03
A ROMANCE OF THE DESERT.

NFarrt.d His Friend at the Other End Of
the Wire When He Found Be.Wss She.
Telegraph operators frequ .utly make
warm friends with each other with no
other means of communication than the
insensate wire, and more than once
friendships thus made have lasted for
wears without either person having So
much as had a glimpse of the others
features. 1t is not often, however, that
a courtship is carried on under such cir
cumstances, but a pretty little romance
comes from the desert which had for its
seoueI the recent registration at p-omi-
nent hotel of u. ]. Stansbury and wife.
Jackson Springs, Cal" The story is re-
peated by the Los Angeles Herald in the
words of the hero himself.
about a year and half ago, said
he. Il was a railroad agent and telegraph
operator at little station down on the
desert side of Yuma. The station con-
sisted of nothing more than a big water
tank, a shed for myself and another fora
small crew of trackmen. There for
nearly a year put in the lOneliest and
the hottest time that l ever passed in my
life The thermometer had a way Of
monkeying around between 100 and 80
degrees above zero on most days, and
almost my only pleasure was found in
talking over the wires with the operators
at various stations along the line.
Il had never seen the operator at Ban
ming at that time, but he was cheerful,
iolly sort of fellow, and, as time also
hung heavily upon his hands, we passed
MANY a pleasant hour in conversation
over the wires. We had sort Of half
arranged to get a vacation together, and
there was a good deal of joyful anticipa-
tion-on my part at leaSt-of the manner
in which we should pass it. We were to
90 into the mountains and spend two or
three weeks in hunting, fishing, etc. All
of our plans were arranged in those
scorching and lonely days, and we
usually agreed in our ideas Of the Prepar-
ations, although there was occasionally
a little difference in opinion.
Il remember, for instance, that he said
he was going to take along pair of rub
Der boots for trout fishing, while l asked
him: What's the matter with your
taking off your shoes and stockings and
rolling up your pants?' But he said that
he preferred boots. As the time drew
near, however, he for some reason thatI
could not understand backed squarely
out of the enterprise, much to my dis
gust.
Finally, he told me one day that he
was going to New Mexico to pass his va
cation, and we anticipated considerable
pleasure in meeting each other during
the trains brief stop at my station. But
I did not meet him at all, for when the
train that bore him arrived was sick
and unconscious with a burning fever
the result of my long stay under the tor
rid sun.
Into the fever tortured brain there
| sometimes creeps a seIuI-COnsclOUsness OF
the life about it, and so during the days
of my agony was vaguely aware Of
gentle, womanly hands and a kindly
feminine presence in my sick room, and
when / returned to the conscious world
was not SURPRISED to find fair and pleas
ant face beside me. She laid that she
had been upon the train when I was
found stricken down, and had stayed to
minister to my sore need. The idea may
seem preposterous, but believe the fOun-
dation of my affection for my kind at
tendant had been laid while the unCOn-
sciousness of fever was still upon me,
and the affection grew into the deepest
love as she cared for me during the days
Of my convalescence.
After time yentured TO tell her Of
: my love, and to ask her if she would be
mine; but was not prepared for her
answer.
"John,' she said, do you really mean
that you wish to marry girl that insists
Upon wearing rubber boots and will not
roll
Matt / said, for / was completely
beaten. Then it flashed upon me- She
was the operator at Banning, and l. like
a fool, had always taken it for granted
that she was a man.
well, am not going to tell how |
convinced her that I wanted to marry
her, boots and all, but l did it, and, like
Barkis, she was willin',' and here weare
on our wedding journey. The Southern
Pacific has lost an operator, but calcu-
i late that I am ahead on tho deal