Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-06-03


would seize upon him, the dreaded "black
list" would display all its terrors to his
minds eye and the pencil would fall from
his palsied grasp.
Thus inwardly prey to warning emo
tons, the boss became more taciturn,
gloomy and hopelessly misanthropic from
day to day. Mrs O'Donoghue sought sol
ace in the bottle and found it perhaps, but
the men found burned bread and raw
corned beef in their dinner buckets and
were respondent.
Such was the condition of affairs on sec.
ton 10 when one Friday evening, after
lighting his pipe, O'Donoghue sailed out
to ponder upon the one absorbing ques-
ton of his life-how to get rid of Daniel
Ryan.
In his hours of trial he had always de-
rived relief and inspiration from the con-
temptation of his pigs. With his pipe in
his mouth and his chin resting upon the
top board of the fence he would sometimes
pass whole hours absorbed in meditations
of seemingly the profoundest character. 1t
was toward the pig pen therefore, he now
directed his steps
AS he approached he noticed the bucket
in which Mary Ann was accustomed to
carry feed to the porkers beside the fence
and detected the sound of low but earnest
voices coming from the other side of the
pen. Sunday marnin thin at the tool
house an airly afore the fog raises" 1t was
the voice of Dan Ryan.
ODonoghue grew livid. What did this
mean? What could it mean but shame
and sorrow to him and hisS
Without waiting to hear more he strobe
quickly around the corner of the pen and
! INF tnI ha ~ 81.
hot O'Donoghue blood that had coursed
through the veins of unnumbered ances-
tors, wielders of scepters, shillallahs and
shovels, raised to IA temperature approach
ing the boiling point.
All fear of consequences was now cast to
the winds.
do yez come into the house an git yer
time" he sad in terrible voice to Ryan,
while the frightened Mary Ann sought
safety in flight.
"Wud it be presoomin Mr.. O'Donoghue, :"
inquired Ryan few minutes later, as the
boss laboriously filled out a time check
"wud it be presoomn if | was to ak We
why I'm fired this suddint loike?"
at wud," replied the boss laconically.
"An can | git bite O. brickfast in the
marnin, Mr.. O'DonoghueS"
yell get no bite ner sup in this house."
said the implacable O'Donoghue. "Do yez
pack yer buds an git. I'll have none av
the loikes av yez on my section"
Ryan accepted his fate and the time
check meekly, and withdrew to make
ready for an early departure the following
day
1t required the narcotic influence of sew
eral pipes Of plug cut to bring O'Don-
oghue's nerves into condition of repose,
but at length knocking the ashes from his
pipe into the kitchen stove he arose and
tramped heavily to bed
Two heavy falls announced the with
drawal of his boots, and then silence
reigned undisturbed save by the hurried
ticking of nickel alarm clock in Mary
AIMS room and the soughing of the wind
as it urged the reluctant fog around spur
of the Coast range and spread it out over
the plains like "A gray Connemara cloak.
AT 1870 o clock Mrs. O'Donoghue, aroused
by the alarm clock, listened anxiously for
sounds of life from Mary AIMS room, but
all was still.
"That Cyril do be gittin that lazy an
good fer nothin there's no livin wild her.
grumbled the good woman, as she crawled
drowsy daughter
She hurried To the kitchen-all was dark
and the stove cold.
She opened the kitchen door and called
her name. No answer but the drip, drip
of the fog falling from the caves and the
anguish plant of a slack telegraph wire.
Then, completely at loss, she went to
awaken O'Donoghue. John! Johnr' she
cried, shaking him vigorously, "up wild
ye man. Darter's GAM
1t was some time before the boss was
fully awakened to the extent of the calami-
| ty that had overtaken his household, but
once fairly aroused he was ready for action.
''This do be some av that Ryan's wark, "
said he. shes Hoped wild i'm; she's dis
graced us all, but I'll have the law agin
i'm now if it costs me me job"
He FASTENED to the clubhouse TO arouse
the men and make inquiries.
From the evidence of the gang it ap.
peared Ryan had stated the night before
that he intended making an early start the
following morning, but none of them knew
the exact hour of his departure. He had
! also said that he had intended to quit any
way, and that he would git aven wild the
ould choomp" if it took a hundred years
but the men attached no special weight &c
his words, as it was usual for discharged
men to talk in that way.
As they were discussing the matter
"Tamas" Speers CHANGED to notice the alb
sence of the roadmaster's velocipede, that
had been standing beside the Toulouse fol
a day or two. This velocipede was "A light
three wheeled machine, capable of carry
ing two persons, such as is used by road
masters, linemen, bridge inspectors and
others who wish to go over the line al
their leisure
Speers notified O'Donoghue of his dis
covery, and the latter at once ordered out
the handcar to go in pursuit of the fugi
tives, for it was now plain To all that Ryar
and Mary Ann had Hoped on the veloci
pede the only question being as to the di
rection they had taken.
BE ginger" said "Tamas' Speers, a:
they were putting the handcar on tn,
track. Il reminder, SO | do, about
o'clock | heerd Mise on the track gor
south, an | thought to mesil' twas a min
CINE, so did, but be ginger it must bin
Dan an the velossypeedw
The boss scornfully refused to take thi:
view of the case, but ordering ''Tamas'
onto the car set out northward at full