Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-06-18


was fast approaching. 1t was evil
dent that tramp had located to stay
Something must be done Of course
I was not afraid, not for myself, for
I had the gun and loaded revolver
in my pocket besides. That was arma-
ment enough to exterminate half
dozen tramps. Still, men have
been outwitted even when they
bristled with arms. He might ask to
see the gun If refused to let him,
it would be ungentlemany; then
again, it would plainly indicate that [
suspicioned him of treachery. If I
consented, and he saw fit, he might
turn the gun against me; then would
be in a pretty box. No matter how
brave man may be it is best to ex-
ercise caution. I concluded to exer-
else caution first. would extract the
shells from the gun before going up;
then, if he wanted to look at it,
would humor him. If he turned it
against me, it would reveal his object,
and I, of course, would feel justified
in shooting him full Of holes. [ really
didn't want to do this, and SO to in
sure his safety, concluded, after re-
moving the shells, to advance to the
station cautiously. Possibly he would
not awake and then all trouble would
be averted. If am disturbed whilst
sleeping, am cross; and for this rea-
son I have some regards for the feel
ings of another. I reached the sta
ton on the south side. The post as l
said, was at the north end. Iremain-
ed on the south side because the wind
was in the north, and [ wished to
avoid it. That was why I was on the
south side. I am very particular in
all of these details because I wish to
impress upon your minds that was
not in the least afraid.
Finally the tramp moved. Then he
sat up. Then he wheeled around and |
turned his off eye in my direction. 1t |
seemed to me as if that train must be |
getting behind. My teeth chartered. |
They chartered, you understand, be-
cause the wind was chilly. Peoples |
teeth will chatter at such times, you
know, and they can't help it. L
couldn't avoid all Of the wind, al |
though I was on the south side of the |
station. At last he crawled down |
from his perch and began to approach |
me. Somehow I hadn't realized that |
the wind was so chilly as did at that
particular moment. It fairly made
my knees tremble. Still he continued
to approach. To convince him that
really was cold, and was not shaking
on his account, began to shuttle my
feet and whack p the gun with my
hands. More specially did / whack
the gun. It would drawehis attention
to the fact that I was we'll armed.
Still he approached. When within a
few feet of me, however, he paused.
I-was glad that he did. To tell the
truth I had forgotten just where I
placed that revolver. I knew it. was
about my clothes somewhere; but in
just what pocket [ was unable to re-
member. I was glad that he paused
for another thing. I didn't want to
shoot the fellow, because really had
some scruples against shooting men,
even in self defense. I did wish that
he would go away and by SO doing
remove himself from danger. Finally
his lips parted. I knew it was COM
ing then, and-where in thunder did
put that revolver f! In harsh and
almost sepulchral voice, he asked:
"Will der mex train stops
I managed to answer 'y-y-y-ye- e-s
yes - and he turned away. Going
to the north end of the station he sat
down with his back toward me.
His life was saved.