The Washington times., 1894-03-25
p Tale of TWO T'rampS.

The snow that lined the sides Oh what tne
railroad men Of that section called the
"Brirhton CUT was, fortunately for two
nersons who suddenly found themselves
transported from the cold hospitality of a
freight car to the colder embraces Of the
wide, white world that encompassed the
track, very deep. After moment or two OF
partial insensibility, more the result of be-
wilderment than of actual physical hurt,
these two lifted their heads up out of the
white counterpane that chung to them like
some active envelope, and looked after the
train that was now merely a mist OF smoke
and an echo faint beyond the curves OF the
forest.
"H'm," said the first one of thetwo dereiicts
to rise and shake the snow of his thin form,
''that was fearful breach OF hospitality. We
invest a common carrier, SO termed In law,
with the dignity of carrying such uncommon
personages as ourselves and this-this Is the
treatment we receivel Billy, this is heather
countryp' He took off his cap and passed
eight long and bony fingers through his snow
invested hair.
"Damn his eyesr' said Billy. He was
person of few words, and fewer attractions.
He was short, and his general effect was to-
ward the loutish.
eyes" the other replied, looking about
him, az have no doubt you are right. Billy,
your explanation is a most agreeable one.
1t was owing to some curious defect in that
brakeman's eyes, doubtless, that he failed to
notice our high estate; if any part OF him is
to suffer condemnation. it is his eyes. Billy,
agree with you; say 1t again. -.
Billy. for a brief minute, looked as II
he would like to include other and nearer
ewes in his anathema. He contented himself,
however. with muttered 'Arghi" a circular
look at the prospect of sloping meadow
land, and .What next. cully?"
STRANDED as we are upon an apparently
shoreless sea of snow, responded the gentle
man addressed as Gully" "our next move
should be toward shelter" He paused to
kick some snow out of a boot tha. was, as to
the toes, over hospitable to the elements.
''This is dismal spot"
To tell the truth, the Brighton CUT is one
of the bleakest places in the state The rail-
way track comes winding down a steep grade
until it reaches this cut; the soil thereabouts
Is not tillable and there are no fences Tor over
half mile. A thin strip of forest shuts out
the twestern view. On a gray afternoon in
midwinter it looks very lonely, and there is
something in the silence of it. after the rattle
of a freight train has echoed away that
strikes a chill even when the sun is shining.
1t was no wonder, then, that to these two.
Just stranded there from the comparatively
warm recesses of lumber car. the place
should seem decidedly dismal. They were
used to dismal things, to be sure; but that
ever-present yearning for luxury and its at
tendaut inexertion-ay yearning that had made
them what they were-rebelled at every repe-
tition of the unwelcome reality. 1t IS not
necessary to state very particularly who
these two were The one with the tall frame
and the taller language might have been
great many things, some of them great. The
fact that he was none of these is explanation
enough of his title as 4 tramp. As for the
other one it is doubtful whether he had ever
had even possibilities. He was, by lapse of
all other capabilities, tramp for sure. Just
rs it is sufficient OF u man TO say that he is
king. so it is enough introduction to make
certain that he is a tramp. These two were
individually tramps. 1t was evident in the
consummate grace with which they wore
their curiously allotted clothes. 1t was pat
ent in the air of nobility that stamped them as
true lords of the air. 1t was on their breath.
Il may say, without exaggeration,' con-
tinued the taller of the two. that this is a
place unfit for such as we are to rest in.
Wherefore. let us reconnoiter.
As they passed up the slope toward the
north it began to snow steadily. Over in
the west. TIE faint. gray light of day was dim
ming to the almost colorless shade of white
upon white. II was an arduous task, stamp
ing through the drifting snow. From
time TO time one might have heard. had one
been within earshot, the voice of Billy, ours
ing as he walked.
On what is known in that county as the
Brighton Mill road there is, for the most
part. a sprinkling of fine farms as there
are anywhere in the West. The farm-houses
are well-painted, and the barns are roomy and
new enough TO be the envy of many man
who has gone further toward the plains and
rented q log cabin. Fer distance of about
mile. east and west. however. this highway
passes through a barren district that is
marked by nothing save tumbledown
shanty. with a roof the bricks of which have
fallen eastward This shanty stands at
point where the highway is nearest to that
point on the railway known as the Brighton
Cut" on the summit of the arid slope leading
down to the rails. For a good many years
this shanty had been the home, if one may
use the word so lightly, of certain Doc Mid
dals, concerning whom but little seemed to
be known. save that he was ''baching it,
Just what presumption of ownership or inter-
est in the shanty or its surroundings went with
Middals's system of occupation there seemed
TO be no one willing to testify. This Doc
Middals was queer fellow, who rarely spent
shanty, and his goings and comings were so
erratic, his place so remote from the view of
other Indications, that the question of his
presence or absence was always an open one
The farmers who passed on the highway had
long since given up specializing on the sub
ject; Middals frequently denied himself fire
even In mldwinter, so not even the absence of
smoke about the shattered chimney was proof
positive of the mans presence elsewhere.
1t was in this cottage that Lingo Dandy
this sobriquet was the taller of the two tramps
who had been lately deposited in the "Brigh-
ton CUT by an inhospitable brakeman known
in such circles as knew him at all intimately
and his partner Billy were housed about
week after their advent in that part of the
country. By marvellous, instructive faculty
of association, of stilling his own curiosity,
Lingo Dan had fully possessed himself of all
the facts in connection with that shantY be-
fore he entered il.
Covered by the drifting of the snow, the
presence of these two was absolutely un-
known to soul. In the driving storm that
followed their arrival like wall of omen all
their tracks through the snow had been oblit-
Grated.
Looking out of the eastern window OF the
Mlddals shanty Lingo Dan gave sigh of
admiration. The sun was making million
diamonds dance about the crust of snow that
stretched away over the fields and on the
highway; it was like rollicking cowboy
shooting until his victims dance for dear life
Clear as crystal, the air was intensely sensi-
i've to tone; far-off ringing of sleigh-bells
sounded with distinctness that belied dis
tance. Out Of the blue of the sky. the glitter
OF the sun, and the fierce purity of the snow,
there arose splendid dazzlement that
blinded unaccustomed ewes.
sit would be pathetic, unused Lingo Dan
aloud, after passing his hand over his eyes to
shut out the glare that began to hurt him. .sif
we should find our Opportunity ON such n
day. Look, Billy, what day it is! HIM,
had not thought this country capahle of so