The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-04-10

his effort 10 spi1 ouI lne IRE was SAD
| failure.
81 suppose you know that if I SEND
this it will cost me my placer" he said
putting the wrong end of the pen over
his ear and soaking his sulphur colored
hair with ink.
I'm not talking about your private
affairs" said Raymond. II am hired
myself for the purpose of getting my at
fractions to their destinations and keep
ing faith with the public"
'But shall be thrown out of employ
ment, and have large family of chill
dren."
I'm not asking about your children, !"
said Raymond The census is another
matter. As / said before, my own posi-
ton depends upon being able to fulfill
my contract with the manager of the
opera house at Clematis. O."
'But can't send this telegram with
out losing my place"
''And if you don't send it you'll lose
your place. l can give you a written
guarantee regarding that
BY this time every body in the station
had gathered round the window where
the two men faced each other through
the bars.
There was a pause.
The ticket man said, with blue lips,
''The train will be here in time for you
to connect at Dayton"
Eyes, but that won't answer now.
have given You telegram to send to
Mr. Dickinson, and you are losing time"
1t was so still in the depot that one
could hear young man from Curly Ma
pie, Ind, cutting his eyeteeth.
81 am ready to apologize, sir" said the
agent. THAT is all l can do, and if that
will not answer l must go home and tell
my wife that we have no means of sup
port. But, you know, l am asked SO
many questions it makes me hot"
Eyes, it's the same in my business"
said Raymond, 'tand everybody has to
keep cool and be polite or work on the
streets, where it isn't necessary. We
are paid to answer questions while our
voices hold out, and if we don't do it l
notice that there are thousands waiting
to do it for us at the same salary. You
are not paid to be funny. Others are al
ready in that field. You get your pay
for being gentleman, and if you think
you can do it will tear up the telegram"
The agent said he would try, and as
we took the train he was chewing up the
dispatch and answering inquiries before
people could quite finish their questions.
l like good railroad man who is not
above doing a kind act. At Nicholas
vile, KY, last month we met such an
agent, and when we got on the New Or.
leans fiier we found such conductor.
He attended to his business and did it in
a chivalrous way that did my heart good.
Recently we have been pilgriming
through the rich and productive state of
Ohio. Yesterday on the Cleveland, Gin
cinnati, Columbus, Chicago, Charleston,
Canton, Cohoes, Christopher and Cali
fornia railroad a man with suit of pol
ished diagonal clothes, which glistened at
the knees and elbows SO that he could
not scratch match on himself, but used
my leg for that purpose as he talked
with me, saw that l was reading and
therefore came to the conclusion that l
was not enjoying myself.
Some people think that a man who is
not talking or engaged in listening while
some other man talks is unhappy, where
as it is often not only duty but pleas
ure to engage in thought. So he came
and slid in between my valise and my
self. He had big dogskin overcoat,
and had an Irish frieze that would not
bend any more than a railroad bridge.
He opened conversation with me and
tried to draw me out, but the truth IS
that l am very hard to draw out much
when l am wedged into seat that way.
Finally we got to talking about local,
sun and railroad time in Ohio.
1t is subject that greatly annoys yet
interests me. The first thing an Ohio
town does is to establish from three to