The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-12
did find out his story until that night.
i mean tho mig hit we took him home"

, o0OPPSNt, puilcSl BOTOuSlY Ut his
| pipe for few moments, blinlsed
| rather suspiciously several times, and
/ finally the rather husky voice went on:
seems that the lads name wasn't
linincs Mt all. He took that to con-
ceal his own. His first name really
was Johnny. though, and, as that was
what everybody called him, the last
didn't seem to mako so much differ
cncc. When he first came on the road
he was little past twenty, and his
open, boyish ways made some of the
fellows guy him and want to play
tricks on him at first But it didn't
take them long to find out that he had
plenty of mcttlc. gang of us wcro
lying around the Albany roundhouse
one day, waiting for q train to be
made up, when 'Bilr Lawson began to
nag him and see if he couldn't get n
fight out of him. 1t seems they had
some trouble down the road, and
when BIZ had offered to fight Johnny
had refused. He tried to keep out of
Bits way but when 'Bilp said he was
afraid, johnny turned and walked
squarcly up to him and said quietly:
You take that back 1 never knew
just how it wns done, but Bill made
ment the big, hullting lubber was w.
ing on the ground. 'Bill' didn't seem
to know what hit him. But he wont
ut Johnny with such savage look
that lad without genuine pluck
would have turned feather. But when
'Bill lay sprawling on the ground O
second time we found out that Johnny
was n scientific boxer. There was an
ugly CLEAN in Bits eye when he got
up, and rs he got close up to Johnny
all of 4 sudden he flourishcd a big
jnckknife he always carried. How he
got it out of his pocket never could
tell. He made lunge, but Johnny
lodged clevcrly and the knife just
grazcd his face. lie was on 'Bill'
quicker than it takes to tell it, choll-
ing the life out of him. We started to
that Johnny had 'BilP SO that he could
not do any damage with the knife we
| let them fight it out. 'Dilr finally
held his hand up for mercy and then
Johnny let him up After we got
shake hands, and. though he didn't
show it then, think aftcrwarl 'Bill'
came to think as much of him us the
rest of US.
up the road not very far from AL
bany there is u pretty little farm that
runs down to the river, and right at
the corner of it was water tank. 1t
| happened that on this farm there was
q dnrk-eyed little girl who was the
idol of all the boys along the road.
| She wouldn't flrt with us, but she
used often to come down to the water
tank and get little packages which the
engineer, who was friend of the fam
| lily, used to bring down from Albany.
She was plump and peachy, with dark
eyebrows and long lashcs, and under
them the prettiest pair of eyes l ever
saw There wasn't one of us who
wouldn't have married her quick if
| she'd had us But She was sort o. re-
| served and shy and none Of us had
nerve enough to make love to her. All
except Johnny. All the girls smiled
| on Johnny and he smiled on them.
He didn't have to see the lass twice
before he was head over heels in love
with her, and it wasn't very long be-
fore he made her know all about it,
To woe was to win with Johnny, and
regular as his train passed the farm
| Jenny-that was the little DANES
name-was always there to meet him.
We used to chaff Johnny Il good deal
over the matter, but we couldn't get
much out of him. Somehow, through
the engineer or somebody, though, we
found out that Johnny was going to
marry the girl if he could get his
father to consent He couldn't very
well marry on the salary he was get
ting as raw brakeman.
Things ran along through the sum-
mer and into fall, ana we noticed that
johnny had got very quiet and re-
| served like, and was evidently brood
ing over something At last we found
out that Johnny had been promised
raise, and that along about the holt
days he was to be made a passenger
brakeman, and then he was going to
get married. There wasn't one of us
! that wasn't glad of it, or who envied
him his good luck. The fall stretched
into the winter l remember, and my,
! wasn't it beautiful weather, You'd
stand up on top of car, as the train
! wound along the shore mile after mile,
just drinking in the air and view.
Braking is a hard life, with lots of
danger and pretty slim pay. But those
days we'd forget all about the hard
ships and everything else Johnny
was on the same train with me and
happy as lark, thinking how he
would marry and go up to Albany to
live. 1 used 10 notice, though, that
every once in awhile his brow would
cloud up, Us if he was thinking of some
thing that hurt him.
such weather couldn't last, though,
and when the end came, it came with