The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1895-02-13
pY EDISON KEMP.

grizzled, oldish man from the Old
Colony, who had curious red scar
bending around from his forehead
across his right temple and down upon
his right check, with almost as regu-
lar q curve as if it had been marked
there with compass. The redness of
its color indicated that the mark had
been inflicted not very long ago.
Tho man who wore the scar had
taken no part in the conversation.
Presently one al the Western delegates
said to him:
"Come, Brother Hawkins, you ought
to have story to tell. How did you
get that scar, pow2'
The Old Colony man colored lit
tie and looked uneasy.
''You fellows can tell stories," he
said, "and l can't. But / will say
this-I was never thankful for hard
blow in the face but once, and that
was when got this scar"
Then he subsidized into silence, ap-
parently supposing that there was
nothing more to say. OF course the
engineers about him raised loud de-
mand for the rest of the story, which
seemed to surprise the Old Colony
man. Under this pressure he went
on, little awkwatdly.
'I hain't had the scar moren'n n
about year, he said. 81 was run
ming the three-thisty passenger out of
Boston on the Cape Cod Division, as
/ am now when I'm at home. We had
passed Wareham one clustering,
blowing, rainy November afternoon /;
il was hslf-past fivo by that time, and
as the sky was thick with clouds, it
was Just as dark as pitch.
Between Wareham and Buzzard' s
Bay there's a stretch of woodsy, scrub
by country where the track is pretty
tolerably crooked, crossing and dodg-
ing the saltwater inlets. You cant
see far ahead of you at any time.
''But if Pm going to tell you this
story anywhere near right, I've got
to get you out of my cab and onto the
Flying Dude and that's great priv
ilege, ] can tell you, for they say it
takes patent of nobility to make you
eligible to ride ON that fast
express. It's a swell affair, that runs
down on the east shore of Buzzard's IS
Bay.
''By the hour mentioned the Dude
should have been at Woods Holl,
her run made; but she had stopped at
Middleboro on account of hot box,
and was way behind time. She had
gone on, and was flying along through
the woods between Wareham and
Onset, not more than fifteen
minutes ahead of our time, when that
same box began to smoke again, hot
ter than fire.
'There was nothing for them to do
but haul up and coel her off But
they knew that we were coming right
behind. The Dude had just made c
curve where the track follows the
bend of the bay, aud it was a bad
place. 1 shouldn't bave seen the
Dudes rear lights around that curve
until we were right on her. OF course
they sent a man back with a lantern
to signal us. The man they took
for the duty was young brakeman,
not over nineteen, u 80 name oI
Jimmy Caswell. H4k .adn't been
working for the road more than two
years, but he came of. very good
family OF folks down so Falmouth,
and was a mighty bright, gentlemanly
sort of a youngster- just the kind
that the swells who travel down to the
bay like to have ON the Flying Dude.
"He'd been put forward good dea
for a fellow of nineteen, and it was
somewhat the result of favor, l dare
say, that he was on that train But
they all had great deal of confidence
in him. I'll leave it to you to say
whether the confidence was justified
"Well, Jimmy set out in the darl
and rain and wind with his red Ian
tern back along the track. He had t.
go quite piece, fer there's second