The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1895-01-12

4 y
mp 10 work. and his hands ut first
were as soft and white as a girls.
One OF tho fellows told us a story OF
how Johnny belonged To good sam-
lily. but got kicked out for some rea-
son or other. but we always thought
he made IL up. and, In fact. we never
did fnd out his story until that night
mean the mig ht we took him home. I"
Joe stopped, pulled vigorously at his
pipe for few moments, blinked
rather suspiciously several times. and
finally the rather husky voice went on:
"lt seems that the lads name wasn't
Haipes at ALL lie took that TO con-
ceal his own. His lrst meme really
was Johnny, though. and, as that was
what everybody called him, the last
didn't seem 10 make so much differ
ence- When be FIRST came on the road
he was a little past twenty, aud his
opcn. boyish WAYS made some OF the
, fellows guy him and want 20 play
tricks on bim at first. But IL didn't
take them long 90 find out that he had
plenty OF mettlc. A gang 81 rs were
lying around the Albany roundhouse
one day, waiting for n train 70 be
made up. when BIZ Lawson began 10
nag him and see II he couldn't get n
fight out of him. IL seems they had
some trouble down the road, and
when Bill had offered TO fight Johnny
had refused. lie tried TO keep out OF
Bits way. but when Bill said he was
afraid. Johnny turned and walked
squarely mp 10 him and said quietly:
You take that hack j never knew
just how IL was done, but Bill made
some sort OF fcint, and the next mo-
ment the big, hulleing lubber was ly-
ing on the ground Bill didn't seem
20 know what hit him. But he went
at Johnny with such savage look
that n lad without genuine pluck
would have turned feather. But when
BIZ lay sprawling on the ground
second time we found out that Johnny
was n scientific boxer. There was an
ugly CLEAN in 'Bill's' eye when lie got
up, and MS he got close up 70 Johnny
all OF sudden he fourished big
| jacklSnife he always carried. How he
got Il out OF his pocket never could
tell lie made lunge. but Johnny
lodged cleverly and the knife just
grazed his face. lie was on BIZ
quicker than il takes TO tell IL. chok
ing the life out OF him. We started TO
separate them. but when we found
that Johnny had Bill SO that he could
not do any damage with the knife we
let them fight IL out Bill finally
held his hand up for mercy and then
Johnny let him up. After we got
them cooled Oft Johnny made BIZ
shake hands, and, though he didn'c
show IL then, ! think afterward Bill
came 10 think as much OF him as the
rest OF us.
up the road not very far from Al
bany there Is a pretty little farm that
runs down TO the river. and right at
the corner OF IL was water tank II
happened that on this farm there was
a dark-eyed little girl who was the
idol OF all the boys along the road.
She wouldn't firt with us, but she
used often 10 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 lashes, and under
them the prettiest pair OF eyes / ever
saw. There wasn't one OF us who
wouldn't have married her quick il
she'd had ms. But she was sort o. re-
served and shy and none OF us had
nerve enough 10 make love to her. All
except Johnny. All the girls smiled
on Johnny and he smiled on them.
He didn't have 10 see the lass twice
before he was head over heels i'm love
with her, and IL wasn't very long be-
fore he made her know all about IL.
! To woe was 10 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 n good deal
over the matter, but we couldn't get
much out Of him. Somehow, through
the engineer or some body, though, we
found out that Johnny was going To
father 90 consent. lie couldn't very
well marry on the salary he was get
ting as a 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 a
raise, and that along about the holt
days he was to be made passenger
brakeman. and then he was going TO
get married. There wasn't one OF MS
that wasn't glad OF IL, or who envied
him his good luck. The fall stretched
into the winter, / remember. and my,
wasn't IL 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 AID view.
Braking is 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 n lark, thinking how he
would marry and go up 20 Albany 90
live. used 10 notice, though, that
! ........, ,,..a Ia aVvhffe hfa hroty xynrlI