Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-04-06
LIT TIE TRAV.
BY LOUISE R. BAKER.

Written Exclusively for The Evening Star.
Little Trav stood on the depot platform,
turning his train-cap meditatively in his
hand. Before him lay The track Of the
| narrow guage, hallway, and beyond waved
the prairie grass, not green and simmer
Ing. as it is after doucing rain, but brown
and short, the very poorest kind Of feed for
the ranch CATTLE But little TRAY. although
| he was thinking was not giving his at:en-
ton to anything SO trivial as the prairie
grass; in fact. he was trying his best to as
| sumo his usual good-humored expression
| and to keep back the tumult naturally
heaving within him. to forget the vanities
| of the world, its petty jealousies its pride
and spite. But all this was very hard to do
when the new brakesznan walked past him
and swung himself upon the step of the
waiting car. 81 s
Don't you mind it, little Trav.''
friendly hand was laid on the boys
| shoulder, and Just for an instant little
Travis shoulder rose and fell without the
will of his broad mind, then he looked up
| and smiled bravely at the fast engineer.
You're soIrR on the engine along with
| me this morrin'," continued the fast en-
gineer, cheerfully. 'Jed's laid up with the
chills. We're gunno git to the border
Smith. I; says 10 'en in the depot thar,
| TIM after a man thatl fill her up in a
| hurry. reckon the engines gunno do her
part in sittin' even the fast enginair to the
bull fight on time. Yes says to 'em In
the depot thar. I'm after a man that'n fill
her UP in hurry" He laughed In his
at the repetition Of the word man." Yes,
surely he was man, nineteen years Of age
that ve-y It'll Of January, but in stature
and weight he was boy; this was the
trouble OF little Travis life.
For years and years he had made his
home. as 1T were, upon the train running
| out from Benavista every morning and re-
He had cried "OrangesT' and "Peanuts!'
and 'Tomalesy' to the few passengers, and
he had helped theoretically at the break
fast and dinner stations along the route.
would be. clean. lost without little Trav."
Travis father, dead, occupied a position
ahead of all the Narrow Cages engineers,
he had died at his engine, died under his
engine. smothered In the sands, when by
jumping, although he might have saved his
own life. he must have risked the lives of
his passengers.
Little Trav felt a grsat pride in his
father, not only because he had been the
one engineer running over the Narrow
Gage to uie at his engine, but also because
he had been the tallest and broadcast train
man IN Texas 1t had been little Travis
ambition to grow tall and broad like his
father, and ever since he was ten years
old he had sighed to serve at least as
brakeman on the Marry Cage. The
trainmen mad urged him on to grow
Yas. grow and you'll git thar" said the
SLOW engineer. grow strong enough to
work the switches and big enough not fer
70 shame the road, and while you're at it.
Irav, grow big enough not fer to shame
Texas neither"
Little Travs Listening respectfully to the
SLOW engmeeE, had believed that time alone
was necessary to work. this transforma
But time that Ia Sent the brush springins up
all over the prairie where grass was need
e,d instead; refused to give little Trav
even to the average man.
How 1t come about I dunno" said the
fast eneinseg. shaking his head graveiy and
giving his opinion to the slow engineer as
a-ben the mother. little and weak" and
then he whispered. half Mexican. I'm
He stood six fleet five: in his stockings"
said the slow engineer. referring to little
frav's father aien1' laughA b'lieve on my
soul you cotad puheared him clean 'tother
side O. the prairie
THE little felier," said the fast engineer.
laughing softlyoa and pftyingly. he amt
quite give upayet. catched him afore day
stretchin hts6eif on the nigger,s trapeze."
But on he morning that the new brakes
man appeared in his train clothes the fast
engineer did not laugh. Eighteen year old"
he said sadly to himself, with face like
full moon and ., reglar giant body.
Strappin' and proud and pleased with Bub
Finch all over. Lord! some things in this
world doesn't seem quite fair no matter
how a Teller locks at EN-"
But the fast engineer laughed so heartily
as the train swept over the road that he
made 1t merry in the cab Even the new
brakesman, rushing along In an important
manner. almost envied the good time little
Trav and the engineer were having with
nothing but the engine to look after.
Lord! life in itself is a blessin,' said the
fast engineer. with his bIackened hand
upon the throttle. i've ben runnin' this
train off and on fer eight year. runnin'
her swift and ketchin' all the breezes, run
MIN over a condemned road, too! Lordr'
he cried with another laugh, "the Marry
Gage has ben condemned fer five year"
And then the, fast engineer told again the
story Of the great railway magnate whom
he had rushed over the Marry Gage.
He declared 1t were all humbug about
the road befn' unsafe" said the fast en-
gineer, but he were pale as a spook- I
made the old gal git up fer him and we
landed him at the border by o'clock Ell
he were a prayin' Teller. I reckon he said
split three rails, but never knowed 1t till
next mornin.' Better authority than him.
added the fast engineer. has condemned
the road. but Texas amt afeared O. the
Marry Gage condemned or no. She want
afeared O. the greasy Mexicans-." Then
he. stopped, but little Trav laughed; he
didn't believe the tale of his mother being
half Mexican. %
They'll Kill you fer two bits. that's
what people say, he said, land they'll die
fer you, II they keer fer you. that's what
they say, too"
II wouldn't like fer to trust EN-" said
the fast engineer.
If little Trav had been selling oranges
and peanuts on the train he might have
made a great deal of money that day, but
he stuck faithfully to his work of filling
the engine, and felt no longing whatever
to cry his wares through the cars, where
probably he would jostle against the new
brakeman, with his moon face. and his
giant stature, and his brand new train
clothes. He let the Mexicans board the
tt ain at the stations with calls of "Hot
coffeew and 'Tomales!'
The fast engineer split two rails on the
way to the bull fight, but he delayed his
engine for very short time to lay tor
pedoes on the track to warn the slow en-
cir eer and he reached the border by
o'clock to the minute.
But merry as was the crowd that went
over to the border with the fast engineer,
a still merrier crowd came swinging back
from the bull fight The matadore had
done his duty like a man, twice he had
come withins an ace of being gored in the
presence of the cheering populace, and he
had not SO much as moved an eyelash.
The passengers praised the matadore over
their cigars ,and brandy and little Trav
spoke well of him to the fast engineer as