The Monmouth inquirer., 1896-02-27
A PALACE CAR WAIF.

The Pacific overland, west bound, pulled
out of the station at Medicine Bow and
straightened for the run across the Lara
ME plains to Rawlins Down through
the gap where the North Platte breaks the
barrier of the Rockies the north wind
came sweeping, bearing before it great
drifts of snow that eddied and swirled
about the cabs of the two locomotives, but
with no sign as yet of banking up on the
track.
The engines, pulling and blowing, made
brave way against the blizzard, and from
the cab of the foremost the engineer looked
out. keen eyed, against the blast, though
the bits of ice in the wind stung his face
like the flicks of a whip. The fremen,
swart with coal dust and stripped to their
undershirts, even in that temperature.
steadily kept their fires going, and now
and again bent low to the furnace doors
to melt from their hair the icicles formed
of the perspiration which ran from their
open pores and froze as it ran.
In the smoking room of the last sleeper
of the train little Dickey Culver dozed as
the night fell arousing himself now and
again to look out with a great WEAKNESS
upon the white waste. Little Dickey
Culver had arrived at the dignity of a va
cation and had taken it in a trip to Chi
cago.
''It's devilish queer taste, at this time of
year, Fessenden had said to the boys at
the club after night of seeing Dickey off,
"but a man must take his vacation when
it comes, and I suppose we all feel a long
ing to get back into the world once in
awhile know I look forward to a rein
carnation myself some day.
Dickey had his vacation, at all events,
in his own way-which is the only proper
kind of way-and now he was on his way
back to San Francisco, finding the road
almost interminable in the wintry weather.
You see, there is always so much to look
forward to for Californian who comes
back.
Night comes down fast upon the Lar
annie plains when it comes. bearing bliz-
zard, and as the darkness closed in the
wind arose, moaning and shrieking the
chorus of the lost. 1t dashed ice particles
against the double windows of the car,
and there was shiyery feeling in its mil
lion voices, though no touch of 1t came
into the snug smoking compartment of the
sleeper.
The porter came in presently, touched a
button and lighted the incandescent lights.
That shut out the sight of the sweeping
drifts of the blizzard, but could not shut
out the moaning of the wind nor the beat
ing of the ice particles against the win
dows.
''It's a beastly night, porter" Diokey
said in sheer desperation for somebody to
talk to.
''Dat's right, boss Hits the wust run
I've had this fall -
He went out feeling the same human
raving for company in the storm that
Dickey did, but finding 1t more to his lik-
ing In the porter of the next car forward.
Then Dickey dozed again.
He was the only passenger In the car, as
1t chanced, and winter travel over the Pa
cific railroads Is dreary business, even
when there is plenty Of company. Present.
ly he shook himself together and lighted a
cigar. Then he looked out into the dark
ness. There was curve in the track just
there, and he saw the two brave engines
beating their way into the teeth Of the
wind, fighting it down, and the long train,
like a great serpent Of fire, defiled before
him. Then the engines vanished into a
cloud of steam, lurid with their own pass
ing fires, and the lights were gone into the
darkness.
The axles creaked and strained, the
wailing of the storms voices was unceas-
ing, but the engines beat their way for
ward steadily. They seemed almost to
bound into the darkness, to advance by a
succession of leaps, and in the train be-
hind them the passengers were preparing
for bed as naturally as though they had
been safely in their own widely scattered
homes-all but little Dickey Culver, alone
in the last sleeper. He smoked his cigar
and looked out into the darkness.
Overcome presently by nervousness, he
arose from his lounging chair in the
smoker and walked to the rear door of the
car. He could see no more than from the
window Of the smoker, but it rested him
to get new aspect of the darkness. The
wind was wailing here, too, and the rattle
of the ice against the glass was even more
startling. 1t seemed almost to strike him
in the face.
AS he stood there he CHANGED to glance
down at the snow drifted into the rear
vestibule of the car, and then, with an ex-
clamati0n, be threw open the door, 1t
was as though hundreds of little knives
were cutting the flesh of his face, but he
had seen that in his downward glance
which made him careless of bodily pain.
The little curly head of child was there,
buried in the snow, and he could see even
through the fierce blast of the wind a rag
ged form huddled close against the door.
The form almost fell into his arms, but
there was tearing of the frozen garments
loose from the floor of the platform as he
drew the child in and quickly shut the
door. He lifted the child in his arms,
stepped back into the smoking compart-
ment and rang the bell for the porter.
The form was that of a little girl, possibly
years old, with tear drops frozen upon
her face, and it was SO still and white that,
as the light fell upon it, Dickey thought
he had taken it out of the blizzard only to
give it into the hands of an undertaken at
the next station.
He rang the bell repeatedly, and the
porter came. Perhaps he thought it was
time s'his gentleman was going to bed,
or possibly the other porters were too busy
putting their gentlemen to bed for further