The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-02-29

kind Of hungry desire to hear voice,
even if his own, to drown the ailing of
the wind, u would give dinner at the
Frenchman's, and / would have all the
boys l could get-and there would be
lot, for it is long ways from pay
| day. These fellows al the east may be
ahead of us in some minor matters
of civilization, but they do not know
how to eat. / haven't had {. square
meal since ] left San Francisco"
| 1t will be observed that Dickey Gull
yer had pronounced case of nostalgia,
and the surroundings were fave rable to
its perfect development. The Califor-
MAN who does not develop homesicl-
ness on IN eastern winter night is no
true child of the sun--and surely he
must become utterly homesick when he
faces a Wyoming blizzard, egen from
the safe shelter of the window of a
vestibulcd Pullman sleeper.
| II WONDER" he went on, still think
ing aloud and peering out into the
darkness, whether there Is any soul
abroad on these plains tonight?
suppose not. The people who live here
must have sense enough to keep to
whatever houses they have cn such
night as this. 1t seems to me we are
going slower and slower. l suppose
two engines can pull us along all right,
but it would be something frightful to
become snowbound in such desola-
tion as this"
The avles creakcd and strained. the
wailing of the storms voices was I'M
ceasing, but the engines beat their way
forward steadily. They seemed almost
to bound into the darkness, to advance
by a succession of leaps, aud in the
train behind them the passengers were
preparing for bed as naturally as
though they had been safely in their
own widely scattered homes but
little Dickey Culver, alone in the last
sleeper. lie smol,ed his cigar and
looked out into the darkness.
Overcome presently ny 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 tic smoker,
but it rested him TO get a new aspect
of the darkness. The wind was wall
ing here, TOO, and the rattle of the ice
against the glass was even more start
ling. 1t seemed almost to strike him
in the face.
AS he stood there he CHANGED to
glance down at the snow dr;ited into
the rear vestibule of the car-and then
with an exclamation lie 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 lis
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 .,en
through the fierce blast of The wind a
ragged 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 tho door. He lift
ed the child in his arms, stepped back
into the smoking compartment and
rang the bell for the porter. The form
twas that of a little girl, possibly SIX
years old, with tear drops frozen upon
her face, and it was SO still and white
that, rs the light fell upon Il. Dicley
thought he had taken it out of the
blizzard only to give it into the h1nds
of an undertaken at the next station.
He rang the bell again, chatting the
child's hands meanwhile and striving
to start again the flow of her feeble
life current. AS a reporter Dickey had
been through many curious expert
ences, but this was new. 1t does not
fall to the lot of San Francisco news
paper men to revive those pcrishing of
cold.
Again he rang the bell, and this time
the porter came. Perhaps he thought
it was time "his gentleman" was going
to bed-or, possibly, the other porters
were too busy putting their gentle
men to bed for further gossip. At all
events, he came, and there was series
of sharp orders given, and presently
Dickey had plenty of company. There
was even a physician on the train
there usually is, as you will find out if
you will take the trouble to ascertain
the next time you happen TO travel
and the physician having no office hours
while he was travelling, came along with
the conductor and the brakeman and a
few curious and fewer merciful pas
sengers to give what help he could.
The physicians practice lying in a cold
country, he knew precisely what to
do in this emergency. and Dickey glad
ly released the principal responsibility
to his more experienced hands, while
he told over and over again for the bene-
fit of the curious passengers how he
CHANGED to see the little one lying on