St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-12-25
The Widow Malone and Her Pig.

dren lived in superannuated passenger
car left standing on the waste edge OF thC
great train-yard OF the l., o., and K.rail
road at Chicomantc Falls. The late
Terrence Malone, servant Of the aiore
said railroad in the capacity OF section
hand, had pre-empted the car in theearly
DAYS of his marriage, and, owing partly
to the negligence and partly to the good
nature of the yard-master, it had re.
NAMED in the undisputed possession OF
the family ever since There the seven
children OF the Malone household, two
pair o. twins and three single" as their
fond mother described them, had first
seen the light Of day; they had been
lullcd to sleep by the roar OF trains and
the Shrek OF locomotives, and had played
under the noses of the snorting iron
horses without ever suffering injury to
life or limb.
I'VE do be in the railroad business as a
family, mem" the widow Malone often
remarked, with pardonable pride, at the
houses where she was accustomed to as
sist in housekeeping time. "Me hus-
bands tcyther was fagman at the
Shawshine crossin'-a very Irresponsible
position, men, Me own Terence was in
the empty o. the railroad for siven year
and a half as scction.hand-tilI he was
rim over by ghravel thrain and lost his
breath entoirely, he bein bit full at the
tonne. Twas his only failin', hiven rist
him Dnny, me oldest, is goin to make
a gra-ate railroad man, I'm iXpectin'.
He's thrain.b'y already, and I'm tould
he's gra-ate tavorite among drummers
and such he bein so ceevil and obIigin'.
Twas so | brought him up. Mesilf, |
does washin' for the thrain-hands, and
they do say there's nobudy else can suit
'em so we'll And as for the leetle childer,
they do be dom what they can. The
leetest pair o. twins, they sits out on the
step whin the big passenger thrains goes
by, and they do be the sauciest pair o.
colleens that liver was though be their
mither that says it, It's many's the
orange or banana that's thrown out to
'em when the through thrains sthop for
the signal. Me own fam ly was mostly
in the empty O. the city, and | amt
a-sayin' that amt a very respectable
business, but for mesilf | prefer railroad
in. It's more excitin'."
Whence it will appear the widow Ma
lone, though deprived Of the partner of
her joys and sorrows, stillconsidered her
self comfortably and even desirably stu
ated.
Rumor OF possible trouble came to the
Malone family one day in the news, told
by Dinny, of the appointment of new
division superintendent, who was re-
ported to have begun, after the manner
ofnew brooms, thorough overhauling
and cleaning out of all the departments
under him.
Jerry O'Toole, he's telln' everywhere
that our old rat-trap-that's the very
word he said-'ll have to go. The new
superintendent won't have the yard clut-
tered up with old cars and squallin'
brats. It's disgrace to the road, that's
what he said" So Dnny repeated the
gossip of the train-yard when he came
home from his days work.
"Whsht there wild yer talkin'," COM
manded his mother "Niver We moind a
wurrd O. his talk, the salpeen, Is it
loikely the shuerintindent d be afther
sphakin' his moind to such as Jerry
O'Toole? He's wantin' yer place on the
thrain, that's the flea that's bitin his
ear. AS for us bein turned out O our
home, and me Terence a section hand,
and his feyther a hagman, there's no fear
O. that. The Road II niver sthand by and
see it done"
Mrs, Malone always spoke of the road
with capital X.
But, in spite of her apparent confidence,
the widow was the prey of some secret
misgivings concerning her tenure of oc-
cupancy, and when, one morning, as she
sang and scrubbed at her tubs Just out
side the door of the car, with numerous
young Malones playing in the dirt about
her, she looked up to find herself frown-
ingly observed by tall parsonage with
an air of authority, she knew that her
time had come. She dropped a courtesy,
and the tall parsonage said:
whats all this ?"
The widow favored him with another
courtesy and replied:
of We PLACE, sor, I'm Molly Malone,
wildly OF him that was Terence Malone,
formerly in the empty O. the Road, sor,
and these, sor are me childer, me and
Terrence's, or, as may say, sor, your
childer"
Indeed how's that?" inquired the
man.
THE childer o. the Road, sor. We all
belong to the Road; and as Itakeit ye're
the new division superintendent, ripre-
sintin' the Road, make bould ocall 'em
your childer sorn