The Colfax chronicle., 1898-05-28

y
ye see, an ye'll hef ter chip in an help
a feller. See thet house over yonder?
Ye mus go thar an git us sunthin'
ter eat. It's good place, an they
won't hurt We; seen the marks onto
the gate Yesterday. Begin? Now dom
ye be no fool, Polly. I'm holy terror,
am, when wunst gifts ugly. You go
long an git the grub, an ole RustyIl
do the rest
They were real nice to me, Sam
my, at the house; only they kept ask
ing questions, and I'm afraid / told
some more stories. Do you know, Sam
my, if ever l should lie again I'd feel
just like tramp? The folks fed me
all / could eat--oh! but it was good
and they let me have some more to
eat on the road. When / showed it to
Rusty and told him I'd had mine he
gobbled up every bit of it.
"'Purty fair fer kid he said, as he
finished the pie in about two bites.
You'll do, Polly. 1 knowed We could
work it. Now I'm goin' ter use We fair
an give We jest a leetle Of this. Most
fellers wouldn't divvy, bein' as We
didn't turn in no money. but / amt
mean, an it'll do We good
He had got some beer in an old tin
can. l took just one smell; / guess it
was mostly the can 1 smelt. 1t was a
salmon can--one. l thought he'd be
mad, but he didn't seem 10 mind.
"'Haf ter git over that sorter fool
ishness, Polly was all he said, and he
gulped the stuff down at one swallow.
Then he fixed himself UP kind of
coat out of some burlaps he found tied
round peach tree. lie cut holes for
his arms, and fastened the thing ON
with pieces of string. After awhile we
went back near the depot, and waited
behind the fence till a freight train
came along. He'd got board that
was a little longer than 1 am. Il amt
in no shape ter go long with We jist
yit,' he eaid, but bein' ye're in sich
KILN resh, I'll git We started right.
So we crawled under car, and he laid
the board lengthwise on one of the
trucks. l was awfully scared, but he
said it was easy as sliding down hill.
"'Jist hump up yer back agin the
bottom of the car, eff she goes ter wob-
blin', he said, 'an' We bettew keep yer
eyes shet, mostly. An don't we try ter
git out till she's dead sure stopped
$50 squeezed in, and lay along the
board, fat on my stomach. Pretty
soon the engine started, and for about
a minute / thought twas going to be
a picnic. The ties just under me looked
like smooth plank walk, and when
looked out sideways the fields and
fences and houses slid by like regular
panorama. Then we got togoing faster
and the dust began to blow up in my
face, and couldn't see a thing shut
my eyes tight, but itdrove into my nose
till / couldn't breath. and when i
opened my mouth l thought I'd be
choked anyhow. 1t wasn't all just dust.
either. When we got to roaring along
at full speed, and the wheels were hum
ming close by my ears, and the iron
things were rafting all round me, the
gravel began to fly UP, too. and it pound
ed me- like big hailstones. You haven't
the least idea,. Sammy, how fast a
freight train really goes. And It
doesn't run steady; it swings ahead,
and slacks. and starts mp again with a
yank that almost sends you off back.
wards. Then you strike a curve, ard
your board slides round under you till
you just grit your teeth and say your
prayers. When 1 tried to brace by
hunching up the way Rusty told me, it
seemed as if the whole car was jounc-
ing up and down on my back. thought
l was dead boy 90 times that day,
Sammy.
81 must have been sight when did
crawl out, but it was night by that
time. ] could hardly see or hear or
taste or smell, was so full of dirt, and
ached all over. 1t seemed as if the
grit had worked into my joints till 1
could hardly move, and filled up my
head till it felt as big as pumpkin
and about as much good. / don't see
what any tramp is thinking of when he
steals rides under the cars. He'd bet
ter feed a tllrashing machine and done
with it.
''IIow did I get the rest of the way
TO New York? 1t would take too long
to tell all that tonight. I promised I'd
come home early, Sammy-and I'm not
playing any low-down tramp tricks
now, ygu better believe. But part of
the way / got ride on canal boat
and part of the way walked. got
things to eat easy enough, and once
or twice I got bed; but was just a
miserable little beggar, and l felt like
a yellow dog all the time. And the real
yellow dogs-they chase me, Sammy.
'When got to the city it wasn't so
easy. / sneaked up and down the
streets ever so long, and pretty near
starved to death before / could find out