Evening star., 1899-04-15

dents are somewhat peculiar, and 1 have
never been able to decide as to its char
acter in that respect.
Kirby is married, and will make the as
sertion with the confidence of one who
konws that man who is employed by
any of the big contractors. jumping from
one place to another, six months or
a year here and then off to some other
part of the country, perhaps a couple
of thousand of miles away, for another
six months or year, and mixing up daily
with the class of which a good part of Il
contractors force is composed and spend
ing his pay every pay night. as the ma
jCrity do has no right to have woman
tied to him. 1t is far from fair to the wo-
man. 1t is cruel. It is the one blight OIL
Kirbys upright and honorable, though
somewhat adventurous, career.
1t was when we were up in central Wis
consin, double-tracking a piece of railroad,
that the accident here related occurred.
The accident was Kirbys marriage. We
had long stretch of line to be double
tracked that year, with considerable alter
ing of the original grades and curves, max
ing necessary almost half a mile of very
heavy rockcut, and a long and high hll'
across a valley on the new alignment. Our
construction office, warehouse and repair
shops We're at Antioch, central point for
all of the work. We established the office
in residence which we had rented for the
purpose. We lived upstairs and had a
negro cook to prepare our meals and look
to our comfort after business hours Kirby
and Chaplin riggers by trade, ran two pile
drivers that were employed in building
light and temporary trestle across the val
ley for the dumpcars that would be used
in building up this high .'fill'' emban nix
ment when we began making the accom-
panying cut in the neighboring hill. This
was some ten or twelve miles down the
road from Antioch. Kirby and Chaplin and
the pile-dr.iver engineers the time-keeper
and some of the railroads engineering help
boarded and lodged at a small country
hotel near the fill, that was kept in style
commensurate with his rates, by one Con-
rad. We had nearly a Thousand men on
that work, all in camps distributed along
the line of the railroad.
1t happened this way:
Kirby had been ordered down to the site
of the rock cutting to erect a derrick, and
to do this he would have to get up very
early in the morning and drive to Antioch
at which point he would board a construc-
tion train going down the line with men
and materials. He made his preparations
the night before, grumbling all the while
at his ill-luck at having to leave his warm
bed on a dark. cold and probably wet De-
cember morning, ordered his rig for 4:30
and crept beneath his blankets before the
other boarders had ceased their usual
nightly hilarity in the rooms below.
Chaplin was among the last to turn in.
Chaplin is a sound sleeper under ordinary
circumstances, but the night was very
cold, no fire was in his room, and the only
means of heating was smoke pipe from
the stove in thu saloon below, which passad
up through his sleeping chamber. That
gave off little or no warmth when the fire
burned low Chaplin ,awoke in the middle
of the night. and, the cold preventing him
from getting to sleep again, he jumped out
of bed with the intention of finding addt-
ional covering. The proprietor was of a
fr,
of this life, and provided no fleecy blankets
ready at the foot of the bed for use in an
emergency. In truth, it was very much in
this hotel as in most others encountered
on contract work when away from cities,
case of the best man getting the available
comforts, or the food on the table for that
matter, and the rest getting what they
could.
So Chaplin, not finding in his room what
he sought for, sailed out into the nall, and
tried the doors of the rooms on that floor.
All wers locked, with the exception of the
last one at the end of the hall, which was
hirby's. This he opened and stepped in.
He CROPPED his way to the bed, and attempt
ed TO arouse the sleeper and interest him
in the search for warmth thinking that
possibly Kirby might have an extra blanket
on his bed or in his room.
80, Kirby he said. There was no
answer.
Kirby, got any blankets?'
The sleeper snored on, blissfuly urcon-
Say. you, let me have blanket" con-
tinued Chaplin.
Kirby did not move. Chaplin did as he
would have been done by.
well, tn en,'' he said, Il will take them"
and. gathering up a handful of blankets,
he remorselessly jerked the covering from
Kirby and rushed from the room. He fed
down the hall to his own room, but when
he got to the door ha heard Kirby coming
after him. SO ne continued on up the stairs
TO the attic floor above. Kirby followed,
mutterng curses in his half-awake cond-
ton. Chapin tried the door he came to at
the top of the stairs. 1t opened and he
stepped through, closing it after him, all
but a crack, through which he heard the
irate and shivering Kirby come UP the
stairs, three at time, and pass the door.
"A dirty devils trick" ne was mutt,rins.
TN punch Chapin's head for him when I
get him"
He to the end of the third-fioor hall,
and down the front stairs, in pursuit of
Chaplin. But that worthy well knew 1t
would be useless to go back to his room to
enjoy his ill-gotten SPOIL so he made him
self comfortable in the unused bed Of the
room he was in
room, and not hearing him, doubled back
up the front stairway silently, and listen
ing intently to catch a sound of his pirating
co-employe, but he heard nothing. Finally
he gave up the search and tumbled into bed
again, getting UP once or twice to pay a
visit TO Chapin's room. But the night was
too cold for sleep with only summer cover
ing, so, under the impression that the night
was well spent and that it was nearly time
to go to Antioch, anyway, he decided to
get up and dress and wait for his rig
Moving around with his clothes on was
preferable to trying to fight the cold in bed
He was about through with his toilet, when
he heard the sound of wheels and the loud
Whoa" of a driver on the road below He
thought it was his conveyance ready for
him, and hurriedly' completing his dressing
he put on his overcoat, snatched I'D his
bundle and ran down the stairs
There was light in what was called the
office. and as he passed he heard through
the half-opened door. some one talking to
the proprietor; he did not, however, look
in, but stepped out upon the road The
night was miserably cold and raw A driz-
cling rain was falling. In the darkness he
made out the shadow of a two-horse
double-seated. covered spring wagon. A
gruff voice from the front seat said to him
as he appeared You'd better hurry up
there. We haven't much time to throw
away.
"All right. cap'n; I'm here" said Kirby
hastily climbing up to the rear seat The
driver started his team Immediately. Kirby
was about to take his seat when he noticed
another person on the rear seat whom he
had not seen before owing to the complete
shadow, the curtains at the side and rear
hnf N dArUr hnva EN a.