Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1899-04-13

talk. Just put your name down there,
Johnnie, he said. we might as well
do the thing in style and have three
witnesses.
1.-THE brakeman signed his name, and
then Uncle Sandman, closing the book,
handed it over to me. Take care OF
that, Sandy, my boy, he said. There
your fortune in Virgil
1.-THE drummers began swapping
yarns again. After awhile the smoke in
the car began to make me sick. was
only a kid then, you know. and WASN'T
used to it. Well, l got up to go in one
of the forward cars The smoking cal
was the last on the train. It was snow
ing, raining and hailing by turns, and
the wind was blowing a gale. AS
crossed the platforms from one car t.
another my foot slipped on the icy
boards, and great gust of wind carried
away my hat and nearly made me lost
my balance threw up my arms to save
myself and the Virgil slipped from my
hand and disappeared beside the track
was afraid of what my uncle would
say when told him Of my carelessness
So | went forward into the farthest ca
from the smoker and sat down in cor
ner. 90
The hoy stopped as if that were thu
end of his story and idly rolled the ciga1
in his fingers.
WELL, said l, Ego on. Was YOU
uncle SO angry that he disinheritet
your
mo" replied the boy slowly. -
hadn't been in the forward car 20 m n
utes when there was a terrific cra i
that smashed the windows and threw
me against the seat in front.
IAN express train had come mp he
hind us and smashed into us. telescop
ing the two rear cars. Uncle Sandman
and the two drummers were among the
killed The brakeman who had signed
the will escaped with only slight in
juries.
We'll" | said. "that is quite {
yarn. "
1.-The day after the funeral, the
trainboy went on, ~ went back to tht
nearest town to the place where the
book had been lost and walked up ant
down the track for miles looking fol
it.
"You never found it?" l asked.
"No. but three months later | was
there again. and | could not help look
ing along the side of the track n.
walked. although of course didn'>
really expect to find it. met small
boy. who asked me what was looking
for asked him if he had ever hear(
of any one who had found book neal
there He said Yes, he knew a hoy
who had found one there early in the
spring. gave him quarter and made
him take me at once to the boy S house
The boy was at school, but / saw hi
mother She said yes. Tommy ha(
found book beside the track, queel
book that none of them could read.
asked her if she would let me see it
She said she had sold it to peddler fol
paper rags a day or two after it was
found. She had never seen the peddlel
since and was never able to trace
him The book may have been used W
in some paper mill, or it may possibly
have found its way to some secondhand
bookstore never pass secondhand
bookstore without going in to ask il
they have an old copy of Virgil.
"Uncle Sandman had left no othe1
will He had never legally adopted me
SO had no legal claim on his money
1t was divided up among some cousins
whom he had not seen for years.
1.-The brakeman who had witnessed
the will got me the place to sell papers
on the cars.
Just then the train stopped at sta
ton, and number of passengers got
on.
81 must go through the cars again, =
said the boy He picked up his pile Of
magazines and went Off "New month
ly magazines! This weeks comic pa
persl
looked at the commercial traveller
across the aisle. ''Do you suppose it't
true?' asked.
give it up" he replied "If it's tic-
tion, that boy will be writing for the
magazines some day instead of selling
them Then he opened his book anG
buried himself in its ages. Ken
niston in Owl