The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-07-29
colorado, News:

overalis under his arm and railroad
dinner pail In his hand, leaned against
a rute. ON the other side a blue-eyed
Rlrl with sunny hair and app'e'red
cheeks.
Joe Halliday, Just in with the night
freight surrendered to temptation. He
dropped his overnlls and dinner pail
reached across, and drawing the smiling
face to him. pressed his lips to the
orumpled twin rose leaves.
with innocent fearlessness the blue
eyes looked into the brown ones, while
their owner drank the pleasant greet
inp Of her lover. Suddenly her gaze
was detected over his shoulder, the
happy look was displaced by one OF
terror, and with the dry: "oh, here
comes papa" she ned toward the house.
Old pave spellman had forgotten his
nine. for .once-a brierwood, burned to
he waters edge. and strong enough to
Jack up q deraIled mogul-and had
come back after 1t. He caught a
glimpse Of a blue glngham skirt as 1t
whipped around the rose bush, and then
his surly gaze fell upon Joe.
Here was another one of 'em.
Joe was conscious of guilty blush
but he greeted Annle'S father with d
diplomatic, GOOD morning, Dave!"
'sWhat are you hangin' round here
for7" growled Dave. "Glt along about
~. h,.,regs. don't want We here!
Come. clear out!" he shouted. as Joe
drew himself up with flushed cheek and
eyes swapping, and declined to move
who do you think you are talking
tot" asked Joe, angrily, his diplomacy
scattered to the four winds by old
Dawes onslaught.
'Tm tallGin' to you. I won't have ye
runnin' after my gal. These is my
premises; git out!"
,.'Thls Is the public highway; an I'll
get out when 1 get good an ready. You
ought to be ashamed to talk about your
daughter like that; I always knew you
was an old" But Dave had kicked
the gate open and was rushing toward
the house, calling, "Bendigo!"
A moment later Joe heard an urgent
'sick i'm, boy!" followed by rushing,
growing, gravel-scatterlng within the
'ipremIses.' which told him that Dave
had set the dog on him. But Joe wasn't
one OF the slow sort who court the
daughter of an irascIble old rallroader
without FIRST getting solid with the dog.
As popular report credited Bendigo
with a collection Of samples from the
fair Armies would-be admirers. Joe had
been forewarned. When BendIgo came
tearing through the gate, his wrInkled
muzzle. cleaning fangs and erect name,
eloquent of his Intentions, he found no.
body there but his very good friend. Joe
Halliday. Joe soothed his disappoint-
ment with scraps from his dinner pail,
patted the great head affectionately
und resumed his homeward course
vowlng to get square with old Dave II
he had to steal Annie bodily.
In the meantime poor Annie went
about her work with dropping head, her
long lashes daintily brushing her flush
ed cheeks, accepting in silence her
fathers caustic wtuperations. $50
that's what all that extry whistlln's fer,
down here at the yard block. hey2
Thought twas for his mother to have
his breakfast ready" grunted Dave,
who knew thing or two himself.
It now became impossible for the
lovers to meet except when Joe came in
on Dawes day out; but when that COM
blnatlon occurred. a strain was put
upon the gate hinges. and the blue eyes
and the brown ones drank in each
others meaning, while savage Bendigo
lay contentedly at their feet.
Joe pleaded his cause with the elo-
quence Of desperation; there were no
little brothers or sisters to be cared for;
nobody at all but old Dave. And he
pictured in glowing eolors the contrast
between this and the life she would
lead as his wife in the handsome cot
tage Just to be completed near the
church.
But her unvarying answer, delivered
IN that monotonous tone which sounded
70 Joe like the wall OF utter hopeless
ness was: 81 can't; oh, Joe. 1 can't!
Not while father lives. Who but me
could get along with him? Please don't
ask me. dear"
And so two fond hearts mourned.
Joe proposed tackllng the old man
himself, boldly demanding the daugh-
ters hand; but Annie begged him not
TO imperIl what little comfort she had
In life. To his suggestion that she
might be able to talk to her father over.
she replied that she had never known
him to recede from a position he had
once taken. So they were obliged to
content themselves with such clandes-
tine meetings as they could get, though
they found them far from satisfactory.
Old Dave had run one side of the
steamboat express for years, and he ty-
rannized over his partner, easy-going
Harry Joyce. as he did everybody else.
Dave owned the engine. and everything
pertaining to her; there was no dis
putting that. In the big blizzard Of 49,
poor Harry stayed with her in snow
drift for thIrty-slx hours and went
home and died of pneumonia a week
later.
Everybody said IT was a happy re.
lease.
Joe Halliday being the senior freight
engineer. was promoted to the vacancy
Here was a combination with ven.
gcance! Joe would much have prefer.