The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1899-01-21

Iyii - s%:5$5ifia happy. EYerybOd'
tNsS ss5{|@<=%al told him that b,
[MMa#%sgHs%18g ought to think him
\$%%e-a~<9zI self in big luck
SsSsx and he did no
| gainsay them. As a matter of fact il
was just what he had wanted for TWEEN
ty years OF more-not the pension ex
actly, but the rest.
Leaving out the three weeks of thu
strike, the month that he was in the
hospital after the cam flask exploded
and the two weeks that he had laid of
when he got married, cold Rofey'
could count the days that he had beer
absent from the foundry on the fingers
OF his toil-worn and grimmed right
hand. Now he was going to take ten,
fifteen, perhaps twenty years of care
free leisure before they stretched out
his old limbs for the final repose. Two
dollars day for fifteen years-a dollar
q day more than he got when he first
went to work for old Langley in Pitts,
burg and not a stroke to do for it!
There was nothing small about the
young man, "Old Rofey" thought, as
he sat and watched his stout, middle
aged daughter washing up the break
| fast dishes. But he felt uncomfortable
about it after all.
cold Rodey" was sixty.fye Years
old, and a good man yet, be had sup
posed. There had been times lately.
it was true, that he had felt rather
muddle-headed over his work. and
the new foreman had complained about
the patterns-there had been some
mlscalculation of the linear dilation
on q batch Of car wheels and the whole
casting had to be broken up-but for
all that there was not man about the
place that knew as he did every stick
OF seasoned timber in the loft, every
dust-coVered draught in the roll cup
board, every tool-chisel and gouge.
anger and drill, jig saw and lathe.
The possibility that there would come
q time in his life when another man
would take his place in the old pat
tern room had never occurred to him.
what are you'll studying about,
father?" asked his daughter, wiring
ing her dishcIoth and fitting the pan
INFO the sink. "You amt gettin' tired
O. doin' nothin' a'ready?"
"Oh, nothin' nothin'," he replied, |
fretfully. "I amt studyin' about !
nothin' in particular. Where d'you
put the paper?"
He tookthe breakfast-stained sheets
that she gave him, and, sliding his
spectscles down from his bald fore
head to his nose, tried to read. Usu-
aIly he had taken a keen delight in
ooking over the news; the only trouble
YES that he seldom had time to read
III he wanted to. But this morning
re seemed unable to interest himself l.
lie felt that there was plenty OF time
o 30 through the whole thing from
he first front page headline to the
ast advertisement, and there was no
oy IN 1t. His thoughts would stray
way from the peace commission and ,
he Philippines everyfew minutes and
o wandering off to the foundry. His I
aughter had gone upstairs and
range sort OF silence had come over {
10 place, through which he could i
ear the high pitched voices of the i
cddlers crying their wares in the q
rect and the ticking of the walnut f
lsed clock on the mantel shelf. The /
ock as he looked at it struck nine i
Id as he counted the slow strokes he b
as filled with vague, undefnable p
'prehension. Nine O'clock and here n
was sitting in rocking chair at il
me and reading the paper! He won. s.
red what the timekeeper in his lit h
} office box at the door thought about Il
Not much, perhaps. cold Rofey" NJ
membered that he had thought lit W
OF the old crew as one by one they
d left the rambling, smoke black al
ed place to return no more. Lang tt
he had missed most of all, and ca
1t to him Big Nels, who used to tap hi
cpPola; but there was always the W
+ OF the blast, the clank and clatter &C
ia q opnDo III o;oz IL . -1I -, .