Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1900-06-16


Dsy,e way down the hill
,os9aa side 10 tho mud
g~ flats, where u .
ducl,a aud tho little Dugana wade and
sun themselves all tho Sumiaer'iime.
Tho railroad bridge, which iaa vialuet
moro than a mile log, carries tue track
across tho valley lar above tho aliinins
water, aud often tho high arches ~
tho distance are hidden from tho little
Dngans by the bluo smoke that dgilt7
thinly down tho valley from the mills
whero Mr.. Dugan workn. In the
morning tho littlo Dugana carry hiH
dinner. pail as far as tho end OF the
bridge, which gives him short cut
TO tho mills, although ho dc;les the
railway company's rules when he re-
sorts TO 1t.
At tho end Of the bridge Dugan al
ways sends his children back 10 the
cabin, for tho bank goes down In very
precipitous fashion TO tho river'bed
from tho high abutmcnts. But Johnny
Dugan, the eldest boy, olten ventures
on the bridge to throw stones at the
blue glass insulators on tho last tele'
graph. polc-thc top Of that pole is
almost on level with tho track on
tho bridge, and its base is eighty feet
below, close by tho stone abutmcnf.
Johnny feels brave TO stand where hc
can glance down tho tall white pole
TO where the Dugan ducks arc pad.
ding in the puddlcs and his own
small tracks AFRO visible in the al.
iaccnt mud.
Johnny Dugan aud tho Barry boys
had spent many plchsant hours. one
April day, throwing stones at tho in
sulalors. when they were caught in the
net by big Ed Conlin, tho telegraph
company's rineman, tho man of won
derful spurs aud leg atraps. No doubt
they would have noticed his approach
and escaped recognition, as usual, had
thoy not been lost in admiration OF
Jimmy Barry. who had at last sue
ceedcd in breaking ono of the insulai
tors. Ed Conlin promptly called on
Mrs. Barry, who ''blarnoyed" him
wisely, aud then on Mrs. Dugan, who
happened to be in m irato mood. and
so gavo him the rough sido of her
tongue and ordered him OF the place.
Then Ed vowed that il he ever found
johnny Dugan on the bridge he would
throw him into tho Dugan duckpond;
after which nothing Lut enmity could
rule between the DuSans and Western
Union. And rule it did until one
May morning after heavy rain.
The rain had mado tho gully alon g
the track roaring torrent of muddy
water. The river itself, from previous
freshcts, was high over the flats. And
johnny was on tho end of the bridge,
peIting the insulators and keeping an
eye on all roads by which any section
hand or linoman might approach.
Such was the situation when some
thing went wrong with the telegraph
pole that had suffered 81 many as
saults. 1t suddenly fell toward the
bridge, 80 that the top red CROSS arm
was close to the ends of the ties. There
tho wires held it. johnny peercd
down and made out that the. earth had
been washed away from the base of
the polo by the steam from the ditch.
Two of the wires had broken under the
strain.
eli, kidsw cried johnny to his
mates, who were hunting for car.seals
among tho cinders. "Wc can get the
glasses!"
The others came up to inspect, but
the humminS wire and the great
white pole that extended from their
feet to the fiat below awcd them.
Johnny alone was undaunted; greed
possessed him wholly as soon as he
saw that the top row of insulators
we're loose and free of wire.
"Huh, you kids afraid" cried he.
"I'm going to get the whole row."
Johnny secured short board and
carefully laid it. from tho bridge to
the cross.arm of the telegraph pole.
He tried his weight on the board and
then slid ont until he could grasp the
pole with his legs and arms. Then he
reached for tho glass insulators:.
eli, Johnny, the sectionmen are
coming" sang out Jimmy Barry.
AS Johnny. made n hasty swing
around the pole to get back to the
bridge, his fright at being discovered
vanished in greater terror, for the
telegraph,pole lurched, another wire
snapped, ard the big stick swung ont
until it hung at an angle of sixty de-
grees toward tho river, with Johnny
clinging desperately to the cross-arm,
eighty feet from the swirling brown
water and twenty feet from his. fright
ened companions on the bridge. AS
tho pole stopped careering, Johnny
gave one frightened glance downward
and then turned white, freckled face
toward the bridge.
"Run. fellers!" he shouted weakly,
and up the track the trio flew.
Ed Conlin and one Of tho section.
men were coming down the track,
looking for the cause of Western
Unions trouble, and when he saw the
boys hurrying away, he suspected
them.
"Get Quit" he shouted. eff ! catch
you here again, I'LL" But just
then he saw Johnny Dugan far olit On
the tremulous pole.
"How'd he get there?' said the
staring sectionman.
Big Ed Conlin did not stop to ex-
plain. In three bounds he reached
the bridge, looked down, and saw the
treacherous water swirling around the
base OF the pole. How long would it
remain upright?
"Tell him to slide down." said the
seciionman.
''He's too little. The water might
catch him below aud carry him away,
said Ed Conlin. "IIane on, sonny!
Don't he scaredr'
Then he rushed through The Dugcn
cabbage patch to the well AM cut the
rope from the spindle aud got back
TO the bridge before the Barry boys
had half aroused the mothers with
their clamors.
Ont on the bridge ihe lineman made
e. moose and prepared to cast it over