Evening star., 1901-08-10

rose and courteously bowed her to the door.
Then he rushed back to his desk. slammed
around to his favorite cafe, banging the
ONCE door furfously behind him.
When MIS- Dtng1ey reached home she
tlptoed gently to her husbands bedside.
the winds. She disobeyed every one Of the
DOCTORS orders. and flung both arms
around her husbands neck.
81. sam, sam; only you could have seen
Dingley blinkea his eyes wonderingly and
clasped her hand nervously.
Wnat mas come over you, little womanf
Wnose Iace! Where have you been?
On, sam, dear; while you were asleep q
teiegram came from 6r. Hinchman. and I
Just had to go down. You know the doctor
salo you weren't to be wakened. and
thought he just wanted to worry you about
something that was past and done for
AND wouldn't let him. so there! But what
90 you think, dear; 1t wasn't anything
wrong TINS time, but guess he's had some
terrible, terrible letter from headquarters,
and they wouldn't accept your resigna-
tloI' ana hes in an awful stew-oh. If you
Just could have seen his face-and they
want you to come back. He hated to tell
me! IL almost choked him, but it had to
come"
What did you tell him.
Ieli hlm? Why, I told him the truth!
you got over the sickness he'd caused you
NO, no, dear, didn't say it quite in that
way"
But t., you gave him to understand as
Mrs. Dingiey gazed up into her husbands s
grave face and penitently nodded her
Il couldn't help it, dear 1 just had to
When thought of all you'd gone through
you
Dingley was struggling to his feet
81 Fam Dlngiey, what are you trying to
I must
but the doctor
~ can stand it, or I wouldn't try it. It
VIII 90 me more good than all the medicine
in the world
Mrs. Dingley misunderstood his meaning,
and busted herself in helping him dress
and prepare for the short journey to the
office. Then she caught the happy light i'm
his eyes. and she burst forth, almost in
tears:
Sam Dingley. L do believe you're going
down to take that resignation back You
won't refuse the offer from Cousin Geof ge,
will you dear?"
She clung to his arm, but he unclasped
her hands and kissed her.
'We'H see, dear-We'll see"
Hinchman had finished his letter, the
seventh that he had started. 1t was not
satisfactory to him. 1t would probably
hnd less favor at headquarters He FUN
pied In his desk for stamp and shadow
Tell across the tesselated floor. He looked
up and saw man peering through the
glass panel 1t was Dingley
=. H1nchman sprang to his feet and flung
the door open eagerly. Then he remem-
bered and pulled himself together The
conversation which followed between man
aser and excursion conductor is not a mat
ter OF record. but when Dingley rose he
said:
This will be something of a disappoint-
ment to my wife. She thought there was
a better prospect for me with the P. and
such faith in their own husbands but she
mas notion that 1 might be president of
the r. and o. some day. But then'-and
ms voice broke a trif1e-"she don't under
stand what 1t is to work for one line twen-
ty-five years. Why, fellow feels as if
the blamed road couldn't turn a wheel
without him.. no
He was In the main office now and
Hlnchmans gate had swung shut with a
snap. But above the gate was Hinchman's
hand, cordially outstretched. His firm,
carefully manicured fingers closed over
Dingley's hot nervous hand. He hesitated
Just second, then looked Dngley fairly
81 don't believe you know, Dingley, what
nasty scrape you've saved me. Do you
i have any idea what an amount of politics
there is in railrpading?'
Dingley nodded his head sympathetically
He had not worked. eight long years in
Headquarters for nothing. Hinchman
raised his voice nerybusly.
MAN, it's he'll. The NJ R. and N. send
me down here with9 orders to weed out
the r. P. men and substitute our own peo-
pie, and then the first break 1 make to
obey orders they threaten to settle the
matter satisfactorily from that end of the
hne-which means my head would drop
into the basket. Let me tell you it isn't
always the little fish that get caught on
the hook"
But Dingley was not listening His hand
had instinctively reached for his watch
chain Yes, when he got home he'd take
out the R. P. charm. Once more he had
the right to wear 1t.