The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-20

mo, not badly, / think she said.
go to the others first-there is a
baby in section g."
Not if there were 100 babies! Come"
And he wrapped her in the berth cur
tains and handed her up to- Farnham.
Happily the Pullmans load was light,
and three minutes later when Petit
grew CROPPED and stumbled through the
binding smoke with the engineers
wife in his arms, he had forgotten the
baby and thought he had them all. But
when he was. dragging himself up out
of the smoking furnace there was a
tumult afoot and a black-browed man
mad with grief and despair was shout
ing in frenzy:
my baby! my baby! Out o. the
way and let me get down there! o
God in Heaven!"
1t was too late, they said, and they
held him back. But there was no one
to hold Pettigrew, and he dropped once
more into the roaring furnace dropped
and. CROPPED fighting as only brave
man can fight for the life of another.
And in the end he won, as a brave
man will; and when they drew him up
through the broken window his eyes
were shut and the iron hand of suffo-
cation was gripping at his throat, but
he had the baby safely swathed in
berth blanket.
In some occult way, the saving of
Jack McCann's baby wrought the mir
acle of healing, and the end of the dis
aster epidemic dated from that moon
lit night and the wreck of Number
Six Just how the miracle was applied
is meat for the psychologists; but Laf-
ferty explained it in a single, syllogism.
''Begob, thin, ard why not? Sure,
there's nivver an omadhaum on the di
vision as wouldn't sit up nights FIR
Old Man Ans afther that"
Pettigrew lay week in bed to pay
for his part in the miracle and had the
urgent business of his Office brought
to his room by the chief clerk. This
was how he learned that Miss Gray
was i'll, and had not yet reported for
duty. Naturally, then. the first use he
made of the doctors permission to get
up was to go and call upon her, os-
tensibly to inquire after her health, but
really to rid himself of a burden which
had grown intolerable For all this
time he had been carrying in his pock
ct the general managers order direct
| ing that all women employees be elm
| mated from the c. & G.. r. service
It was Miss Gray herself who an
| swered his ring, and she was glad to
see him, and said so.
81 was hoping you would come" she
admitted. 81 have something to say to
| Mr.. Arson Pettigrew than to the-er-"
1.-The 'boss?'" he suggested. 81 am
| glad you put me on the friendlier foot
| ing. 1, too, have something to say,
| and"
Il know" she laughed; you are 60
| ing to scold me for not going back to
work Then / shall assume to be very
angry and tender my resignation"
His sigh of relief was almost gasp.
| Il hot Il, t1at
what you were going to say?'
II do; and it is she said, answering
both halves of the query. Il came of
| age last week; l am free, white and
twenty-one, as we should say down in
the dear old Southland; and a little
property of my grandfather's-"
'I understand" he cut in. Then he
got up, took a letter from his pocket
and laid it carefully upon the glowing
is accepted Now will you hear what L
have to say?"
Eyes; but you can't scold me now,
can you?"
God forbid" He crossed the room
| and sat down beside her do you re-
member one evening in the office when
we both laid aside the business con-
ventionalities and you told me what
must do?"
She nodded.
THAT talk made a man of me-made
me whole again, for I was fairly brok-
en-. Agnes, dear, 1.-The business cant
run without you. Won't you come back
into the service as-my wife?'
It was a nine days wonder for the
force in the superintendent office
when it became noised bout that
Agnes Gray had quit between two
DAYS" But the riddle resolved itself
a few months later when she came
back on the Western Division as Mrs.
Arson Pettigrew.