Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-04-18

It tore westward along the rafting
rails The brakeman was hastening
back to the car. "See him?" queried
the conductor impatiently.
"No, sir. He's gone back to the
sleeper.
Somewhere among the browsing car
load Of recruits voice was uplifted in |
not unmelodious song. Most Of the men
were sleeping soundly, but the lively
squad of night owls just bundled aboard,
refreshed by their coffee and bite at the
station, seemed DESTROYS of further en-
tertainment. "Odd, said the conduct
or, "I've hauled many q lot of poor
devils out to Wyoming and beyond.
Most of 'em never came back, hut
never yet saw lot that didn't sing.
What on earth have they got to sing
! for?'
'The Lord knows" answered the
sergeant, "and I've been soldering 30
years. y
Always in the cavalry?"
"Yes, all but one 'listment in caae-
mate that brought me nearer to deser-
tion than ever thought to be-"
Never meet my engineer, Jimmy
Long? He used to be sergeant in the
cavalry out here Got shot through the
| legs in an Indian fight seven or eight
years ago and had to quit.
"Know of him we'll. as most Of us
did, and I'd be glad to see him. He's
pulling us tonight, is he?"
''Yes, and 1 wish you'd come for.
/ ,l,n,, 10,
Springs, only fsw miles ahead now.
He thinks there's something wrong
with that young fellow in the ulster.
I've got to go back and look him up.
Meet me on the platform, right hand
side, when we stop, will you?"
The sergeant nodded, and the con-
ductor went his way.
In the foremost sleeper he found the
object of his search, already comfortably
ensconced in the smoking compartments,
his ulster thrown aside, his feet on the
opposite seat, fragrant cloud of smoke
curling from the tip of his cigar. He
had raised the window and was gazing
out upon spangled armament above a
black void where lay the barren earth
below.
Without word, his cigar still be-
tween his teeth, he felt in the waist
coat pocket of a we'll made travelling
suit of tweed, took out cardcase and
extracted therefrom his railway and
berth tickets and handed them to the
lantern bearing official.
The conductor studied the former
closely 1t was through" from Chi
cage to Butte, unlimited. He turned it
upside down, hind side foremost and
still seemed to find nothing amiss.
"Where'd you get this?" he presently
asked, glancing keenly at the young
man from under his cap visor. The pas
hsenger, still without removing his cigar,
simply pointed to the head of the ticket,
which showed that it was purchased at
the Office of the @. r. I. and P. in Chi
cage. Stopped off at Platte Junction."
asked the conductor.
Eyes What time will we reach
Butter"
"Not before 2. Plenty Of time to go
to bed and Sleep" And the tone of the
railway official plainly indicated that
that was what the conductor thought
incoming to all hours of the night in
the smoking room. The passenger
gravely nodded acquiescence and said
nothing. After an irresolute pause the
conductor again spoke. "Did you tell
the porter to show you to your berth?"
J The traveller in tweeds was evidently
a youth of varying moods. Chatting
3 with the engineer he was frank, jovial,
light hearted, even confiding. In the
brief scene with the troopers he was
! laughing and friendly, even lavish,
from their point of view. Was it some
sense of suspicion, some subtle intuition
that he was the object Of a special scru.
tiny on the conductors part that he
9 was being subjected to cross question.
ing never thought of in the case of 9th,
er patrons of the road?
t Something in the conductors look,
! tone and manner had given him UNI
J. bragg. Like some itinerant clam, storm
tossed and at odds with the world, he
d drew within his she'll and clamped the
: jaws of his reserve. Something akin tc
a frown settled between his eyebrows.
t He looked coolly, almost defantly,
! straight into the half closed eyes of his
questioner, with pair of wide open
keen blue orbs of his own, and under
Q his soft brown mustache his curved pinl
k lips set like trap For moment he
3 made no reply, then finally answered
l "No.'
y Mr. Jarvis was ali old hand. He hao
run trains over the Transcontinenta
b ever since it first bored way through
Q the hunting grounds of the Sioux, anG
{ many tramp had he hustled off the
cars in midprairie. But this was nc
tramp. This was self possessed, vel
9 dressed, fine looking tourist, and, bu
for the straight, sharp, American clil
to his words, rather of the Englisi
y type. He nettled the conductor, and thu
y conductor had nettled him. Each wa
}. aow bristling at every point and in II
}. mood to appreciate the others position
u We'll, do you propose to sit up al
night?" was the next question, pro
Q pounded in a tone common enough OF