The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-04
A DRIVER OF SPIKES.
BY EDGAR wELToN COOLEY.


Josa left the railroad track and,
bounding down the embankment of
cinders. FASTENED along the grass
tangled highway.
The August twilight was softly deep-
ening, the red glare of the setting
sun tinting the roofs of the stumbling.
implanted huts of Little Italy"
A flock of English sparrows, scold-
ing each other in the road, flew away
at his approach. But Josa did not
notice them. His thoughts We're OF
Corono-Corono. the dreamy eyed, the
loving.
He could see her home, the third
in the dreary row of houses that
stretched monotonously from the right
of-way to the creek, and in fancy he
could see her standing by the gate
under the cottonwood tree. watching
for him
But when he turned the corner, his
anxious gaze, sweeping along the road
ahead of him. did not see the familiar
form that had so many times sent a
NiA' 80 ~ AAAS Ndiilis AldlldH IGdIls AS
he drew nearer the sound of voices
reached his ears. One was the low.
soft voice of Corona. and the other
he naused No he could not be mis-
taken. The other was the voice of
Antonio.
they were sitting upon the stoop in
front of Coronos home. Josa could
see them quite plainly now, through
the dusk Her hand was in his, and
she was smiling into his earnest, pas
sionate face.
The August air was still, and An
tonio's words, although spoken
were plainly audible to Josa. With
all the f1uency, with all the eIouuence,
with al the passion of his Latin ma
ture, Antonio was pouring into the
girls listening ears the story of his
ieve.---- -
Occasionally she made reply, but
Josa could not hear her words so low
they were. so tender. But his Jealous
eyes drank in the picture of her slen-
den form close pressed in the arms of
Antonio, her dreamy eyes shining
laughing into his.
In his rage Josa gritted his teeth
until his jaws cracked. He clenched
his lists until the nails all but pierced
the flesh. An awful glitter shone
from his eyes, and a scowl, dark and
terrible, covered his face.
On yesterday evening he had walked
with Corona along the peaceful high
way. Together they had drank of the
Iresh, pure air; together they had in
hailed the fragrance of the wild flow
ers; together they had listened to the
music of the birds. And on the bank
OF the creek they had fingered, under
the arching trees, and heard the muir
muir of the ripples-had sat and held
each others hand and talked of the flu
lure. And he had said to her: Some
Gay. Corona, when my savings in the
Dank are more-just little more than
they are now-I will come for vou and
take you to my cabin and you shall
De my Wife. And shall work for Won
happy" mt
She had not answered. She had not
even smiled. But in her dreamy ewes
as she. sat in silence looking down at
the limpid waters. he thought he saw
satisfied. '''i 'eeii
But now-it was all a mistake She
did not love him after all. Her heat
was Antonio's. That was why she had
not made reply; that was why she had
not even smiled.
win anger burning in his heart
Josa turned sharply and trudeed sIov,r'
~ pack through the gathering gloon,
Slowly he climbed the cinder emhanlr-
ment and slowly he walked between tha
shining rails, not towards his home
put away-away from all surround
ings.
When he had passed beyond the linn
its OF Little Italy" he suddenly naus-
ed. Then he left the track again and
made his way across the fields. And
when he had reached the creek. he
turned his face upstream and follow
ed IT'S winding course until he came
to the grassy knoll where he and Coro-
no had sat and talked. With a pain
in his heart he threw himself upon
the ground and buried his face on his
arms. The twilight deepened into dark
ness and the stars came out and winl, -
ed at their reflections in the water.
The shadows of the trees lay more
heavily upon the surface of the stream,
and along the banks a hundred frogs
lifted up their voices to the night But
still the man lay upon the grass. his
head upon his arms.
Finally he sat upright and gazed
across the water at the fields, far ex-
tending.
IT cannot blame her." he said. softly.
TONY is the boss of the section, and I
what am /? Only a driver of spikes.
No, I cannot blame her"
Then he arose and returned to his
lonely cabin.
The heat that 18th of August, was
the most intense OF the year-the most
intense for several years. In Lit
tie Italy" the grass parched and died:
Of q a