Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-01-14
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
!. THE PASSING
! OF Mr.. and MRS.
JOSEPH BRUDER |
By Henry Irving Dodge.
Copyright, 1901,
By Henry Irving Dodge.
By Henry Irving Dodge.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.


ows on the Rome-Watertown division,
and Joseph Bruder and his wife got
down from the passenger coach that
was trailing behind six flats" of rails.
Bruder was six feet four and broad,
and his wife was five feet and narrow.
Bruder carried a huge valise that cost
q dollar and had done service, also an
AK. Mrs. Bruder wore mitts and a
plaintive, piquant smile. In her eyes
there was a standing apology for the
disparity in their sizes. This seemed
to be sore point with the little wo-
man, for she was ever on the alert nor
the quizzng glances Of strangers, and
IL one should stand apart and glance
at the odd couple he was sure to have
his gaze arrested by plaintive glance
from the woman which said as plainly
as speech, "Please don't make fun OF
u.s."
But the man never bothered his head
about what other folks thought. He
was q woodchopper, and that's all he
knew or cared. Next to his wife he
loved his AK, and 1t used to be his
pride that he could put a keen enough
edge on it to shave with. He used to
lay his cheek fondly against the purple
blade and pat it and call 1t his darling.
And the ak seemed to understand him,
for II would bark with quick delight
when lis giant arms swung 1t aloft and
bite the raaple and bury its nose TO the
point where the tempered steel Joined
the softer stuff.
When Bruder got off the train, he
looked around In sort Of inquisitive,
defiant way and put his hand clumsily
around his wife and drew her shoulder
over against his thigh. There was no
one at the depot but the agent, vet
eran In the business, the tenure or
whose position was due TO five toes
that he had years before contributed
to the annual list Of accidents on the
road. Smith had heard that Bruder
was coming to take the place OF one OF
the striking woodchoppers, and 1t filled
him with grave concern. Almost all or
his relatives belonged to the strikers,
and his sympathies were deeply with
them. On the other hand, 1t fell to his
lot to show ostentatious loyalty to the
company. Beaver Meadows was the
chief "woodin' up" point Of the road.
For miles the contiguous country yield
ctnhhnrn coil va
stunted beech and knotted maple.
The president Of the company that
supplied the railroad with wood was
Smiths backer. \ nod from him would
have dislodged that worthy from the
comfortable niche that afforded him
comfortable living. So Smith was be-
tween the devil and the deep sea. HIS
heart was with the strikers, his inter-
est with the company. That's why his
usually placid mind was filled with
perturbation when he beheld the lum-
berlng form of Joseph Bruder and the
diminutiye wife alight from the ca
boose Of Big Four.
Bruder bad an arm as long as his
wife's tongue and could fell at blow
either kind of jackass, human or
brute. Mrs. Bruder was the brains OF
the outfit. She took charge OF the
money, when there was any, allowing
Joseph only enough for tobacco. ON
erwise he was q teetotaler. On the
whole, this strange couple was deemed
a combination to be avoided. No one
ever knew where they came from. On
that score Bruder himself was silent,
with a persistency that defied all the
subtle influences Of bucolic diplomacy.
Surmise said he was an eX-convict,
and as chapter and verse of his past
were not forthcoming this comfortable
theory crystallized into very good
counterfeit Of fact.
When the woodchoppers learned that
Joe Bruder was coming to take Cy Sci
den's job, they knew there would DE
trouble, for they were a determined
lot. There was an understanding. how
ever, q sort of feeling, although no
words had been spoken, that somehow
Smith would settle matters. and SO
It was determined that no one from
among the strikers should meet Bruder
at the depot and attempt by moral or
muscular force to turn him back.
Smith knew what was expected OF
him by his friends and relatives; he