Evening star., 1902-09-13
AN HONEST PORTER

1.-The tip-exacting Pullman car porters
are the recipients of good many knocks
from press and public. but they are not the
worst in the world" remarked a CONNER
cial traveller. 'They may have pretty
fierce way of drilling for tips, but when it
comes to the matter of honesty l know one
of them that's there with the goods, as the
saying goes.
Il left San Francisco, or, rather Oak
land, on the Santa Fe line for Chicago at
O'Clock in the evening a couple of weeks
ago last Sunday. The gang that 1 met in
Frisco had been rather too enthusiastic in
giving me good time of it out there or
the day of my departure, so that when L
woke up on the train along toward O'Clock
the next morning the sleeper bunk felt
pretty warm and my copperS whole lot
warmer. The nearest in fact, the first
stop at which 1 would have chance to fix
those hot coppers out was Mojave, and so
hustled into my clothes to be ready to hop
of the train during the stop at Mojave for
one of those katzenjammer alleviators.
Il asked the Pullman conductor how long
the train would stop at Mojave, and he re-
Piled that the stop would last ten minutes.
L raced into the station cafe when the train
pulled into Mojave and instructed the man
In charge of the bar to rig me up one of
those long, long damp things. He went at
the job in a pretty scientific. manner, and
the piece of wet work that he set before
me was a rare thing to find right along
side of the California desert. 1t was such
a fine and effective creation, in fact, that
L asked him to frame up another one and
got away with this with equal joy. Then
| leisurely strolled to the door to take a
look at my tran-and saw the end of it
curling away in the rarefied distance on
its way toward the land of the rising sun.
1t had pulled out without notifying me.
hustled into the ticket office to ask the
man in the window when I'd be able to
corral another eaStbound train. and he said
that it 'ud be along at o'clock the next
morning-the mate to the train that had
departed without me; there was only Cne
of the overland expresses per diem. So
there l saw myself stuck in Mojave, Cal,
the most miserable little sand dune on the
globe, for full twenty-four hours.
But that wasn't the worst of it. I had
left my Gladstone bag wide open on my
punk, with my wearing apparel thrown
around the section every which way, and
In the bag | had placed. on the night be-
lore. 500 in gold coin, the stuff being too
heavy to carry around in my pockets with
any comfort.
I've got a chance Of getting the bag
back. said l to myself but what the
black porter'll do to those 5000 in gilt money
will be something swoopingly scandalous.
had no idea on earth that I'd ever see
a dollar of that money. l figured it all out
that the porter would corral the money
and then stuff my wearing apparel into
the bag and hand it over to the conductor.
L knew that l wouldn't be able to prove
any such fact that had 5000 in gold money
in the bag. and l gave it up for gone. l
told the station agent at Mojave about the
bag. and he Immediately telegraphed to the
next station to be made by my lost train
along the line, a place called Barstow. n.
Mex, directing that the bag be shipped
back to Mojave on the west-bound over
land.
The bag was returned to Mojave
the west-bound overland late that night.
and l eagerly opened it up TO what l
had left in the bag. Everything was there.
counted the gold roll, and it amounted to
an even $50. The porter. l felt certain,
had appropriated just one of the $40 gold
pieces to compensate him for his trouble in
packing the bag. and l afterward found
out that | was right in this supposition
Il caught the train east on the following
morning, and when l got to Kansas City
| got off to take bit of rest at a hotel.
As l was getting off l met the porter of
the train that had left Mojave without me.
He was walking about the station, waiting
to go aboard his car for anoter western
trip. He saw and recognized me soon
as l recognized him. and he grinned
broadly when he saw me.
Boss said he. coming over to me. 'Ah
suah did look eve'ywheah fo' dat othuh
ten dolluh gol' piece. but All suah couldn't
fin it nowheah,' and then he burst into a
happy darky laugh and slapped his thigh
joyously. l told him how welcome he was
to the $40 piece that he had pnched out
for himself, and I'm not certain that /
didn't give him another couple of dollars
to show my appreciation of his honesty. 1t
might not sound like honesty to speak of
his swiping $40 from my Gladstone bag,
but under the circumstances, considering
the chance he had to grab it all. and con-
sdering. TOO, the nature of Pullman por-
ters as they're supposed to be- L think he
was a paragon of lOneStV.'