The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-05

L
some respect for my ears and feet.
She'll warm up a little by tomorrow,
and perhaps the wind'l die. 1 can
catch up to you fellows by hustling a
little, so / guess I'll stay in and work
on the books to-day"
"All right" Railway assented, little
doubtfully.
This happened two days out of the
week. Finally Dyer hung out a Their
mometer, which he used to consult
The men saw it, and consulted it too.
AT once they felt much colder.
"She was STAN ten below" splutter-
ed Baptjste Teller, the Frenchman
who played the fiddle. HE freeze
t'rou to hees eenside. Dat is too cole
for maxim de work"
Them plains is sure holy fright"
assented Purdy.
"Th' old man knows it
did YOU see him rammin' around
yesterday askin' as if we found her too
cold? He knows damn we'll he ought
not to keep a man out that sort O.
weather"
You'd SILVER like dog in a briar
patch on warm day in july" said
Jackson Hines, contemptuously.
Shut up!" said they. You're barn
boss. You don't have to be out in tn
cold"
This was true So Jacksons inter-
vention went for little worse than
nothing.
1T amt lax he has muffin besides"
went on Baptiste. He can max de
cut in de needle of de fores'."
That's right" agreed Bob Stratton;
"they's the west half of eight amt been
cut yet"
So they sent delegation to Railway.
Boss" said he, bluntly, she's too
cold to work on them plains to-day.
She's the coolest day we had"
Railway was too old a hand at the
business to make any promises on the
spot.
"I'll see, boys" said he.
When the breakfast was over the
crew were set to making sideways and
travoying roads on eight. This was
a precedent. In time the work on the
plains was grumbingly done in any
weather. However as to this Railway
proved firm enough. He was a good
fighter when he knew he was being
imposed upon.
And as the days slipped by he tight
ened the reins. Christmas was ap-
preaching. An easy mathematical COM
putation reduced the question of COM
| pleting his contract with Morrison &
Daily to a certain weekly quota. In
fact, he was surprised at the size of It,
He would have to work diligently and
steadily during the rest of the winter
Having thus a definite task to ac-
complish in definite number of days,
| Railway grew to be more of a task
master. Thus he regained, to "a small
degree. the respect of his men. Then
| he lost it again.
One morning he came in from a talk
with the supply teamster, and woke
Dyer, who was not up yet.
Pm going down home for two or
| three weeks" he announced to Dyer;
| you know my address. You'll have to
take charge, and guess you'd better
let the scaling go. We can get the
tally at the banking grounds when we
| begin to haul. Now, we amt got all
the time there is, so you want to keep
the boys at it pretty we'll"
Dyer twisted the little points of his
mustache. "All right, sik' said he
with his smile so inscrutably insolent
that Railway never saw the insolence
at all. He thought this a poor year
spend Christmas with his family, but
it was none of his business.
do as much as you can in the
marsh, Dyer" went on the jobber. Il
don't believe it's really necessary to
lay off any more there on account of
| the weather"
"All right" repeated Dyer.
The scaler did what he considered his
duty. All day long he tramped back
| and forth from one gang of men to the
| other, keeping sharp eye on the de-
| tails of the work. His practical ex-
| perience was sufficient to solve readily
such problems as broken tackle, extra
| expedients, or facility which the days
brought forth. The fact that in him
was vested the power to discharge kept
| the men at work.
Dyer was in the habit of starting for
the marsh an hour or so after sunrise.
! The crew, of course, were at work by
| daylight. Dyer heard them often
| through his doZe, just as he heard the
chore-boy come in to build the fire and
fill the water pail afresh. After "a time
the fire, built of kerosene and pitchy
black pine, would get so hot that in
| self-defense he would arise and dress.
! Then he would breakfast lesurely.
Thus he incurred the enmity of the
cook and cookee. These individuals have
to prepare food three times day for
| half hundred eaters: besides which
| on sleigh-haul, they are supposed to
| serve a breakfast at o'clock for the
| leaders and A variety of lunches up to
midnight for the sprinkler men. As
consequence, they resent attractions of
Iie niue system Iney may nave been
| able to introduce.
Now the business of a foreman is TO
be up as soon as anybody He does none
| of the work himself. but he must see
| that somebody else does it, and does it
well. He must know how thing ought
| to be done, and he must be on hand I'M
| eXpectedly to see how it's ACCOMPLISH
ment is progressing. Dyer should have
been out of bed at first horn-hIow.
One morning he slept until nearly 10
| O'Clock. 1t was ineXplicable He hurried
| from his bunk, made hasty toilet. and
started for the dining room to get some
sort of lunch to do him until dinner
! time. AS he stepped from the door of
the office he caught sight of two men
hurrying from the cook camp to the
mems camp. He thought he heard the
hum of conversation in the latter build
ing. The cookee set hot coffee before
him. For the rest. ne took what he
could find cold on the table.
Dyer sat down, feeling, for the first
time, a little guilty. This was not be-
cause of sense of a dereliction in
duty, but because he feared the strong
mans contempt for iuefficiency.
II sort of pounded my ear a little
long this morning" he remarked with
an unwonted air of bonhomie
The cook creased his paper with one
hand and went on reading.
Il suppose the men got out to the
marsh on time" suggested Dyer, still
easily.
The cook laid aside his paper and
looked the scaler in the eye.