Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1902-01-16
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TINE PASSING
!; OF MIR. and MRS.
JOSEPH BRUDER
By Henry Irving Dodge.
Copyright, 1901,
by Henry Irving Dodge.
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BY Henry Irving Dodge.

OwS on the Rome W atertoWn dlViSlon
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
a dollar and had done service, also an
ak. Mrs. Bruder wore mitts and q
plaintive, piquant smile. In her eyes
there was standing apology for the
disparity in their sizes. This seemed
to be a sore point with the little Wo-
man, for she was ever on the alert for
the quizzing 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
US"
But the man never bothered his head
about what other folks thought. He
was a 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 n keen enough
edge on it to shave with. He used to
lay his cheek fondly against the purple
blade and pat 1t and call it his darling.
And the ak seemed to understand him,
for 1t would bark with quick delight
when his giant arms swung it aloft and
bite the maple 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 inquistive,
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, a vet
eran In the business, the tenure of
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
OA lllC OlLCL Aolidf ~ ANAA ~ AAS
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
ed nothing from its stubborn soil save
stunted beech and knotted maple.
The president of the company that
supplied the railroad with wood was
Smiths backer. A 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-
bering form of Joseph Bruder and the
diminutive wife alight from the ca
boose of Big Four.
Bruder had 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. 9th
erwise he was a 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.
hn viz
and as chapter and verse Of his past
were not forthcoming this comfortable
theory crystallized into a very good
Of fact.
When the woodchoppers learned that
Joe Bruder was coming to take Cy Sci
den's job, they knew there would be
trouble, for they were a determined
lot There was an understanding, how
ever, sort of feeling, although no
words had been spoken, that somehow
Smith would settle matters, and so
Ii was determined that no one from
among the strikers should meet Bruder
at the depot and attempt by moral or
force to turn him back.
Smith knew what was expected Of
him by his friends and relatives; he
also knew that the suspicious eyes of
the president were upon him, and hence
the delicacy of his position. He hated
being double faced" but he had a
very comfortable niche indeed, and
times were exceedingly hard in those
parts He reflected with considerable
disgust that it was quite unjust that
he, who had no personal interest in the
matter. should be the one upon whose
shoulders the task of adjusting the af-
fair should be thrust.
That explains why Smith was per-
turbed upon the arrival OF Mr.. and
Mrs. Joseph Bruder. 1t also explains
why he alone was at the depot to meet |
the distinguished pair. 1t is an axiom
that good luck always comes to the
lazy. Smith wss a lazy man, which |
accounts for the piece Of good luck |
which came to him on the morning of
the arrival of Nr. and Mrs. Bruder.
Bah Armstrong; two-year-old baby |
boy had died of cholera morbus a few
days before. and the sorrowing par
ents, who were farmers, had put the |
little creature In a simple pine box and |
we're sending him down the road to be |
buried in the Armstrong family bury |
ng ground at West Camden. The tiny |
norsel Of humanity was at that mo- |
nent resting in the freightroom Of the |
Beaver Meadows depot
AS Smith llmped down the platform
toward Mr.. and Mrs. Joseph Bruder he
looked through the open door of the |
and got his inspiration
Then he accosted Bruder
'Waitin' for Harris team, amt yer2'
Bruder looked at his wife, and she
aid, Yes"
Coin ter work on the job, amt
,er"
Again Bruder looked at his wife, and
gain she said, Yes"
"Well, I'm right glad ter see yer"
jaid the unconscIonable diplomat ef-