The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-01-21
By Henry Irving Dodge
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Bruder carried huge valise that cost
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 q sore point with the little wo-
man, for she was ever on the alert for
the quizzng glances of strangers, and
if 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 woodchopper, and that's all he
knew or cared. Next to his wife he
loved his ak, and it 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 it his darling.
And the ak seemed to understand him,
for it 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 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 of
whose position was due 10 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 it filed
him with grave concern. Almost all Of
his relatives belonged to the strikers,
and his sympathies were deeply with
them. On the other hand it 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
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 hacker. 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 filed 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 persstency that defed all the
subtle influences of bucofic diplomacy.
Surmise said he was an ex-convict,
and as chapter and verse of his past
were not forthcoming this comfortable
theory crystallized into a very good
counterfeit of fact.
When the woodchoppers learned that
Joe Bruder was coming to take Cy Sell
denis job, they knew there would be
trouble. for they were determined
lot. There was an understanding, how
ever, a 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
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
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 at
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 was lazy man, which
accounts for the piece of good luck
which came to him on the morning of
the arrival of Mr.. and Mrs. Bruder.
Bah Armstrong; -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 bax and
were sending him down the road to be
buried in the Armstrong family bury
ing ground at West Camden. The tiny
morsel of humanity was at that mo-
ment resting in the freightroom of the
Beaver Meadows depot.
AS Smith limped down the platform
toward Mr.. and Mrs Joseph Bruder he
looked through the open door of the
Then he accosted Bruder.
''Waitin' for Harris team, amt yerY
Bruder looked at his wife, and she
said, yes
"Goin' t-r work on the job, amt
yer?"
Again Bruder looked at his wife, and
again she said, "Yes."
"Well, I'm right glad ter see yer"
said the unconscionable diplomat eff
fusively. II tell yer, we've been hayin'
Sysat COINS on aroun' here"
Again Bruder looked at his wife, and
again she said Yes softly and press
ed a little closer under the shelter Of
his mighty thigh.
Between you and me-" continued
the willy Smith, "these woodchoppers-
l mean the Beaver Meadow fellers,'
he fastened to explain as a slight con-
traction of Bruder's forehead warned
him that any slur upon the craft would
not be velcome-''d don't know when
they're well off"
He paused. and Bruder looked at his
wife, but she remained silent.
''Of course | amt got nothin' against
these men here, and 1t may not sound
well comm from me, me bein' in the
employ of this corporation, as amt sup
posed ter show no Partially, but seems
ter me these men is little unreason-
able. Yer see," he went on as neither
Bruder nor his wife spoke, ''times have
been pretty hard around here, with
crops failin' and good deal of sick