Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-12-24

IIWNt thS aim coA1N A%pW y pun
L. ing noisiiy, at the town b
Gunnison, Col, at TWO o'clock in tn,
afternoon of December 20, there wai
seated in the middle section Of tn
sleeping car a very CORRESPONDING ole
gentleman. You could see at once hs
was out of humor. He looked so much
as If he might, on slightest provoca.
ton, bite, you wouldn'tshav been sur
prised to hear him bark.
1t was a cold, unfriendly stare thai
he bestowed upon Kitty Waller when
bundled up in a great red coat and
a warm hood, with a paper box under
her arm and a little satchel in her
hand, she was shown by the porter to
a seat just across the aisle from his
own. eefg
She couldn't have noticed the look,
for as the train began to move she
| plunged in among his bags and shaw
| straps, almost knocking a book from
his knee in her eagerness to obtain the
last glimpse of a woman on the plat
| form, which was on his side of the
car, a Browning, King & Co.'s
| Monthly.
Il beg your pardon" said she, Il
wanted to say good-by to aunty."
You seem to have said good-by to
| your manners" was the hateful reply.
and Kitty, now alive to the fact tnat
the gentleman was very cross, crept
back to her own seat and nestled
quietly in the corner.
She was only ten years old, but she
had grown up tall in the Elk noun
tain air, and her cheeks were rosy.
This vas her first ride on a. railroad.
Indeed, from her uncle's half-l log, half
frame house, where her mother had
died when she was a baby, no tracks
save those of miners or jack-rabbits
were visible. Now she was going all
the way to Denver to spend Christmas
with Grandma Waller.
She knew the train was due in Dem
yer at seven o'clock the next morn
ing. and that after a long, happy day
she would hang her stockings in the
big 0 grandma had so often writ
ten to her about, and old Santa Claus
would fill it.
AS early as seven o'clock the good
natured porter prepared the funny bed
in which she was to sleep, while she
looked on in open-eyed amazemen.,
and by eight o'clock she was In the
land of dreams. the last sound she had
heard being the voice of the cross,
gentleman" scolding the porter for
making up his berth with the head
toward the engine.
1t vas early when Kitty awoke, and
the train was not moving. Happy and
scarcely stopping to wonder why they
were not in Denver, Kitty dressed her
self, and presently from between the
curtains opposite came the cross gen.
tleman," grumbling aloud and calling
for the porter.
rs afeerd, SIR said that individ-
ual, we're done stuck here for mos
of de day. The big tun'l this side of
Marshall pass has eaved in"
Then the conductor explained that
a section of one of the mile-long snow
sheds had fallen, and that all they
could do was to wait for a wrecking
train from Pueblo.
And not a blessed thing to eat"
said Kitty's fellow passenger.
With trembling hands the little girl
opened her box of luncheon. Hard
boiled eggs, a pot OF jam, sardine
sandwiches, thick slices Of buttered
bread and lots of cookies.
a4t farb ora,c nOr tLan L aan 1a4 e;- -
said she; won't you have some?"
The cross gentleman arose. He
looked for a moment hard at Kitty,
whose eyes sank to the floor, and then,
with a bow as though she had been a
grown-up young lady, he crossed the
aisle and seated himself opposite to
her.
1t was not until afternoon that the
damage ahead was sufficiently re-
paired to allow them to proceed, and
when evening-Christmas Eve-came
the train was just making its way
through the Royal gorge, nearly "a
hours late.
Their talk during the day had been
of mines and snowshoes, with now
and then digressions on her part into
confidential anecdotes concerning her
pet doll that had been lost in a snow
slide a week before, but which she
hoped to find in the spring, unless
Santa Claus should-and she trembied
with excitement as she mentioned IT,
bring her another in the morning.
But" he had said to her just be-
fore he bade her goodnight, how can
Santa Claus catch us? We're late and
going at 80 miles an hour"
Santa Claus is like an angel Kit
ty replied; 'he can be anywhere he
wants at n time" Then, just as
she was quite ready to go to sleep,
she leaned out between the curtains
and said: win you lend me a pin
to pin my stockings to the curtain? ?
l can't find any nail" He gave her
a pin.
It was past II o'clock when the
lights of Pueblo we're seen in the dis
tance The ''cross gentleman" had
IfL. l. 49, Dr.. l..