The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-06-11

the cards dealt above the table to all,
and a heavy kick into outer darkness
to the coward who attempts to rise by
crushing q weaker shoulder
AS the speaker pauses, the words ring
ing true as tried steel were very pleas
ant in Lawrence's ears. The deep and
comprehensive knowledge of the prolific
source of the black ruin of fortune, or
prestige, was a revelation.
~ ~
yes" resumed Mr. Blank, after a
musfng silence, 'if I were so consti-
tuted as to be absolutely Indifferent to
the implied claims resting upon me,
would yet pursue a similar course as a
preguaranteed investment When I see
my men living comfortably in their own
homes, with merry hearths, undisturbed
by the haunting fear of capricious or
heartless discharge; with mothers who
look into the little flower faces, undis-
turbed by a haunting fear of future en-
forced deprivation; with men who know
that their interests are vitality inter-
woven with mine; then / can feel that
l can take the little woman on our long
deferred European tour, but until then
my place is here. 1t is very easy for the
mechanical sharps to design embodied
the fellow at the throttle or brake is off
his feed the outfit is doomed to the
wrong side of the ledger
LAS I understand YOU said Law
renee, you wish to make the name IN
ter-Mountain' have for your men the
subtle meaning which the soldier finds
interviewer in the streaming folds OF
battle flag"
That's it exactly" said Mr. Blank,
as he brought his heavy hand enthusi-
astica1ly down upon the speakers Shout
ders. You have caught my meaning.
When L get the fellow riding ahead or
over Inter-Mountain property to look
upon the name embiazoned on cab or
car as being a thing intrusted TO his
hands for veal or woe by man who
believes and utterly trusts in him and
who knows that they-the men of the
throttle. waybill, scoop or brake-will,
under every condition, be to the trust
as a color bearer to his flag, my invest
ment will color yellow under its gilt
edge
Il can give You the best in the box
on this" answered lawrence, but it
seems very queer to me to have a man
in your position voice so exactly the
sentiments of every railroad man We
of the rank and file have, of our varied
experiences, been in possession of this
information for years I'VE often thought
while lying half asleep in switch
shanty what a revelation 1t would be
to stock and bond owners if they could
hear the varied comments and practical
points expressed In the swiftly ex-
changed views Of the old Vikings of the
fota f,rJ i,,di
by the u. B. toward outraged public
opinion; of the brutal pomposity or
overbearing insolence Of the officials on
the C. D.: or the contemptuous bearing
evinced in cab or caboose at the mere
mention Of names linked to the highest
positions or Of the freely predicted fall
of great system corroded to the core
in the dry rot of luxurious sinecures or
favoritisIn-"
You forget" said Mr.. Blank, dryly,
that 1 went through the mill before I
came to the throne: but Lawrence you
| had best make arrangements to get your
! friends ON the ground. Old Jasper's APP
I, peal IS too vital to be ignored"
In compliance to the friendly order,
Peter Lawrence. erswhile switchman,
| but now the right hand of a mighty in
! tellect, passed out to his duties.
| John in the mean time. having finish
| ed dinner, took an ainless walk around
| the little upland city Very strange
| seemed the adjuncts of landscape. wind
! and sky to the lad from whose earIf-
est recollections, nature was a thing OF
| whispering winds; OF gentle swayins
| boughs; of vivid-fiecked green under
| crowding. dancing shadows: of calm
skies and languid zephyrs- This crude land
Of wide-flung. overlapping mountain, rfs-
! Ing range upon range, clear cut and
! firmly outlined against a sky of unfath-
| orna BILE blue The wide desolation OF
! untold leagues of sage--dotted plains
! trimming the desert horizon was thing
| of a dreariness beyond expression. All
| the long afternoon he sat, chin in hand
! looking out to where, black buttress-
ed. the awful mass of black rock tower
! ed against the unlocked. unchanging
blue. The thoughts crowdng upon him
| were the longest of his life.
| " "
The swift swirl of the last ten days
was as a apidIy-twirled panorama. and
as the sun sank into the nesting hollow
| of the awaitIn~ canyon, a feeling of ir-
resistible longing ran through hiu-a
heart-sick vision of familiar green
flooded home; the touch OF dear, cIingine
hands, was almost unbearable. A hand
is laid upon his dropped head, while
a hearty voice says, cheeriIy:
| Trying 10 catch the mountain fever
are you? l know how you feel. but let
me give you little comfort The In
dians say, He who comes from the plain
or salt waters, and as the sun goes down
( looks upon the mountain, to him will
come its spirit; and though long be his
days and many his hours. with him will
1t abide forever: and though he NAV
pitch his tepee in full fields or beside
fish-croWded waters, he will when The
Master Of Souls stands beside his couch
wall for the black rock and dash of swff,
railing stream, or the view OF the sur
glowing upon the darkening peaks