The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-08-12

each time his train crawled up the hill rather pretty girl, dressed in Q blue gingham dress, used to come out of the house and watch the cars go by with a deeply interested look. She did this day after day, and the train hands be- gan to look for her whenever they passed.
 T wonder, Frank, if she'll be on hand, to-day" Bill, the conductor, would remark. Its queer, ain't it, what a peculiar holt train has on women folk. I tell you, Frank, the \ women are more dead set on trainmen l than they are on soldiers" 1 Frank was paying little attention to what Bill was saying. He was aa curious as Bill, but, as he was the younger of the two and was growing a little interested in the little girl, held his tongue. Some innate good feeling prevented him from fnduIging in any hippant remark. He felt a proprietor ship in the little girl, and in his heart he began to call her his little girl" though, perhaps, she had never noticed l him any more than she had noticed the engineer or the fireman. Frank was, however, careful to see 1 that she saw him, for when he was nearing the solitary farmhouse, set on a great flat plain close to the tracks, he would get on the roof of the caboose so as to be in plain view. I "A-g0in to see your gal?'' was Bilrse remark as he began to climb on the roof. well, she'll be seeing you for sure up there.''
 l This time Frank determined that he would make some sign to let her know that he was awaiting her coming to the side of the track, 60 he tirnidly waved his hand.
 She gave him a swift look and then became absorbed in the locomotive.
 Frank returned a little crestfallen.
 T dare say that you were a-waving your mitt to her. said Bill, and she turned you down cold
 Frank made no answer.
 Well, don't be discouraged at that" continued the conductor consolingly. "Thers many 8 gal who turns man Edown just to keep him on the string, so you get up there again tomorrow and wave like the mischief. You keep on a-doin' that, and perhaps about this time next year, if she doesn't get mar ried, she will kind of take some notice"
 BiN was right. After few days the girl return a timid recognition and Frank was in the air.
 i I'd like to write to her and tell her how much think of her, he confded to Bill.
 You big lout," was the reply, have you ever written love letter to gal? Don't you know that is the worst Kind of writing, darned sight worse than an accident report, and here you are a-goin' to write her and you don't know her name.'
 That's no matter. can throw 1t off to her. said Frank. Yes, that's so, and I'll help you write the letter. It won't do to make mistakes. She may be one, of the eddi- cated sort and she may laugh at the
 note, and I tell you what, lad it's all II. P. when a gal laughs at a man." 1 Frank, with the aid of the erudite conductor, wrote a letter which was begun with "Honored Miss and wound up with Yours Running" This, Bill explained, was to show that the writer was Ion the jump" and so she would excuse any errors in the epistle. Attaching the tender missive to a piece of coal Frank hurled it at the girl as she stood by the track and he saw to his intense satisfaction that she took it and tore the envelope open. be- fore he was of sight
 He sent her another letter on the downtrip, and then next day he told her to fasten letter, if she cared to reply, to the end of the hoopstick and he would catch it as he passed.
 There was the girl on the next trip with a letter, and Frank caught the precious missive.
 1t was a simple little note, telling him how she liked to see the train pass by and so accustomed was she to see the cars that if anything happened to the train. she would feel as if she had lost 1 the best friend on earth. l Other letters passed and then Frank announced to her that he was going to get a leave of absence and was coming to call on her.