The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-05

The wayfarer felt very much like a war correspondent. It struck him that l he. had been careless in not providing l himself with field glasses, puttee leg | gings and a khaki suit . He had been sent out in hot haste by the managing editor. The cam | paign was on in Baldwin. An advance was ordered all along the line. CIVIL zation was moving forward against the Wilderness. 'Skirmishers were scat tered through the wire grass and sedge | fields and outposts had been establish | ed in the pine woods. They were on | the way to these outposts, the Way | farer and the Engineer, on the way to | look over things and do the errand of l the Managing Editor At least that | was the business of the Wayfarer who wrote things for a newspaper and got a little brown envelope from the | cashier every Saturday afternoon when he was in Montgomery.
 The Engineer was doing the Good l Samaritan act. He had a tough hicko- " buggy and a little bay mare bred in the piney woods as tough as the | hickory buggy. The little mare would strike a fox trot at daylight and keep 1t until after dark, covering her fifty miles a day without turning hair. It was a fine little turnout that just | fitted the piney woods, and the En- | gineer knew the devious winding roads as well as a school boy knows the way home when school is out | He had a kindly heart had the En- | gineer and he was taking the Wayfarer over the ground upon which civiliza- | tion was to march. The Wayfarer was | q provinced bred youth and the ideals l and traditions of a conventional child hood clung hard and fast to him. | The Engineer was like no Engineer 1 the wayfarer had ever seen. He jar red on the provincial youths ideals Of how engineers ought to look. All the ! engineers the wayfaring youth had ever seen wore overalls and carried large cans with thin tapering spouts. | This engineer wore business suit and | a derby hat. He had dropping moustache and alert dark eyes. | As the day wore on and the little mare pushed mile after mile of the sedge fields and pine woods behind her the Engineer grew communicative. He | had things to tell of the time he was ] laying out the railroad in Alaska be- tween Skagway and Youkon with the | thermoter 50 degrees below. There l were little stories he had to tell of | railroad building in Canada, in Iowa, in Illinois, in Georgia. He was d soldier of fortune this Engineer with | the iron gray hair and he had served | under many suns. and had stories to | tell of moving adventure by flood and | field
 | He was directing, in his way, this l present advance of the combin ed armies of Progress and Civiliza tion. | With the noon day sun We came into | the neat little town of Silverhill, where the Swedes live. Nice little place, this, the settlement of Ton Yonson and Ole Olesen. The piney woods marc was given a banquet on a 15-cent bucket | of oats.
 The Wayfarer and the Engineer en- | tered the Nordin Hotel on the corner of Broadway and Fourth Avenue, There must have been some mistake somewhere. On first sight Broadway | would be mistaken for a big, sandy road and Fourth Avenue for an every day pine wood. But the letterhead of | the hotel said plainly that it was To- cated on the corner of Broadway and Fourth Avenue and the hungry visitors took the leterhead's word for 1t.
 The proprietor was a shrewd and kindly Swede. He explained why he was in Silverhill. De colt in de Mort was so colt I tank I b1eeve I goom Sout." he said.
 The explanation was quite satisfac- tory.
 He gave the visitors The Silverhill Nydeher to read while he assisted in | getting dinner ready. The Nydeher being prined in Swedish failed to claim the interest and attention of the guests as well as it might.
 But that dinner, what was it com posed of? Nobody knows but the pro- prietor of the Hotel Nordin on the corner of Broadway and Fourth Ave nue.
 A young Swedish gentleman wearing q sweater and a pair of glasses sat op- posite the Engineer and the Wayfarer He spoke no English and the guests spoke no Swedish. For this circum- stance cross table conversation Ian guished. The young Swedish gentle man unquestonSbly held the key to culinary mysteries which were served up piping hot. But he bolted his din ner and departed hurriedly without revealing the menu mysteries of the Hotel Nordin.
 An amber soup with much flotsam and jetsam was served. The Engineer looked at it enquiringly and then tc the Wayferer he said:
 What is it? You have three guesses?'
 Some sort of vegetable soup" haz. arded the Wayfarer.
 "Too indefinite. You lose youl chance"
 Next in was a big dish loaded dowr with something like beef.
 Your time, now" said the Way
 farer expectantly. Come across
 Don't let anything like this stump you
 man of your experience"
 The Engineer shook his head sadly
 He had travelled far and he had trav
 elled wide, but he had never seen any
 think like this. But soup and beei
 mystery or no mystery tasted good an,
 the two sojourners fed generously up
 on them.
 Next up was another long and wid
 dish. It's contents had a friendly ant
 familiar look.
 Fried oysters" exclaimed the En
 gineer with joyous confidence.
 The Wayfarer having tasted one O
 the units on the dish looked sternl,
 at his fellw traveller.
 Fried oysters, fried oysters. Ina
 was a bum guess. You ought to be
 weather guesser. They are some sor
 of meat balls. I am surprised a
 you"
 A flaxen haired maiden from Swe
 den set what was believed to be salad on the table. The Enginee
 looked enquiringly at the Wayfarel They Wayfarer side stepped the ques