Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1906-02-03


would not have been in the office at
all. only he had some money in the safe
and had received orders by wire to
sleep in the station that night.
He did not know how much there
was. 1t had come in n sealed package
locked in a small pouch. He knew it
was pay day on the new branch then
building on the list, and this was the
3lSt
"Why can't they send pay carr"
asked Graham OF himself.
"Too confounded mean" he muttered
The hours dragged slowly, but Gra-
ham found some solace in thinking OF
Miss Delaine.
Miss Delaine was from Chicago. She
was visiting the daughter of Silas
Jones, whom she had met at school.
Miss Jones was tall, big and strong;
Miss Deaine was dainty.
Miss Jones, with the advantage of her
boarding school years, dressed well;
Miss Delaine dressed better.
Graham had suddenly felt peculiar
sensation when Miss Dclaine got off
the local at Naomi. He knew that Silas
was going to have company. He had
no idea the company was built more
on the tleeting vision plan than any
other.
IF Silas don't feed that girl up he
will be all out of company" Graham
had said She's almost gone now"
Graham was Il husky fellow and had
been at Naomi two months when Miss
Delaine appeared. AS Graham board
ed with Sias he had an opportunity to
study her well.
NO more turkey hunts while she's
here he grumbled to himself
Miss Dclaine took the grumble out
of MIN when she proposed shoot. and
the three went to the scrubs, and Miss
Delaine brought down five to his three
and Miss Jones one.
Miss DclHine proved to have more
get up and get in her diminutive body
than Graham acknowledged in his five
feet ten. She could box big Miss Jones
all over the barn floor: she could climb
n cherry tree in light summer frock
and come down as neat as she went
up; she could swim better than Miss
Jones and dive as deep as Graham
She could play the most charming
waltZeS and sing the prettieSt songs.
She had not been ut Naomi two weeks
before she was singing in the choir,
and Graham made the narrowing dis
covery that he sang bass.
SO on this night Graham consoled
himself by thinking gloomy thoughts
about Miss Delaine
Id be fool to ask her and brute
to expect her to accept if did ask"
He said this with almost a groan.
why couldn't it have been FAM"
Fan was Miss Jones. but. no; she'll
marry LarkinS, and if Miss Delaine
was poor IL marry her"
He knew she was rich She had of
ten spoken about our railroad" james
Delaine WAS president of the Q. and b.
DiSconSolate, he smoked his pipe. He
wondered now much money there was
i'll the safe. He knew the payroll must
be long.
He had read last Sundays paper a
dozen times and gone off to sleep and
nearly fallen off the chair which he had
tilted Lack. He bad left the door open
for air. The night was warm.
Hello thCro. Young fcller." came a
voice. He turned toward the door and
looked into the barrel of big revolver.
Hold up your handSr'
'Er l am agent here" stammered
Graham.
"Oh. we know that. You keep yer
mouth shut. Wen do the rest"
Il won't submit to robbery. if that is
what you mean," said Graham.
Robbery. eh? Won't submit eh?
We'll. young fcller. We don't look much
like fool Under the circumstances
| wouldn't advise yer to be one even If
We do know how. I've got two partners
here, and the first yawp out of We will
mean game o Shootin' big. Now.
Jim"
Another fellow came in and went
through Graham's pockets.
Now, young fcllcr," said the leader
after Jim had deposited an express re-
volver on the table, Just tell us the
combination to that safe"
Il refuse
What did | say about ben' fool?
Say, I'll give you three minutes to
make up your mind. You'll either give
us the combination or I'll put hole
through You. Now, one"
Graham was silent
jim was working at the safe. The
third came in and grinned at the pic
ture Graham made
Pretty boy" he said
Three"
Graham opened his mouth to speak.
Amt no use sayin' anything unless
it's the combination"
"Aw, kill him. We can blow open
the safe
Graham knew that these men meant
business. They would as soon take
life as eat He could see his revolver
lying where Jim had placed it.
If only he could divert the leaders
attention while he grabbed his own re-
volver he would take a chance. Gra-
ham was no coward. He fixed his eyes
on the door, nOdding to some imag,
mary person behind the leader. The
bandit laughed.
'Sce that. Bill: He don't know how
old that trick is, Young feller, that
trick was old before you were born.