The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-09-10
TIE EVENING STORY
sPoILING 4 ROsIANCE.
TBv CLAUDE Pamares. ]

hailed the visitor with.
''N'en. well. Tom, but where the
devil dld you spring from this morn
ingg'
Ard tom. who appeared to be full
" q ola and frigid and gray haired As
the other. replied:
Say Jim. ITS good for sore eyes to
see you. The G. & S. road wants a
thousand new freight cars, and I'm in
] the east to raise a loan. How are you,
anyhow2 Feeling pretty gay, old boy2
And then the broker and the gen
eral manager sat down for chat over
old days at college, and talked of this
and that for an hour before the broker
said:
by the way. Tom, I've got a boy out
on your road.
You don't say! He hasn't been near
me with a letter.,
But he's there. You remember my
/ boy Dave2 Always fussing around
with machinery since he was a kid. I
wanted to make a broker OF him. but
couple of years ago, after going
/ through the polytechnic against my
wishes. he threw me over. He wanted
to go railroading. and 1 wanted him
here. ana so we had falling OUT
You don't sayi''
II didn't drive him from the house, /
but he left just the same Said he
was going to make his own fortune,
and all that boshi Hasn't had a cent
of his income from me in over a year.
He writes to his mother. but never
/ hear direct from him Got brains,
think, but he's seIf-willed and inclined
&c be an ass.
Don't be too hard on him. II It
isn't his way to skin the lambs, let him
/ try some other / believe you used TO
he known as Old Obstinacy' once upon
a time"
yes. I remember. If you happen
/ to come across the boy and he de-
serves a lift. give it to him. No pet
ting or pampering. though. Let him
7 a n he Mt
Away out west on the c. & S rail-
road there was a young man Of twenty
two working as fireman on an engine
| drawing q local Two years before,
when he had applied to the superin-
| tendent of motive power for something
| to do. the super had looked him over
/ in contempt on account Of his white
hands and patent leather shoes, and
( replied
want work, Ell? Well, I'll give it
to you. Go up to the roundhouse and
| tell Sam to set you to work as a wiper
you get grease spots on that dandy suit
of yours the company won't pay for the
cleaning"
The official turned away with a grin.
thinking that that was the last of the
young man, but he was mistaken.
When three days had passed the boss
Of the roundhouse reported:
Jay, you sent me a Jim Dandy of a
| wiper, Hanged If he don't seem to
know something about machinery
What, did the young fellow show
W ?" asked the super" in surprise
Been working right along, and he's
! the handiest chap I've had since my
time here You'll he promoting him
out of the house in month
The young man was watched closely
| and kept track of. He had been put at
the very dirtiest work and given the
/ poorest pay. but he made no com
plants His time came when an en-
CINE was te1ephoned for In a hurry
and there was nobody to run her out of
/ the house and up the yard. He step
ped into the cab and had the table
I turned for him, and turned the engine
over without comment. He was going
back to his work when the superin-
/ tendent asked
did you ever fire an engine?"
mo, sir
Think you couId2"
I'm ready to give it a trial.
Two weeks later he was put on a
yard engine. The engineer meant to
find fault with him because he was
! dandy" but no opportunity occurred.
| He was kept in his place for six
months. as there were many to be pro-
noted in advance of him, but he was
! finally given place on the local. When
this engineer was asked to report on
his cub" he said:
Hes a peach in his way, but dun
no how he'll pan out in the end. He's
one of these book engineers. He
/ COuIQ
| pieces and set her up again by the
I books, and I'm lookin' to see his head
| get swelied until the road has to
bounce him.
Things were in this shape when the
general manager returned from New
York. He had forgotten about David
Holmes for the moment He wanted to
go down the road for a few miles, and
so he took the local.
He was accompanied by his daughter.
Nettie, but not in the car It was said
of this piquant girl of 18 that she ran
the G. & S. road by running her father.
She wanted to 60 down on the engine
/ and she had her way about it, and the
meeting between her and 1.-The hand
some fireman. as Dave was called nad
consequences. He had on his jumper
and was grirny, but she saw beyond
that Her heart was beating faster be-
fore she had been in the cab five min
utes.
During the next month that cab ride
was repeated three or four times on one
excuse and another. but the engineer
grinned and said nothing What might
be called a clandestine correspondence
followed. Perhaps there were clandes-
tine meetings in the park when Dave
had his days off. The very fact that
an employe of railroad dares to fall
in love with the daughter of the general
mana ger IS q ciandestiue act.
The general manager had not yet
hunted I'D the son of his old friend,
being busy about those new cars and
having to smooth down the backs Of
several directors who believed that the
road was going into bankruptcy, when
the motive power department promoted
the fireman to be engineer and gave him
a local Of more Importance
Tt can't be said that Dave and Nettie
were waiting for this thing to happen
that something else might be brought
about. but they were not long in taking
advantage of It. The silly young coupe
planned an eIopement.
1t was given away by Miss Nettie's
al - 10 r~rrf If1t
little plans accordingly. The girl and
her maid were allowed to depart for
Royalston in the cab Of Dawes engine,
and at the first stop the O. NJ. left the
rsaz xz-17fcf1 Ea had heen en-