The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1907-09-27

orders or Z clearance and tell the hino
man to give 'em the sign and sauntes
back to the caboose before they got to
rolling. But to have seen the sanima-
ton with which he swung himself
aboard the pay cur would have created
the impression that he was the onl..
working railroad man on the division.
AT his side staiked Panhandle Dan.
the engineer. his face actually wreath.
ed In smiles. Panhandle Dan had a
chronic crouch from 1901 a. m. Jan. !
to 1850 p. m. Dec. 81, except for
three minutes once month. On the
way to the pay car he always perked
up bit and was even known to crack
joke with Old Man Flatwheel. After
these two came the hind man talking
necessarily with the fireman. Charles
always was talking that way. He had
an automatic tongue, which never ran
down. Half the time he didn't know
he was talking. His was what the
doctors would diagnose as reflex
conversation. Frank, the fireman, was
the only sober one. He, poor fellow.
was doing sums in arithmetic, trying
to figure out how on earth $500 could
be made to pay all necessary bills for
helpless father and mother, wife
and four kids, besides board bills for a
man who was obliged to be away from
home half the time.
Then there was the operator in
shirt sleeves and careworn air hoping
he could get back to his key before
the dispatcher lost his temper; the
agent, placidly smiling, and the two
coal beavers from the coal shed with
an expression Of almost human intelli-
gence struggling up through number
less strata of CRIME and whiskers
After thirty days Of humping over a
scoop shovel In choking smother Of
dust they We're now about to be recon-
pensed with thirty seconds of bliss in
; which they could fondle real money
with their own hands. After that the
storekeeper would do the fondling and
feel bad because there wasn't more.
"1ou had presence of mind enough
to float into the pay car in the wake
OF others. There We're nine in the lit
tie party. and you knew by experience
that the average time required to pay
nine men was sixty seconds; also that
Moriarity would have 'em rolling be-
fore the last man had scooped his al
lctted coin into his trembling palm.
But in the presence of death or the
paymaster one may live an eternity
In sixty seconds. How glad you were
that YOU had not been rude and rushed
In ahead of anybody, even the coal
beavers!
''From the Autographs of Caroline
MisEel Ho:t on the wall to the little
holloW-s in the hard mahogany counter
ron out by the attrition of the $685.
CCo,NH0 in wages the paymaster had
| p!Nn!nd down on that snot since this
list pay car ever built had been CON-
i. Mis&icned. you kept ON absorbing de-
rails until your name was called. A
still greater rush Of blood to your head
caused you to gulp violently. Mechan-
icaily YOU lifted your hand to touch
The pen as the others had done and
| TUNED to g..
"'I.ere! Come back and get your
money
when you came out Of your trance
| you We're standing in the middle of
the track. your eyes wandering from
some yellow objects in your hand to
a nimh,is of smoke and dust which
wos Just tipping over the hill to the
accompaniment Of the diminuendo
i1utter &C Noriarity's exhaust.
"But new! Oh. we'll! After you
have washed up on a certain day in
each month you trudge drearily down
| TO tie station all alone. walk in, and
lo!!i:- on the counter affect to look
Indifferent and say, Hello, John"
And the agent, after going over a
column Of figures three times, replies.
! SSIollo. Fill" and gets up and gees to
lla safe and fumbles over some papers
and hands you
- check. No jokes, no infectious
sp:'ightliness. no uncertainty to put
wire edge on anticipation, no feeting
| vision Of brass and varnish and opu-
| !ence wreathed in a halo of romance
to leave golden taste in your mouth
for Il day. nothing but a measly old
| check handed over q commonplace
counter by man who lives next door
to you.
why couldn't they have left us the
pay cara"