The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-08-31
THE RIGHT OF WAY
A Railroad Agents Strata8em.

patiently on the tdple. nv
members of the board kept 4 con-
strained silence, and the second vice.
president, in charge OF extension
gazed longingly at a plebelan sign OF
rbeer" across the street and seven
stories below. 1t was at him the
president was directing his remarks.
1T is ridiculous" he said, that
we should be blocked by the obstl-
macy Of one man in our endeavor 10
build this branch line. A casual OBJ
server would certainly suppose that
the executive department of the COM
pany had sufficient brains to over
come such an obstacle as this. Inc
situation is simple enough. Here IS
our road and here is the mountains in
which the new strikes have been
made. TO develop them, machinery
must be Nauled in and ore hauled
out. That means a branch line. One
man owns all the land-mesa and
foothills-between the railroad and
the mines. We must cross his ranch,
but he declines to sell right of way.
He is a pioneer and is bull-headed.
He says the country was getting
along without railroads when he
came here, and that it can get along
without them still. We must over
come his objectiOns-bu how? We
offer to pay him well for all damage
done, and he replies by suggesting
that our grading outfit bring along
one fiat-car of collins. He is GER
tainly contrary individual. Have !
stated the case correctly?"
"You have" said the second .ice-
president, removing his gaze from
the sign below to the map on the
table, with one exception. Colonel
Snortally is not an individual; he is
a community, and more; he is a cor
poration, because he owns 10000
acres of land; he is political party,
/ cause he employs more cow-punch-
ers than you can ordinary get togeth-
er at a country dance; he is law
giver, because of his wealth and the
taxes he pays; he is law-enforcer
so far as he sees fit, because he can
who can do likewise; he is society,
because his daughter, whom / have
had the pleasure of meeting, is the
most beautiful young lady in the
Territory. What can poor, ordinary
railroad company do against such
combination? We can not condemn
until we can get right Of way from
the board of supervisors, and he is
the county government.
The president mopped his brow.
His gaze wandered across the street
and down seven stories to sign. He
arose and picked up his silk hat.
"All right" lie said. I'VE must get
across that ranc! some way"
A cloud of dust was coming down
the road. Theophilus Smith careful
ly watched it for moment and then
turned Bucyrus among the boulders
by the ro- dside. Bucyrus was his
mule. Just ahead of the dust-cloud
appeared franctic horse, tearing
wildly dom the road toward him.
Now an. then he could catch glimpses
of a swaying blackboard and a young
lady cli.ging to the seat. Theophi.us,
who was a careful young man, put
his briarwood pipe in the inside
pocket of his jacket, drew his SOM
brero down tightly upon his head,
and then disinterestedly watched the
approaching runaway. AS the dust
cloud and its contents passed, Bu-
cyrus wheeled, and they, too, went
flying down the road. Through sand
and over boulders they went, horse,
blackboard, mule and dust.
Excuse me, MISS" said Theoph-
illus, as, he came alongside and
reached for the bit of the running
horse; pleasant day, is it not?"
He gripped the bride hard, pulled
sideways ani backward, and Bucyrus
cheerfully sat down to the occasion
and slid. There was more dust, and
then they stopped.
Theophilus rubbed some of the
dirt from his eyes and raised his
sombrero to the girl in the buck
board. She looked at him with wide
open blue eyes.
II am very sorry" he said, polite
1y, ito stop you SO rudely merely to
ask you a question; but will you
kindly pardon me and inform me
where Colonel Snortally lives?"
The young lady's lip quivered,
and, instead of replying, she burst
into tears. Then, recovering from
her embarrassment and fright, she
drew deep breath and smiled faint
ly. and, as the color came back to
her cheeks, she answered:
II am the colonels daughter. and
I will gladly show you the way
home"
Theophilus spoke a few words to