Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-01-16

1t surprised everybody the way Maze
Sampson went to pieces after Delaroo
was killed The Indian was carried
back to the Bend and up to SIMPSONS
and laid out in the God forsaken par
lor, but Maize wasn't any good fixing
things up that time. He usually shone
on like occasions. He was the COM
forter of the afflicted to an extraordi-
nary degree He gave the usual mourn
er no chance to let up. But now his
day was as one that is darkened. When
Neighbor went up next night to see
about some minor matters connected
with the funeral and the precedence of
the various dozen orders that were to
march he found Maize Sampson and
Martie alone in the darkness Of the
parlor with the silent Delaroo.
Maze turned to the master mechanic
from where Delaroo lay. "Neighbor,
you might as well know it now as airy
time. Don't you say so, Martie? Mar
tie, what do you say?" Martie burst
into tears, but through them Neighbor
caught the engineers broken confes-
sion. "Neighbor. I'm color blind" The
True as Gods word You might as
well know it now There's the man
that stood between me and the loss of
my job. It's been coming on me for
two years. He knew it. That's why he
stayed in my cab. He stayed because
was color blind. He knowed I'd git
ketched the minute a new fireman come
in, Neghbor. He watched the signals,
Delaroo. I'm color blind, God help
me-"
MAZE Sampson sat down by the cof-
fin. Martie hushed her crying. The
three sat in the darkness.
at wouldn't worry me so much if it
wasn't FIR the family, Neighbor. The
woman-and the boys. l amt much
asavin'; you know that. If you can
gi' me job can get bread an butter
out of, give it to me. / can't pull q
train. My eyes went out with this man
here. l wish to God it was me, and him
standing over. A man that's color
blind and don't know thing ON Gods
earth but runnin' an engine is worse
N dead man."
NelSnDOr went nome thinking.
They buried Delaroo But even then
they were not through with him. Della
roo had insurance in every order in
the Bend, which meant almost every
one on earth. There was no end to his
benefit certificates and no known bene-
ficiaries. But when they overhauled his
trunk they found every last certificate
GlAl 30 I, ln
ment and the last quarters dues. Then
came a shock. People found out there
was a beneficiary. While the fraters
were busy making their passes Delaroo
had quietly been directing the right
honorable recording secretaries to make
the benefits run to Neighbor, and so
every dollar of his insurance ran. No
body was more thunderstruck at the
discovery than the master mechanic
himself.
Yet Delaroo meant something by it.
After Neighbor had studied over 1t
nights the best of month; after MAZE
Sampson had tried to take the color
test and failed, as he persistently said
he would; after he had gone to tinker
ing in the roundhouse, and from tinker
ing respectfully, and by degrees down
the hill to wiping at $1.40 day, with
time and half for overtime, Neighbor
bethought himself all of sudden one
day of a paper Delaroo had once given
him and asked him to keep.
He had put it away in the storekeep-
er's safe with his own papers and the
drawings of his extension front end
patent-and safely forgotten all about
it. 1t was the day they had to go into
the county court about the will that
was not, when he recollected Delaroos
paper and pulled it out of its envelope
There was only half sheet of paper
inside, with this writing from Delaroo
to Neighbor:
r. B. A-What is coming to me on In
surance give to Marty Sampson, wife of
MAZE. Give my trunk to p. McGraw
Rispk., T. DELAROUA.
When the master mechanic read that
before the probate judge, Maize Samp-
son took a-trembling; Martie hid her
face in her shawl, crying again. May
be a glimmer Of what it meant came