The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1908-07-03
The Conpany's
. Announcer.
tOriyinal.l

| lOrlSlNahl
Formerly when "A railroad employees
was killed at his work the officials lef
Il to some of the dead mans friends t
inform his family of their loss. Nov
an especial person Is appointed to thu
position of announcer Of calamity. The
announcer Is usually selected for hi
tact and benevolent appearance. His
duties are certainly not attractive. IL
so to the home Of woman, TO heal
her singing at her work, to see hel
children playing about the cabin. ant
tell that the husband and father has
been mashed between two cars !.
about us hard task as a sympathetic
person can perform.
Thomas Nolan was announcer at thai
point on tine Y. r. and y. railroad wher,
the shops are located and held the po
sition so long and his duties became sc
well known that his simple appear
ance at a workman's home was al
the announcement needed. Indeed. he
could not walk through street lined
with cabins but each housewife would
watch him with beating heart, fearing
that he was looking for her.
Patrick 0'Rourke, a rnachinist In the
railway comDany's employ, had been
In Americas ten years. and. having
learned hfs trade and become so pro
ncient as to earn good wages. he sent
to Ireland for Mary MaIoney, his sweet.
heart. He had loved Mary when she
was sixteen. a raw girl. and found her
at twenty-six q full blown woman
When he looked at her he felt that his
walt and work had been well rewarded
All went well TIL children CAME.
and. with the Group and the measles
and the constant attention they need
ed even when well. Mary's nerves
began to take on an edge and she lost
her equanimity. When Pat came home
In the evening. tired with standing
over a machine all day and an occa-
sional DEPRESSION In lifting some heavy
weight. he would find her cross and
irritable. He was good natured chap.
full OF Irish humor. and would usually
try to laugh his wife out OF the COM
plants she poured forth. But such
work Is harder than handling machin-
cry. be 1t ever so heavy. and after a
while Pat began to get irritable him.
self.
At last there came n breach The
pair had quarreled most OF one night.
but in the morning Pat tried to make
II up with his wife.
"Yer havin' hard time OF Il. Mary.
] know. with the constant cookin' and
SEWN for the children and havin' 10
keep 'em from dom the thousand
things they shouldn't do all day long
till they're asleep at night. but don't
the wife OF every Workman who has
children have TO bear the same? And
them as hasn't children are awful en-
vious Of them that has. Try and take
a more reasonable view Of II. Mary
Think of how well yer of to have -
man TO earn Twin for you aud the
children and how bad IL would be II
were takin' away from you and you
had to work FOR n Twin as we'll as To- X
out for the children"
She turned away from him In o
hun. and he was obliged TO 20 to his
work with the breach still open. Mary
spent the morning brooding She con,
sidered that she'd married the wrong
man. She recalled the hot words he
had said to her during the night and
either forgot the hotter words she had
said 10 him or considered them Justly
spoken. Toward noon she began 20
cool down. Pat never came home 10
dinner. and perhaps II was rs well to
day that he did not. for she was moi
In n condition 10 avoid treating him
harShly. BY evening she would be
ready to at least drop the quarrel
though she never went through proc.
ess Of making up. Pat often wished
they could end their misunderstanding
rs they used to. by lovers kisses. hut
the time for that seemed past.
When the hour for rat 10 come horne
for the evening drew near Mary began
10 feel uncomfortable. She wished 10
90 to him and throw lnr arms around
his neck aud say that she had acted
''horrld" and NIL that. but somehow she
couldn't. Perhaps she thought that n
she did Il would only encourage Pat 20
'tyrannlze" over her IN future. But
she made nice dish Of beefsteak anil
onions for Pats supper. lie was very
fond Of the combination and By giving
him the dish she could get the comfort
Of confession without really making
Il.
She was standing over the supper
when something. she knew not what,
prompted her 10 turn her bead and
look out through the open door. The
cabin stood alone. and she had an nm.
obstructed view. There came Tom No.
Ian, the company's announcer, making
straight for her cabin.
A few minutes later there was a step
on the threshold Mary dId not hear II.
for she lay on the floor In n swogn. n
was not Tom NoIan's step. for he had
paree1 on without enfpring th. ,sst,fp