The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1909-02-18
THE BOY WHO
RAN AWAY
A Story That Turned Out
the other Way.

This boy decided that he would run
away from home.
He had a good home, and all like
that, but he didn't care for home any
more.
Anyhow, he figured it that his folks,
namely his father and mother, We're
handing it out to him pretty hard.
They declined to permit him to play
with the gang. They interfered with
him in lots of ways.
Consequently, after giving the mat
ter due and proper thought the boy
decided that there was but one thing
for him to do, and that was to run
away.
Away from home, he felt he would
be able to indulg. in his natural pro
pensites withos. let or hindrance.
Now, his most natural propensity
as it seemed to him, was for the
rObbing of trains-fi.r western trains
The boy had profound feeling that
he was modelled, cut out, fashioned
devised and intended by nature to be
the greatest robber of trains that ever
crawled over the tender of an engine
and put the engineer and fireman un
der sawed off shotgun filled With
slugs
He felt, too. that his folks would be
liable to thwart such an ambition on
his part We're he to mention it to
them.
He figured, therefore, that in view
of these considerations the only prop
er thing for him to do was to get his
few things together and beat it. He
had read many pieces of tiction-all
Of the fiction, however. as he under
stood, founded upon fact-which re
lated how famous train robbers had
started off upon their distinguished
careers by running away from home
just as he meant to do. and HON some
thing always turned up pretty soon to
put them III a way of achieving a
mastery of their chosen profession.
And so the boy, working very Sc
cretly and deliberately, gathered to-
gether all his little possessions and
wrapped them up in a big silk muf,
fer belonging to his father. There
wasn't much to be packed in the NUT
fer, but still he didn't elect to leave
his few little possessions behind, since
he was very certain that he would not
return TO his bOyhood home for many,
many years, if ever
It was a beautiful mOOnit night
when he decided to make the jump.
lie went to bed or pretended to 80 to
bed, and waited for his parents and
grown-up brothers and sisters TO turn
in. Then with his little bundle slung
over his shoulder at the end of a stout
stick he softly stole down the stairs.
opened the front door noiselcSsly, tip
tOed out after closing the door, and,
reaching the front gate, turned to gaze.
as he felt, upon the home of his youth
for the last, last time.
He made directly for the freight
depot at the other end of the town.
his idea being that, as he had often
read in connection with other runaway
heroes, he might be able TO catch an
wasn't any outgoing freight train that
night, daylight found him still hang
ing around the freight yard
by this time he was pretty hungry.
and he thought of the usual ham and
eggs and hot muiliRs and things that
he d been accustomed to eat for break
fast Somehow in the clear, sunny
light of morning it looked a heap more
difficult to get Il start as train rob
Der than it had seemed while he was
planning the great expedition. He
stood and watched the freight hands
making themselves some coffee on Il
little stove in a signaling shack. and
his hunger became something fierce.
and he thought of the nice clean table
cloth and
However, just a minute. Just one
minute.
Here is the spot where it is Gus
.umary to get in swift CIimactiC aC-
ton.
1t is the usual thing to uarrate how
he hungry would-be runaway boy who
nankercd TO be a train rubber fz
lled out in his desire as he thought
about the home grub, and how he be-
gan to whimper around the freight
yard, aud how two or three kindly
| Srizzled freight yard hands asked him
what was chewin' ON him, ana how
they finally got his story ont of him
and how they sympathetiCally advised
him to beat il for home and paw ana
NAV just as fast as he could 20, and
| how he, of course, hated to go home
because he didn't know how he was
going TO square things for having re-
manned out all night. but how, event
uaIly, he became SO dad-blastod hun
,Iy that he had to just naChully aban
ion all thought OF becoming a train
! rObbCr, and how he skunk into the al
! ley back of his home after dark, and
how he got nailed by his dad as he
tried to nudge through the kitchen
door and how his dad got out the old
! trunk strap and whaled him good and
! plenty, ana how that eternally killed
! his ambition to become train robber
! and
Wen, and all like hathaway, a lot
If it,, always and inlallibly just like
| thai
BLt It didn't break that way at
! all
This boy caught a freight right out
! " town on the morning following his
running away from home, and after
! -Ome ViCissitudes he finally fen In