The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-12-18
"Stop-0ver''
A Christmas

train grinned. No. 564 running on
No. Us schedule was a joke.
But she fooled them all. Not one
OF tnem had believed she would get
beyoni Cuylerville, but she did not
break down until she reached Wes'
tons and by that time the snow
was a foot deep and the section
was only an hour behind schedule.
The conductor and the brakeman
and the engineer and the fireman
gathered around No. 5o4 with Ian
terms and monkeywrenches and
screw-driyers ami other tooIs and
prodded her in the ribs, and put
liniment on her hooks.
You can easily see that this is not
a professional railroad story if you
study my technical expressions. |
have bigger things to tell of than
the anatomy of a big tin boiler on
rollers. This is the story of Edgar
| Wallingford, the maddest man in two
states.
He was mad because he was
aboard No. II and madder still be-
cause the train paused in the middle
of nowhere, and the longer it paus-
ed the madder he became.
Edgar Wallingford had run down
to the city the day before on an
urgent business call, and the whole
trip had been distasteful. He hated
the city; he hated the man he had
come down to see; and more than
all else, he hated to come at that
particular moment.
Mr.. Wallngford was a business
man, slightly bald on the forward
deck of his head, and while he was
stout enough ana well fed he was
not quite stout enough nor we'll fed
enough to he irritation proof. He
worried too much to be quite happy
and he always hai' too many irons
in the business fire. with the re-
suit that he fretted unnecessarily
over trifles and over other things
that were not trifles.
When the train stopped within a
hundred yards of the small frame
shanty that served as a station at
Weston's. Mr.. Wallingford was the
first to guess that something was
wrong. He had been expecting unat
the unexpected would happen. He
had a particular reason for wishing
TO get home, ard now he was doubly
sure that he had been a fool to
risk going to the city. True, the doc
tor had said he thought Mr.. Wal
lingford would have ample time for
the trip. and had told him he would
be of as much use in New York
as at home on such an occasion,
but Wallingford had his own ideas
of where he ought to be, and it
made him mad to be stranded at
nowhere in particular. That he was
entirely ldispleased with the event
that was about to take place at
home only served to increase his
disgust.
Wallingford detested children. So
far as his observations went they
were little nuisances, upsetting all
the smoothness of home life, de.
manding attention, and creating hav-
oc with well-ordered domesticity in
a general manner. Children We're all
right when they fell to the lot
of some old molly-coddle of a SEN
timentalist but they were misfits
in a business-man's life. He hope!
it would be a girl, at least. Girls
belonged to the mother. He knew
that much.
1t may be understood what a
sweet, gentle temper Mr.. Walling.
ford was in under the circumstances
He glared ahead of him at the red
plush seat back as if he would like
to take a bite out OF it.
The conductor tramped through
| the car, snow covered and with
his lantern swung on his arm, run.
ming the fire of battery of ques.
tioins, to which he replied, Don't
know Cant tell "Hani to say"
and similar unsatisfactory answers
such as conductors alone know how
to give, but he did not get past Mr..
Walingford so easily. Mr.. Waling.
ford stood squarely before him.
blocking the aisle.
Now, see here" he exclaimed.
Il want to know why this train is
stopping here. want to know how
long it is going to lie here. / want
to know what the directors of this
internal road mean by permitting
such a thing"
The other passengers pressed for
ward and filled the aisle about the