Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-01-18

when we reached it we found the house
! grim, dark and closed tight. Vainly
we tried every door All were locked.
There was no sign of the manager from
whom we had expected such an eager
welcome. There was not even watch
man On the premises.
OF course we were bitterly disap-
pointed. But were not frightened, and
know we did not cry. We hadn't
money enough left to pay our way back
to San Francisco by train, but we could
pay for our room, supper and break
fast, and, as we had come by rail in
less than two hours, we thought in our
innocence that we easily could walk
back next day l believe the distance
is forty or fifty miles!
Children either are afraid of every
thing or of nothing. We were of the
latter kind. So the next morning we
paid our hotel bill and with the little
money we had left bought some fruit
and sandwiches to take along for lunch
con, and started to walk back to San
Francisco. Not knowing anything about
| the way, and not caring to ask, because
we did not want to appear what we were
two runaway girls-we chose the road
| bed of the railway as the most direct
route and the surest. We were not
aware that it also was the favorite route
for hoodlunls, who would steal ride
on local freight until discovered and
put off, and then tramp the roadbed
until the chance to steal another ride
offered. But the same kind fate that
thus far had watched over us, kept us
from finding out what hoodlum at his
worst might be.
We had not walked very far out of
San Jose when we saw man coming
along the track toward us. He was
| rough-looking individual, in fact hood
lum, but not quite as ragged as the
average tramp, probably because little
| trainpdorn youth still takes some pride
in appearances. Two things about him
| treasured us in spite of his rough ex-
terror. When he spoke to us, there was
a note in his voice that bespoke at
least the remnant of gentility-a touch
of Difference to Our sex, / now think it
| was; and he had dog an Irish terrier,
that greeted us with friendly wag.
There never is, l think, any need Of
being afraid of man with friendly
| dog, for dog reflects the character of
| the master. The man asked US where
we were going, and listened with an
amused smile when we told him we
were walking to San Francisco and ex-
pected to reach it in the afternoon He
| said walking on the track was dangerous
| and he would show us road. So he
took us to one of the pretty red clay
country roads running along the foot
| of the sloping hills that form, many of
| them clad with vineyards, the Santa
Clara valley. He had been walking
| toward San Jose, but now he turned
and walked along with us. l realize
| now that he saw we were runaways and
| needed protection, even if we didn't
know it. For rough characters passed
| us even on the road.
Really he was delightful. He chatted
with us in an easy manner and told
us stories. Sometimes, too, we would
run ahead and frolic with the dog
Babe his master called him-but after
a while we began to feel the fatigue
of walking and we're content TO have
Babe trot along beside us. About
that time we came to one of the little
streams that crossed the road, and the
man suggested that we might want to
rest. We said we would like to eat,
too, and we sat down and laid out our
fruit and sandwiches on the paper they
| naQ Deen wrapped IN. BABE prlcked
up his ears and scrutinized us and
wagged his tail slowly and respectfully,
as if not wanting to appear too eager
| am happy to say that the idea of Just
gobbling up what we had bought with
out offering any of it to the man and the
dog never occurred to US. We divided
the commissary supplies into four parts
and the man looked on approvingly.
suppose he was glad that, although we
were a couple of little fools, we were
on the level.
"How would some nice fresh milk
go with this OUTFIT" he asked.
| We looked ruefully at each other.
| We had not bought any milk, we had
no more money, and we told him so.
| That's all right" he said; Babe
| will get some for us"
/ BABE" we exclaimed with one
| voice.