The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1911-11-24

the eastward. Tho coach used had
a partition run through it. and. IS
soon as the busy trainmen discovered
ladies' on board. they unceremoniously
drove the more bibulous passengers.
protesting. into the forward compart'
ment. This left Hope in comparative
peace. her remaining neighbors quiet
taciturn men, whom she looked 1t
through the folds of her veil during
the long, slow. exasperating Journey
mentally guessing at their various oc-
equations. 1t was an exceedingly tedi'
GUS, monotonous trip. the train slack
ening up, and jerking forward. appar-
emily without slightest reason; then
occasionally achieving q full STOP
while men, always under guard. went
ahead to fix up some bit Of damaged
track, across which the engineer
dared not advance. At each bridge
spanning the numerous small streams.
trainmen examined the structure be-
fore venturing forward. and at each
stop the wearied passengers grew
more impatient and sarcastic. q per
feet stream Of fluent profanity being
waited back whenever the door be-
tween the two sections CHANGED to be
left a1ar.
Hope was not tho only woman on
board, yet a glance at the others was
sufficient to decide their status, even
had their freedom Of manner and loud
talking not made It equally obvious.
Fearful lest she might BE- mistaken
for one Of the same class. she 70
NAMED In silence. her veil merely
lifted enough to enable her to peer
out through the grimy window at the
barren view slipping slowly past. This
consistad of the bare prairie. brown
and desolate, occasionally i~ntersected
by sor,e small watercourse. the low
hills rising and falling like waves to
the far horizon. Few incidents broke
the dend monotony; occasionally
herd Of antelope appeared in the dis
lance, silhouetted against the sky.
line, and once they fairly crept for an
hour through a mass Of buffalo. gras-
ing so close that q fusillade Of guns
sounded from the front end Of the
train. A little farther along she caught
a glimpse Of = troop Of wild horses
dashing recklessly down into a shell.
tering ravine. Yet principally all
that met her straining eyes was ster-
lie desolation. Here and there q great
ugly water tank reared its hideous
shape beside the track. the engine al
ways pausing for a fresh supply. Be-
side 1t was invariably a pile Of coal.
a few construction cars, a hut half
buried under earth, ~loop-holed and
~barricaded, with several rough men
loaflng about. heavily armed and in
quisitive. A few Of these points had
onoe been terminal. the surrounding
scenery e%videncing past glories by
piles Of tin cans. and all n Of
debris. with occasionally a vacant
shack. left deserted and forlorn.
Wearied and heartsick. Hope turned
away from this outside dreariness to
contemplate more closely her neigh
bors on board, but found them scarce
ly more interesting. Several were
playing cards, others moodily staring
out of the windows, while a few were
laughing and talking with the girls.
their conversation inane and punctu.
ated with profanity. One man was
figuring on a scratch pad. and Hope
decided he must be an engineer en-
ployed on the line; others she classed
as small merchants, saloon-keepers.
and frontier riff-ran. They would
glance curiously at her as they
marched up and down the narrow
aisle, but her veil, and averted face.
prevented ven the boldest from
speaking. Once she addressed the
conductor, and the man who was fig
uring turned and looked back at her.
evidently attracted by the soft note
of her voice. But he made no effort
at advances. returning Immediately to
his pad. oblivious to all else.
(TO BE CoNTINUED)