Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1912-09-06

the eastward. The coach used had
partition run through 1t, and, as
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 at
through the folds of her veil during
the long, slow, exasperatng 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 a 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, a per
feet stream of fluent profanity being
waited back whenever the door be-
tween the two sections CHANGED to be
left aiar.
Hope was not the 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 1t equally obvious.
Fearful lest she might be mistaken
for one of the same class, she re-
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
consisted of the bare prairie, brown
and desolate, occasionally intersected
by some small watercourse, the low
hills rising and falling like waves to
the far horizon. Few incidents broke
the dead monotony; occasionally q
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, graz
ing so close that fuslllade of guns
sounded from the front end of the
train. A little farther along she caught
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 great
ugly water tank reared its hideous
ways pausing for fresh supply. Be
side it was invariably pile Of coal
few construction cars, hut hall
buried under earth, loop-hoied and
barricaded, with several rough men
| loafing about, heavily armed and in
quisitive. A few of these points had
once been terminal, the surrounding
scenery evidencing past glories by
piles of tin cans, and all manner o!
debris, with occasionally vacant
shack, left deserted and forlorn.
Wearied and heartsick, Hope turned
away from this outside dreariness tc
luoi SlOoCiy hOA hSAoN-
| bors on board, but found them scarce
ly more interesting. Several were
playing cards, others modify staring
out of the windows, while 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 classec
as small merchants, saloon-keepers
and frontier riff-raff. They woule
glance curiously at her as they
marched up and down the narrow
aisle, but her veil, and averted face
prevented even 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 effor
at advances, returning Immediately II
his pad, oblivious to all else.
(To BE CONTINUED)