The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-11-19
An
Upward
Step
Made by q Station
Agent
BY MARK TRAvERs

James Doughty went to work in
telegraph Office carrying messages
when he was ten years old When
not engaged at what he was hired to
do he was questioning the operators
as to how they communicated with
distant points, Ire alphabet they used
and other matters pertaining to teleg-
raphy. When he was twelve, though
he would not have been fitted to fill
an operators position, he knew many
things about the telegraphic system
that some operators did not know. for
Jimmie was of an inquIring turn of
mind and was always looking into
things and the reasons for their being
When he was fourteen, being large
and strong for his age, he was given
job as assistant In the construction
department Of a telephone company
Here, too, Jimmie wanted to know the
why and wherefore and at the same
time absorbed the practical features
Of making telephone lines. BY the
time he was eighteen years old, hav-
ing the materials, he was perfectly
capable of setting up a telegraph or
telephone line and operating it.
The first situation Of any Importance
Jimmie secured was that OF station
agent on the Y. @. and St G. railroad
But he was only nineteen, and to Sc
cure such place he was obliged to
take station in a desolate place. the
nearest house being a mile away At
this house he took his meals, sleeping
In a room over the station.
In the family with which he boarded
was country lass two or three years
younger than Jimmie. whose blue eyes
and yellow hair naturally had an eff
feet on the young station agent. A
single girl or by herself is to a young
man as jackknife is to boy. That
same knife in store among a hun
dred other knives is not nearly so
beautiful as when he gets it home
It wasn't long before Jimmie and
Kitty concluded that 1t would not be
half SO lonely for Jimmie If they could
build little nest nearer the station.
where they would dwell together. jim
mie had the framework of a small
house and the other necessary parts
shipped to him. The people thereabouts
got together for a house raising, and
Kitty's pop, with occasional help from
Jimmie, did the rest, except the paint
ing. which Jimmie did at such times
as he could leave the station.
When all was finished those who had
helped to build the nest were invited
to the wedding and after it was over
left the young couple in their new
home. The first thing Jimmie did after
they were married was to build tele-
phone from the station to his home
He located the station end Of it In the
room above. which he had used for
bedroom, in order that IL any one came
in while he vas talking with his wife
he might not be overheard There was
a steep, narrow staircase leading up
to this room from the waiting room
ticket and telegraph office below.
He wrote to his old employers. the
telephone company, to send him the
apparatus he needed, knowing that
they had plenty such material in old
stock, and they made him present Of
an outfit, including desk transmitter
and receiver. Since there were nights
that he was obliged to remain at the
station he put the instrument between
his cot and the side of the house
Since the latter was not plastered
there was convenient place for it be-
tween two joists and the clapboards.
Often when he was about to snatch an
hours sleep he would throw himself
on the cot, pick up the instrument, call
Kitty for few words, then set 1t down
again on the floor. The wires passed
directly out Of the house, down behind
a water spout and thence underground
to Jimmies home.
During the day, when confined to the
station, he would often go upstairs, es
pecially after the baby came, to call
up Kitty and ask her how she was
getting on, If she wanted anything and
to send a kiss for both mother and
child. One day while thus engaged a
person came into the station. and since
plastered Jim was overheard After
that when telephoning, upon hearing
step below, he wrapped his head and
the instrument in bedquilt, which
deadened the sound.
These details may seem unimpor-
tant. but a time came when they were
a turning point in JImmie's life. But
that was not for some time after his
marriage Meanwhile he was thinking
about his wife and baby's future. The
appearance Of helpless child in a
mans life stimulates him to action.
Jimmie was not getting on very fast
In accommodating surplus funds, and he
felt the responsibilities resting upon
him. He didn't like the idea In case
he should die Of leaving his wife with
no income. and as for the baby, boy.
he wished him to have the advantage
OF an education That meant the
| wherewithal to secure one. Since the
father had not been able TO get much
education himself, he understood the
disadvantage of being thus deprived
and was all the more eager that his
son should he favored.
Jim was now a man of twenty-five
| years. One night there were extra
trains on the railroad making their
way between the regular numbers,
and Jim was obliged to remain at the
station He was sitting at his operat-
ing table "dispatching' when he
thought he heard the station door
creak, but he was too busy to pay any
attention to it. The CLICKING of his in
strument went on, drowning any light
sound that might be made. Suddenly
he heard a click, not of his instru-
ment, but of an entirely different kind.
1t came from behind him. He turned,
and there stood a masked man cover
ing him with a revolver.
Young man." said the intruder, IAN
other touch on that key and l pulls on
this trigger. Is the westbound express
on timer
For a few moments Jim could not
ind voice to reply. Then another pc
Rod slipped by, during which be was
| thinking what he could do to save the
express from robbery. In all perhaps
twenty seconds passed. The man adj
vanced step and placed the muzzle
of the revolver against the agents
cheek
Its twenty-five minutes late" said
Tim
"What?"
Jim repeated what he had said. Had
the train been on time 1t would have