The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1913-06-17
BY VERNON ARNOLD

ture In the morning. He would pic
ture a tidy woman standing in tht
doorway waiting for him and severa
"wee things toddlin'" down the wall
with outstretched arms on the way tt
meet him. Then he would sigh. reat
the advertisements in the newspaper
and go to bed.
Not far from the terminal which
Jim considered his abiding place, about
200 yards from the track, was a small
house that looked as If it might have
been built by the white settlers of the
country. 1t stood in the center of 6
four acre lot. on a part of which were
forest trees When Jim had com
menced his runs on the road the place
was uninhabited. and. although he haG
passed it twice day for six years, he
had never seen a person on the prem
Uses. Notwithstanding its dilapidateG
appearance. 1t required little stretch Of
the Imagination to picture it pleasant
home A porch, an arbor, a small barn
all in a state of decay, remained, and
Jim as he drove by it loved to fancy
the persons who had used them.
One Sunday he walked out to the de
serted house-ft was but a mile from
the roundhouse-and went over it
Through open spaces where a weather
board had rotted away he could SEE
that the framework was of the stoutes
oak. 1t had already lasted probably
one or two hundred years and would
likely last as much longer Indeed, two
thirds of the building was like iron; the
rest needed renewing If Jim only hat
a wife he would buy the place and fl
it up
But he hadn't the wife, And thi.
matter of getting wife is a very un
certain matter. 1t is not necessarily 6
matter of means. Many a man worth
millions has lived to be very old and
never been blessed with a home. jim
was getting good pay and had money
laid up, but he was as far from pos
sessing wife as if he had neither pay
nor d nest egg. So he went back to his
lonely room. spent a lonely evening
and went to his lonely bed.
One morning when he pulled by the
deserted place he was surprised to see
little pile of new lumber in the
grounds A few days later a man was
saving a board. When Jim returned
in the afternoon the man was putting
in new posts where there was most de
cay. Jim took notice of the man al
work when he passed foT a couple OF
weeks, at the end of which time the
buildings had been restored to theil
primitive condition. A painter took
the place of a carpenter. and when the
painter left the place was again de
serted
But few days later as Jim sped by
on his iron horse he saw a woman busy
ing herself about the house. 1t was
spring, and the windows and doors were
open. The woman was gathering the
small pieces OF wood and piling them
In the wood house. Jim was not neal
enough to her to see what she looked
like, but he could see that she was nei
Their old nor slatternly. When he re
turned iii the afternoon the refuse had
been got rid of and the house looked
habitable. Every morning and every
afternoon the engineer took note of the
cottage and its gradual improvement
Then be saw curtains In the windows
and it was evident that the new ten
ants had moved in
Jim was curious to know of what
persons the family would consist, but
weeks passed. and not a person did he
ever see about the place except the
woman. One afternoon as he was
driving by she was coming down the
walk that led to the road beside the
rails, dressed evidently to go into the
city. She reached the road just as
Jim's locomotive clattered by, and he
saw her plainly. She appeared to be
between twenty-five and thirty years
old, neatly clad and not bad looking
She caught Jim's eye fixed intently
upon her, but it was only for a mo
ment. and her own eyes were turned
away Immediately.
The house having been put in order
the grounds next received attention.
But for this the woman was not so
fitted on account of lack of physical
strength. Her efforts consisted chiefly
in setting plants about the house and
trimming some small towering trees.
How Jim wished he could use a spade
there in the evening. after coming In
from his days run, and keep the grass
from growing rank.
One reason why he had never mar
ried was that he had very little pluc1
in addressing a woman. Yet the mos
cowardly men in this respect wi
sometimes do the rashest things. The
are like soldiers lighting behind breast
works, Unfortunately brave. Jim nigh
have gone out to the place when no
on duty. made an excuse to call on tn
woman, find out If she were single an,
court her, If he liked her, in the regu
lar way. But he was not up to this
So be laid plan for attacking he
while travelling by on his locomotive
She could not strike back. for sh
could not get at him. With his han
on the throttle he felt like a warrio
grasping sword.
On several occasions during the sum
mer this lone lady was in that par
of her grounds nearest the track whel
Jim passed. and safe in his cab b
made bold to look at her admiringly
How she took this evidence of interes
in her he could not tell, but she CAV
no evidence of being displease
with it. Jim was not a bad lookin
fellow, and if any profession require
strength and nerve that of engine driy
ing surely does. But Jim was no
conscious of the advantage this woul
give him with a woman.
Jim nailed several boards togethel
making a surface about four feet b
three. On one side he chalked Goo
morning and on the other Good ever
ing" He took the board with him
his cab and waited for time when til
woman whose acquaintance he wishe
to form was in the yard and looking q
the passing train. as she often did
Then he prepared to swing out hi
message. displaying the appropriate
side
An opportunity occurred on his /
rt1r Tho xuorran mos ~ udfuo IN he