Las Vegas optic., 1914-11-16
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4 BAD BOYS CHOICE
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good boy We all knew that ne was
bad, for our parents and teachers said
so, but we boys all liked him. Snip
py" could be depended upon When
he promised any one licking he de-
livered the goods, or took one him
self. which answered the same pur-
pose.
He never told on another fellow, and
studied his lessons to good purpose,
when nothing more to his liking was
to be done. But his lessons never In
terfered with the other things.
"Snippy" was undersized for his
age, but natural leader, with an ir-
resistible bent for forbidden places
and things and a remarkable inde-
pendence of character He always
took the consequences of his own acts
gracefully and never grumbled.
We realized these and many other
of his characteristics later in life. AS
boy, we only knew that he was bad
but We liked him.
Before any of JUS were more than
half-groWn boys, "Snippy' left school
and went towork in the rolling mills.
First, he was buggy boy wheeling
great balls Of white-hot iron from the
furnaces to the giant trip-hammer on
curious little two-wheeled, long
handled iron cart, called buggy"
Then he wasga fireman st0ker, the
Welsh iron-workers called 1t. Snip
pys" furnace was always hot, the hot
test in the mill Finally, about the
time the rest of us left grammar
school he was advanced to furnace
boss, or puddler.
We used often to see him stripped
to the waist, the great muscles show
ing on his back and shoulders, work
ing before the open mouth of glow
ing furnace, with long bar forming
the half-molten iron into the great
ball which we had so often seen beat.
en- into ingots by the trip-hammer, It
almost seemed the realization of many
familiar warnings to see the bad boy
writhing and sweating amid the sui
phurous gases, proddlng the glowing
fire with huge, long-handled pitch
fork.
Soon after this "Snippy" went out
West to newly opened steel MILL
and we heard nothing Of him for sew
eral years. Then rumor came to
town that he had been seen wearing
a striped suit in western prison.
Rumors were followed by facts
"snippy was a convict. Many wise
heads wagged, and the wIseacres re-
called that they had foretold the end
of the bad boy long ago.
/ Unexpectedly, one day "Snippy" re-
appeared among US. He had never
been handsome, OF even passable in
appearance, and age had not improved
him. He was still nndersized, except
as to his arms. which were much too
long,
His chest and shoulders were pro
portionate to his arms, and much too
large for his head His hair was brick
red and his freckles overlapped each
other Both toes turned in and one
| eye turned out.
| They we're the same peculiarities we
had known in boyhood, all accentuated
by age. He had, in addition, large
scar extending from the right ear un-
der the chin to the middle of the left
cheek.
Some well-lntentioned, but badly in
formed. person had thought to I'm
prove the world by putting "Snippy"
out Of 1t, and had left the job un-
finished. He was bad man to look
at and worse to handle.
"snipDy" was reticent. He gave no
account Of himself or OF what he had
been doing during his years of ab-
sence, and his reticence was catching.
No one asked him It was natural to
associate the scar with the prison uni
form. Somehow, we felt that the other
fellow had more need Of sympathy
than "Snippy" had
He wanted job. Steel-making had
changed while he wore the striped
suit; new tools and new methods had
come into use. "snippy" did not want
to learn his trade over again, SO he
went to railroading.
There was activity, danger, and
hardship enough In brakeman's life
to tempt him Then the mutual de-
/ pendence and reliance OF trainmen on
] each other appealed to him. His rug
ged qualities of self-reliance and lead
ership demanded action and express
sion, and found both in the strenuous
fife OF the freight brakeman
The mysterious feeling Of fellow
fshfp that binds together all men en-
gagged in a dangerous occupation
when the care or neglect of one may.
save or, losarthe lives of many-in-
stantly recognized that "Snippy"
could be depended upon. One knew
instinctiyely that he would never be
found wanting when the test came.
He was employed on one of the
trunk lines, running east and west on
a division Of 140 miles OF double track,
with light grades and easy curves.
Trains of As or 50 freight cars were
not uncommon, even in his time.
The train was handIad hv craw