The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1915-09-14
At LANTANA STATION
BY 4. wEINsTocK.
fcopyr,eht

BY 4. WEiNsTock.
tCopyrisht)
Ferguson had been at Lantana less
than week when he made his first
vigorous roar to the chief dispatcher
Tor relief. The solitude and isolation
were making him nervous wreck, he
complained; and II relief were not
forthcoming mighty quickly, they
would have TO remove him from the
station in raitjacket The chief
dispatcher treated the matter face
tiousIy, but promised Ferguson more
'congen1al assignment as soon as a
ivecancy occurred.
Lantana, on the international, eho-
shpne & Gulf railroad, was a box-car
station perched among the clouds Of
the Declez range. To the esthetic
the view from Lantana was soul-satis-
tying. Snow peaks were transformed
~ the alchemy Of the morning sun
Into an effulgant glare Of towers and
'minarets, and leagues upon leagues
of steep declivity merged into firAcov-
cred slopes that sank away into the
haze and we're lost to sight tn the low
or world. Ferguson was not esthetfc.
and to him Lantana was desohtion,
loneliness. foretaste Of perdition and
the place that God forgot
Ferguson was the product OF Q me-
fropoIis. For him all that was great
and good and beautiful In the universe
ALI that he thought worth striving
for-was to be found h New York.
Tho raeins medley d inoessant
sound that assa1led the senses Of an
outlander IN q great dtY WAS sweetest
music n his can, and the bewildering
kaleidoscope d motion II tie busy
streets W6s ab the painters master
pieoe 70 him. He longed for Il with
an aching heart and his brain rebelled
ct the magnificent distances OF the
Declez range.
Eelgugon's social instinct was high
" developed He lived for and In COM
partnership. In his happier days his
friends had dined with him, and his
cronses had smoked his cigars. There
was no wife or babies. and the affec-
.tion men usually bestow on their fam
itlies Ussguson ehowered upon his
htenda.
Bat It Lantana Ferguson had no
friends There we're 20 restaurants,
mo saaoong. no hotels, no theaters.
Tflere was nothing; only Q box car. in
.one corner Of which he slept; In anoth.
eS was the sheet-lron stove on which
he cooked his meals, and In the center
Of the car was table to which was at
tached the telegraph equipment. Over
all was spread q thick layer Of dust,
and suspended from the ceiling were
weird festoons Of cobwebe.
With picturesque and fluent profan-
ify Ferguson cursed his environment.
With added fervor he cursed the cir
cumstances that had driven him TO-
Lantana. And finally. with vigor that
Jared his box-car home. he CURSED the
telegraph company. which he blamed
! for his misfortune.
For one-half Of the 46 years Of his
life he had served them faithfully.
Then the fate which overtakes 80
many telegraphers befefl him. His
fingers lost their cunning. and he could
no longer form the Morse characters
with speed and accuracy.
From continuous use. the delicate
muscles OF the fingers and wrist had
become paralyzed. He lost his grip,
and the telegraph company dispensed
with his services.
Starvation in New York. or q lob
at Lantana! Which should It be9 He
had chosen Lantana. And now this
product Of the complex life. this hot
house plant whose fibers and tendrils
were fntertwfned among the surging
hordea Of humanity In great city. was
transplanted to q harsh and primitive
roll and was suffering a whitening
blight In consequence.
Ferguson vainly regretted his choice.
Starvation in New York would have
been the very apex of delight in con.
frast 10 the oppressive silence. the
vastness and the emptiness Of Lam
fnua.
Ferguson prepared his own meals.
the one indispensable utensil being q
can-opener: he cleaned the dishes and
dried them In the sun. washed his
own clothes, mended socks, smoothed
the blankets on his bed, and swept the
floor. Then. In Wild passion. he re-
VOTED at the backing of his own boots,
and calling up the chief dispatcher, de-
manded immediate relief.
Ferguson insists upon being re-
lieved," reported the chief dispatcher
TO Division Superintendent Jenkins.
He nags at me from early morning
until hate ct night suggest sending
him relief, IT,
DO you think Ferguson will desert
his postf" interrupted the superin-
tendent
Oh no" said the chief dispatcher.
Hes too old hand at the business
to play trick like that He will stay
until he's relieved. no matter how
mucn ne oishkes i4antana.
Well. growied the superintendent.
we can't reileve MIN Just now
On the international. shoshone &
Z GuIIs between haWaon ana Lantana,
ana ABOUT 2 quarter OF q mile rom
tne iatter pace, "as q snarp curve IN
tne ROAD q point wnicn an entnusi-
astlc tourast, inspired Dy tne. beauty
" inc vieW' nao named aaDllefs bal
cony me rough ana unIeehns train.
.ls'n On Tue loun.alh oivision rioicuieo
sne 'ns,llh,oas u.e aecepteu II
,' az ING ie., u ,ne .aca Dee.nns
Os'ns oaoSo apiup.iy. IN INC rish1'