The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1915-10-26
WILLIAM SBANQUET
BY GEORGE BARTLETT.
(Copyright.)

(Copyright.)
William McGrath, known among
friends and foes as Sweet William,
was hungry. This statement should
be amplified Merely to assert that
Sweet William was. hungry might con-
vey the impression that In the usual,
well-ordered routine of Williams daily
life, dinner time had arrived, reviying
memories, perhaps, of a light lunch
Of pork chops and ale or some other
pleasantly homogeneous luncheon COM
bination.
AS matter OF fact. dinner time
had arrived. but. as yet. it had revived
not even memory.
Since then other meal times had ar
rived, and with them their correspond
ing and cumulative appetite, but VIII
liam's celebrations had been, to say
the most, irregular and fragmentary
1t will not seem strange. therefore,
that as he crept up the steps of
certain car marked Division Superin-
tendent, Private. the uppermost
thought in Williams mind was food.
The car had been switched on to a
lonely side track near which Williams
journey had been interrupted by the
ill-timed forcefulness of freight con-
ductor
Evidently the superintendent had
just finished his dinner. He was
standing beside a table of empty
dishes, facing down the car, and was
just in the act of putting match to
a cigar
Williams first glance took in the car
and the table with its suggestion of
food in the vicinity. Then, as his eyes
fell on the man he involuntarily
stepped back with an exclamation of
surprise.
Walter Stimson, by jiminy!" he
calculated. Must be eighteen years
since l saw Walt. Well, guess I'm
pretty sure of a hand-out anyhow"
He stroked his coat collar-a quite
useless performance-ad adjusted his
mobile features, and pushed open the
door. He insinuated himself in on
half turn, but as he faced full around
again the pleasing smile was pushed
from his face by a sudden onslaught
of fear and CONSERVATION.
Only two things in the world were
visible to him-a haunting rim of steel
that seemed CONTEMPORARY anxious to
wink his life out, and a bright unwink-
ing eye that seemed only too ready to
superintend the process.
For demoralized second William
contemplated flight. However, he re-
membered in time that In race be-
tween spring door and hair-trigger
the spring door never gets started.
Accordingly he tried to wrinkle his
face into it's original smirk, put out
his hand and made tentative shuttle
toward the man behind the rim of
steel.
81 reckon you don't know me, Walt"
he said soothingly william Nc
Grath? Member, l was an operator
ON the Iron Mountain when you was
a brakie?"
What! Sweet William"
The same"
Williams shuttle acquired decision
and his smile began to have a less
skewered effect.
Hold on Sweet" snapped the
voice behind the gun. I've been sep
arated long time from your pedigree
and you don't look wholesome What
are you monkeying around here for?"
William began recital of his many
sorrows, but Stimson interrupted him.
81 will hear the story of your melan-
choly past at some other time, Will
liam. At present what want to know
is-what are you doing here?"
why, I was taking the dead-head
route to Omaha when one of your fat,
underworked. overpaid freight cons
tipped me on to the ballast seen
your car standing here. so reckoned
I'd touch you for hand-out, not hav-
ing had enough for two days to sup
port the germs of starvation. When
seen that 1t was you who was d.
vision superintendent with a private
car. felt sure of my piece of pie"
II believe you, Sweet. Sit down. T"
The gun waved William into a chair
and disappeared into the superintend-
ent's hip pocket in the same movement.
LAS matter of fact, I'm even glad to
see you"
Does it extend to distributing a
little fodder?' asked Williams as the
c,,1o~ caop,ad ;pol;nod 20 sfplx into O
| moments mediation.
Not yet" said Stimson thought
fully. Il may have a little manual
labor for you, and knowing how much
you don't like work Wen have the job
first and the feed afterward."
Kinder rotten way to treat starv-
ing man., grumbled William.
We've a big cutoff building Is
miles up the line, and the pay car was
| due to go forward there tonight, but
we got line on hold-up that was
| to be pulled off between here and
! there
SO instead of sending the cash with
the pay car, the pay car was loaded
with mean-minded men with rifles, and
the cash, In case the car should be
blown up instead of held up. was load
| ed into the safe, this car being side
tracked here to wait until the fun was
| over
We'll, the dope went wrong some
how. l was held up instead of the
pay car If you'll take look at my
1 IL Hn4 =
pleasant time we had Finally theJ
| got their artillery trained on me and
made me open the safe. l fooled EN-
some, though, They only got twelve
thousand dollars. The rest was in {
secret compartment that they didn'
tumble to.
That's why have to stay with tbs
car. They cut the wire two miles eacf
side of here. so l couldn't cut in OF
the line. That's why couldn't let YOU
eat first / want you to run up thu
| line three miles to Wiggstaff. It's /;
day station. If the operators gon,
| home bust in and send the details t.
Assistant Superintendent Wallace, il
charge of pay car at Bendoyer.
Tell him / heard the chief bandi
order his men to split and meet a
Flatstone Gulch. Tell him to take al
his men there and round up the who'll
gang. Now hurry. Williaml Run, an,
I'll see you fed for the rest of you
life."
There's no use arguing with mai
who's lost twelve thousand dollars
He doesn't listen. Stimson took WI
liam by the arm and led him to tn
door at the other end from the one b,
| which he had entered.
AS they passed the kitchen the odo
of recently cooked food brought hir
| IL Il - L..