The Jasper news., 1918-04-04
CHAPTER |.

- FeTSon Named Elisha WARREN
~ STABLE |" screamed the brake
man, opening the car door and
yelling his loudest, so ms to be
heard above the rattle Of the train and
the Shrek of the wind. "Ostable"
The brakeman's cap was soaked
through, his hair was plastered down
on his forehead, and in the yellow light
from the car lamps his wet nose glis-
tened as If vanished. The windows
streamed as each succeeding gust flung
It's miniature freshlet against them.
The passengers in the car did not
seem greatly interested in the brake
mans announcement. The red-faced
person in the seat nearest the rear
slept soundly, as he had done for the
last hour and half. He had boarded
the train at Brockton and after re-
questing the conductor not to "lemmc
git by Bayport, Bill" at first favored
his fellow travellers with q song and
then sank into slumber.
Mr.. Atwood Graves, junior partner
in the New York firm of Sylvester,
Kuhn & Graves, lawyers, stirred I'M
easily on the lumpy plush cushion,
looked at his watch, then at the time
table In his hand, noted that the train
was now seventy-two minutes late and
for at least the fifteenth time mental
ly cursed the railway company, the
whole of Cape Cod from Sandwich to
Provincetown and the fates which had
brought him there.
The train slowed down In a jrrky,
the car in which Mr.. Graves was seat
ed was abreast the lighted windows of
small station, where it stopped Peer
ing through the water-streaked pane
at the end of his seat, the lawyer saw
dim silhouettes of uncertain outline
moving about. They moved with pro
voliing slowness.
Then, behind the door which the
brakeman, after announcing the sta,
ton, had closed again, sounded a big
laugh. The heartiness of it grated on
Mr.. Graves nerves. What idiot could
laugh on such night as this aboard a
train over an hour late?
The laugh was repeated. Then The
door was flung briskly open, and q
man entered the car. He was n bis
man, broad shouldered, inclined tC
stoutness, wearing a cloth cap with {
visor and heavy ulster, the collar OF
which was turned up. Through the
gap between the open ends of the col
lar bristled short grayish beard. The
face above the beard and below the
visor was sunburned, with little wrin
kles about the eyes and curving lines
from the nostrils to the corners of the
mouth. The upper lip was shaved, ant
the eyebrows were heavy and graysl
black. Cap, face and ulster were drip
ping with water.
"Well, tell you, Ezra" he called
over his shoulder, "if it's too deep t.
wade maybe l can swim. Fat floats
they tell me, and Abbie says I'm get
tin feshier every day. So long"
He closed the door and, smlin;
broadly, swung down the aisle.
Hello, cap'nw cried one passenger
whats the south shore dom owe
here in this flood?"
whats the matter, cap'n" demand
ed another. Broke loose from you
moorins. have you? Did you ever Sc,
such q night in your life?"
The man in the ulster shook hund
with each of his questloners, removing
q pair Of wet, heavy leather gloves a
he did 60.
Don't knows l ever did, Dan" h
answered. Couldn't see much of thi
one but its color, and that's black.
come over this mornin' to attend t
some business at the courthouse
deeds to some cranberry bog propert
] Just bought-and Judge Baxter mad
me go home with him to dinner. Stage
at his house all the afternoon, an
then his man, Ezra Hallett, undertook
to drive me up here to the depot. Tai
about blind pilotin'! Whew! TIL
Judges horse was new one, not use
TO the roads Ezra's near-sighted, and
couldn't use my glasses count of tn
rain. Let alone that, twas darker
the fore hold Of Noahs ark. He, no