The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-11-24

lie appeared 10 nave reached tht
conclusion that I was an escaped luna.
tic, safe enough, most probably a
harmless one. He looked first at the lit.
tie colored slip sticking In my hat-band
and then consulted a notebook drawn
from his pocket.
HIN; ticketed to Angels" he NUT
tered half to himself. And then to me :
"Was you expectin' to have friends
meet you at Angels?"
This was too much, and, anxious as
l was to find out something more about
Atropia, l felt 1t an imperative duty
fool-like-to do my small part toward
e%nlivening a rather sad world. SO I
said, solemnly:
II shall be met by a parade Of the
Angels fire department, In uniform,
and with the apparatus, headed by a
brass band. But this Is irrelevant to
the present burning question. What I
am thlrsting to know Is why there
should be a dog with a face half
white and half black standing on the
Atropia station platform, and a pie
bald pony hitched to the HORSEBACK
on the Atropia public square,"
That finished him.
"Say, young Teller, you've got 'em
bad" he commented. "But tha.'ll be
all right. Just you wait till we get to
Angels, and then you can find out all
these funny things you're so dead anx.
iOus to know"
Hold on a minute" l interposed as
he was trying to escape. "Atropia
hasn't always been as dead as 1t Is
now, has it2 What was Its name when
1t was alive and able to sit up and take
nourishment2"
"Huh2" he Queried; and then: "Oh,
l get you, now; 1t used to be called
Placerville."
"Thank you; that helps. Now how
much farther Is 1t to Angelsf"
"'BOut twenty miles,"
"All right. And when will there be
q train coming back to this Atropia
placer
"Way-freight - tomorruh mornin'-
e~ight-thirty out o. Angels"
"Good. Now II those fire people and
the brass band don't miss me-" I
couldn't resist the temptation to give
him a final shot, and 1t hit the Bulls
eye. As he edged away I could see by
his expression that he still thought me
crazy.
When I got back to my Pullman
after luncheon ! perceived at once that
the train conductor had promptly
passed the word about the episode In
the dining a r The Pullman conduc-
lcr evidently had his weather eye on
me, and the negro porter SHE'D every
time he passed my section. Iris was
rich, but II / could have KIN q the
tenth part Of what was going to pop
out of this Pandora box that l had
foolishly dug up In the dining car. the
amusement feature would speedily
have been forgotten In a, pretty
strenuous efftrt to ~straighten things
out while there was yet time.
descended from the train at my
ticket-named destination Of Angels,
and found a typical mining camp Of a
single street and a tawdry, dusty
dreariness scarcely exceeded by that
OF the dead-alive Atropia. The first
thing I saw on the station platform
was my train conductor talking earn
estly to a large, desperadoish-looking
man whose greatest need was for q
clean shave. BY the manner of the two
/ saw that their talk was aiming itself
at me the railroad man was only too
plainly warning the Angelic person
that Angels the Blest had a probably
harmless, but possibly dangerous,
maniac In Its midst.
Still I saw emily the humorous side
Of 1t and refused to be disturbed. Fired
by the ambition to find some way Of
returning at once to Atropia, before
the magic horse and dog should disap-
pear, l tramped off in search of a place
where l could leave my two grips. The
place that offered, and the only one,
was the Celestial ~FicieD," and l won
dered what sly wag had suggested the
name, which was a double pun upon
the name Of the town and the fact that
the tavern, half restaurant and half
clearinghouse, was kept by a China
man.
But ] secured accommodation, and
as I was turning to leave the restau-
rant-tavern trouble doomed up In the
shape OF the heavy-shouldered des-
peradoish-looking person whom I had
seen at the station talking with the
train conductor.
"Tm onto you with both feet" he re-
marked. boring me with an eye that I
could easily fancy might strike terror
into the heart Of the most reckless
criminal. "Tm givin' you warnin' right
now that no funny business don't 60 In
this mans town: seef"
I'm quite harmless" I assured him.
~Giye me a little information, and ri
forthwith remove myself from the con-
fines Of your charming city. How FAX
y Il BY w~agon-road to Placervills-
Atropla. and how can ! get thsrerr
NY gosh" he said eloomily stwo
of you In the sams dog-gonsd weak r
kven sn WheA did ~ other cne
arrivaT