St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1921-12-03

stewards sentry-box in the vestibule ci
the car our train was chasing along
again.
"Hey!" shouted; whats the name
of that place where we stopped to wa
ter the engineer
"Atropia."
"Death-sleep," l translated with G
grin. ut fits, all the way down to the
ground What are the Industries Of
Atropia?"
II don't get you"
Excuse me; I'll try to put 1t In
simpler form. Why is Atropia?''
He appeared to have reached the
conclusion that l was an escaped luna
tic, safe enough, most probably q
harmless one. He looked first at the lit
tie colored slip sticking In my hat-band
and then consulted notebook drawn
from his pocket.
"H'n; ticketed to Angels" he NUT
tered half to himself. And then to me:
'Was you expectin' to have friends
meet you at Angels?"
was to find out something more about
Atropia, felt it an imperative duty
fool-like-to do my small part toward
enlivening a rather sad world. So
said, solemnly:
II shall be met by a parade Of the
Angels fire department, In uniform,
and with the apparatus, headed by
brass band. But this Is irrelevant to
the present burning question. What
am thirsting to know is why there
should be dog with face half
white and half black standing on the
Atropia station platform, and pie
bald pony hitched to the HORSEBACK
on the Atropia public square,"
That finished him.
"Say, young Teller, you've got EN-
bad" he commented. "But that'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 minute" interposed as
he was trying to escape. "Atropia
hasn't always been as dead as it is
now, has it7 What was its name when
it was alive and able to sit up and take
| nourishmentT'
"Huh?' he Queried; and then: "Oh,
get you, now; it used to be called
Placerville."
THANK you; that helps. Now how
much farther is it to Angels?"
"'Bout twenty miles"
"All right. And when will there be
train coming back to this Atropia
placer
| "Way-freight - tomorruh mornin'-
efght-thirty out O Angels
| "Good. Now If those fire people and
the brass band don't miss me" I
couldn't resist the temptation to give
him final shot, and it hit the bulls
eye. AS he edged away 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 car. The Pullman conduc-
tor evidently had his weather eye on
me, and, the negro porter SHE'D every
| time he passed my section. This was
rich, but II I could have known the
tenth partSof what was going to pop
out Of this Pandora box that 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 tawdry, dusty
drearfness scarcely exceeded by that
Of the dead-alive Atropia. The first
thing / saw on the station platform
was my train conductor talking earn
estly to large, desperadoish-looking
man whose greatest need was for
clean shave. By the manner Of the two
I 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 probably
harmless, but possibly dangerous,
maniac In its midst.
Still saw only the humorous side
Of it 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, I tramped off in search of place
where could leave my two grips. The
place, that offered, and the only one
was the Celestial Ilc.e)." and 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 halt
lodging-house, was kept by China
man.
But 1 secured accommodating, anC
as was turning to leave the restau
rant-tavern trouble loomed up III the
shape Of the heavy- shouldered des
peradoish-looking person whom | hae
seen ut the station talking with the
train conductor.
"Im onto you with both feet he re
marked, boring me with an eye that
could easily fancy might strike terror
into the heart of the most reckless
criminal. I'm givin' you warnin' RICH
now that no funny business don't go il
this mans town; sect"
'I'm quite harmless" / assured him
"Cfpo mo little information. and II