The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1922-02-02

stewards sentrybOx In the yeStibulr uf
the car our train was chasing along
again.
Hey" shouted; whats the name
of that place where we stopped to wa
ter the engineer
"AtrOpla."
"Death-sleep," I translated with
grin. Ut fits all the way down to the
ground. What are the industries of
Atropia2"
~ don't get YOU"
"Excuse me; I'll try to put 1t ia
simpler form. Why Is Atropia?'
He appeared to have reached the
conclusion that l 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
"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?"
This was too much. and, anxious as
WAS to find out something more about
Atropin. | felt II all imperative duty
f""l-like-to do my small part toward
enlivening II rather sad world. So
said. sucmnly:
Il sEall be met by parade of the
Angels fire department. in uniform
ana with the apparatus, headed by a
brass band. But this Is irrelevant to
the present burning question What |
am thirsting to know is why there
should be II dog with face half
white and half black standing on the
Atr"pia station platform, and pie
bald pony h!tchcd 30 .he horse-rack
on the Atropia public square"
That finished him.
Say, young feller, you've got 'em
bad he commented. But thatU bs
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" l interposed as
he was trying to escape. "Atropia
hasn't always been as dead as 1t Is
now, mas liz What was lis name when
1t was alive and able to sit up and take
nouriShment?"
"IIuh?" he quericd; and then: "Oh,
l get you. now; II used to be called
PlaCerville."
"Thank you; that helps. Now how
much farther Is 1t to Angels"
Bout twenty miles"
"All right. And when will there be
a train coming back to this Atropia
place"
'Way-freight - tomorruh mornin'-
eight-thi"ty 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 II final shot. and it hit the bulls
eye. AS he edged away could see by
his expression that he still thought me
crazy.
When l 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 shied every
time he passed my section. lis was
rich. hut if could have known the
tenth part of what was going. to pop
i
foolishly dug up in the dining car, the
amusement feature would speedily
have been forgotten in a pretty
strenuous eff, TT to straighten things
out while tlrle was yet time.
descended from the train at my
ticket-namcd destination of Angels.
and found typical mining camp of u
single street and tawdry, dusty
diclrIn"s> scarcely exceeded by that
Of the dcad-alive Atropia. The first
thing | saw OH the station platform
was my train conductor talking earn
estly to large. desperadoish-lookin
man whose greatest need was for a
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 probably
harmless, but possibly dangerous.
mahiac In It's midst.
Still | saw only the humorous side
Of it and refused to he disturbed. Fired
by the ambition to find some way OF
returning ut once to Atropia, before
the magic horse and dog should disap-
pear, tramped of In search of place
where could leave my two grips. The
place that offered, and the only one,
was the celestial ilcIel." and | won
dered what sly wag had suggested the
name. which was double pun upon
me 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 loomed up in the
shape of the henvy-shouldered des-
perad0ish-looking person whom had
seen at the station talking with the
train. Conductor.
"I'm 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. fm givin' you wsthin' right