Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-12
By MAC LYMAN
copyrisht. 1884, by Mac LYMAN
CHAPTER XVI


We got him some water and he got all
right again, and then borrowed mouth
organ off the boy that had the juice harp and
done the Fox Hunt for them and put in the
baying of the hounds and the hunters and
the horses and all like that; and by that time
the old man had rested UP some and said had
we ever heered anybody go like train with
their feet. Well, I had, and guess the others
had too, but we all said No, and he got up
and got to shutting his feet around back and
forth getting faster and faster with it until
he really was doing it pretty good. except
that have heered it done better, but not no
better by blind man. ! don't think. Anyhow,
he was getting into it pretty good making the
whistles and the sounds and all like that with
his mouth when the conductor stuck his head
in and told him he was waking everybody up.
and that made him kind Of mad and he
cussed the conductor and the conductor
cussed him back, and then he drawed back
and spit whole mouthful OF tobacco all the
way across the room but missed the con-
ductor and hit the boy with the juice harp on
the side of the face instead, which made the
boy kind of mad so that he got riled up and
said he'd seen folks do that train thing lot
better than the blind man had done it; any
how they got to arguing some about it so
me and the fellow with the guitar got to go
ing on Just Little Walk with Jesus" which
kind of settled them down again, so then
got up and excused myself and went back to
look for the conductor like had started on
to do in the first place.
Anyhow went back and found the con-
ductor in another car so went up and told
him how it was that me and Ben had to go
all the way sto Martinville and didn't have
money enough to make 1t and what did he
think was the best thing for us to do about
it, and all like that and talked to him good
while about it. And he was mighty nice about
To EY1n hot erto
ly is a coincidence because remember one
time when 1 was in the 342nd Infantry and
me and some boys went into Paris on leave
and we was coming back, only we didn't have
enough money for tickets all the way neither,
and why don you set down here, young
fellow I don't get to talk to many service
men nowadays nohow :" So We shook
hands and I set down across from him and
we had a nice long chat about when he was
in Paris which was right long story that.
lasted for nearly an hour, I guess.
Interesting but Long
And it was right interesting too only the
fellow kind of leaned over talking to you and
got his face up about foot from yourn and
got his head to bobbing around so that after
a while you couldn't see nothing but just the
outline of him, and hear his voice way off
somewheres. But he kept on saying, "Yessir.
like to help out service man when have
a chance because / remember one time when
was in London, and always had guard duty
there, it seemed like, and we used to have
this dog we kept around the post and took
him on guard duty with us, and this dog had
head that was too big for his body, and /
believe that it was the biggest head I ever
seen on dog in my life because when he was
standing still, the head would start going
down and the tail would start coming up
and the first thing you knowed its head
he nd he foil
would be about foot up in the air with his
legs dangling there, and one night when 1
was on guard duty, have this here dog out
there with me and . ;" and he went on like
that for about another hour until I got SO
dizzy almost couldn't think and couldn't keep
up with the rest OF it at all. And then got
to feeling like couldn't move somehow but
after while he reached out and slapped me
on the shoulder. which kind of brought me
to again.
Anyhow, he said it was mighty nice being
able to talk with a service man again, and all
ike that, and was real polite about it. and
then he wanted me to go along with him while
he made his round ON the train So 1 went
along. and he told me about this and that,
and about lot of other things he done in
the service, and after we got through making
the rounds he took me back to another one of
the train men and said, Charlie, want you
to meet service man." So me and Charlie
shook hands for while and talked bit too;
he said he had a cousin in the army by the
name OF Dan Baker and did know him? and
said didn't, and he said that Dan was in
the Third Army Division, and said still
didn't believe knowed him. and he told me
what all Dan looked like and said he knowed
good and we'll that Dan was in, but still
didn't know him, so he finally got kind Of
mean about it and said he doubted if Dan
would know me either
on1,l,o to1I.1
Whlle. and then the conductor took me back
to another fellow and pointed to me and said
was a service man, and this other fellow
was little mean-looking, narrow faced man
and he said he knowed 1t and went on off: so
then me and the conductor went off to talk
some more, only couldn't set at it long this
time because something kept happening to my
eyes SO couldn't see too good with his head
bobblng up and down in front of you that way.
SO finally asked him if he wouldn't like to
meet Ben because Ben's daddy was soldier
too ana ne said, ooh, an old military family
eh?" and we went back and woke Ben up and
the conductor set down. and got little bit
OF rest for while.
And guess must have dozed off be-
cause when 1 woke up it was already day
light; there was red in the east where the
sun was coming up and the man still talk
ing even though he was right hoarse by this
time. but he was still going at it with his
face poked right up in Ben's, and when I
got look at Ben, felt kind of bad about
going of to sleep like that because he looked
about as bad as I ever seen him. His eyes
was kind of glazed something like a fish's
eyes, and his neck was twisted sideways and
his mouth was hanging open, and for a min
ute there, didn't think was going to be
able to get him out of it because he kept
setting and staring that way even after the
man stopped talking at him. But reached
over and shook him and finally his eyes
come back to focus, and then got started
on how we had to figger out something to
do said, Look, it's nearly day already and
It's about time for us to get off. And we
got to figger out some way to make out the
rest Of the way. We been riding this train