The Lancaster news. (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, December 21, 1915, Page 2, Image 2
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HOMING FOH CIIKISTMAS. +
*
W. G. Kowlette, in The Columbia
State.
The mid-December night in the
Virginia hills had closed?closed fast
and hard and was wearing on towards
its turn. All the lights in the
little junction town were out, save
the lonely oil-burning sentinel that
guarded the main street cross* ng over
the great iron highway stretching
north and south, and the gleaming
white targets of tlie switehstamls and
the red bulls eyes of the three semaphore
signals that guided the iron
horses of the great hustling trunk
line and the fussy little branch with
its 40-vear-old. hav-burning Mason.
Tlie prophecy of the low hanging
slaty clouds of the late afternoon was
fulfilled when?ping! the first great
white flakes struck and sizzled
against the window panes of the tower
where the young telegrapher kept
vigil over and guided the movements
of trains, took occasional messages
and numerous train orders and at
midnight lunch.
The little branch train had come
in at met the northbound lo
cal, deposited her passengers and
"been tucked away in the little onecell
round house and the operator
had lit his pipe cocked his feet up
against the quad-table and was enjoying
the heat of the red-hot coal
burner in the corner, awaiting the
nightly rush of the great "limited"
going south, when his busy time
would come. Then the door open*w1
nn.l In toll,,.,! tlin nnnl t/tn "
vu anw in ?? (imcvi i nc icpuva vm ??
broken clown general manager. His
hair was 60 but his fare was 4 0.
His clothes didn't quite lit the replica
role, hut they were good and
well cared for if they did date a fewyears
back; his firm, clean-shaven
chin and clear gray eyes didn't show
the marks of dissipation and there
was the air about hint that marks
the order-giver, not tlie order-taker,
in the railroad world. Nothing of
the "bo" about him?though the
time, the hour and the place bespoke
it. He stretched out a clean,
white? hand and the operator grasped
it with confidence.
"Some night east there and going
to be more, and that's some (ire-. Am
] welcome?" was his introduction.
"You are- its against the rul -s;
but "Oh,
the- rules are si 11 right. 1
guess my credentials would get me?
by. I'seel to nice t and pass 'em
clown on the M. A. before she was
gobbled up by the V. M. A: U. !>."
He had scarcely taken his seat
when the "bonk! honk! bonk!" of
a high-stepping Baldwin caused the
operamr 10 jump to in?* levers. Selecting
one, lie threw it back ami
then peered through the misty glass
to see the little red gleam from the
dise of the distant semaphore
change to a bursting ray of white.
Then another and still another lever
was set and then the short jerky
"bonk! bonk!" from the big Baldwin
told him he was understood and
with a rattle and roar she shot by
and 011 to the south, her tail lights
blinking and winking as the snow
flakes whirled and scurried after.
"That, fellow is sure gutting that
jack, my boy," said the replica.
"Yes that's 39. Sort of sliortdog
limited. Picks up the Pullmans
as she goes, but a pretty good car.
The real thing is 011 the block. Just
watch how differently she hollers
for it.
"Thirty-nine by Mia' at 11:21,"
repeated the replica in an undertone,
as the operator marked it down
011 the block sheet; then turned and
set the semaphores back to danger.
"There's another fellow 011 the
block," said the operator, "37, New
York to New Orleans solid and slur's
some stepper, believe me."
A shaft of powerfully light shot
across the hills to the right of the
tower, nestled there a moment, an I
then as the big locomotive dashed
around a curve a mile away and
swung on the straight track leading
to the little towen, flickered and
played against the windows of the
tower and on the face of the inen
standing at the levers. Four times
the big Baldwin?bigger than the
one on 39?screamed for her right
to proceed. Again the operator
grasped the levers and set the glistening
discs from danger red to the
white light of safety?and clear
track. Again the answering "toot
too" of understanding; a funnel of
thick black smoke was shooting
high up through the falling snow,
as the fire-box door flew open to take
In more coal for the hungry flames.
and with a groan and a grind, rattle
and roar as she struck the crosscover
the big Bahvin shot by on her
restless race from snowballs ta orange
blossoms. The hand of both
the replica and the operator, with
one lone finger pointing np, was stll.
raised in silent answer to the like
greeting of Tom Gorhan, veteran
uriver of 37, us the tail lights flickered
in the distance.
The replica held his hand on the
lever a moment, his clear gray eyes
3till fixed on the fast disappearing
tail lights. His firm jaw was
twitching and his lips were tightly
compressed?and his face showed
tense, deep feeling as he turned to
the operator and, drawing a long
deep breath, remarked:
"It never gets out of the blood,
my boy; it never gets out of the
blood!" And then he added
"When is there something north?
something a fellow might get to
Washington on?you think you could
fix it?
"Sixteen is due at 4:32, She is a
milk wagon, but the fixing won't
be so hard."
"Thanks. You see it's th's way
1'vt; got a friend?much younge:
tlmu I, but a friend just the same
?ami I always try and get around tc>
him about this time every year, lie's
' a first tri on the W. M.. and when
the world gets glad I always like
to be about hiim 1 haven t fa?let"
in seven years. 1 don't want to fail
now. His name is 'Skin,' Skin Wil-j
Hams?know him?"
"No I think not. lint where'd1
lie get that name? Why does he
sign?"
"Signs 'SK.' His rea! name is'
Richard, but 'Skin' was tacked to
him when he was a messenger boj
down in the Louisville W. I'. and
it's stuck. You see, it was this
way?" And he settled back and;
the operator knew a yarn was coining.
"Skin made his debut in'I' olf:ce
when he was about 15. I was receiving
on the second New York morn-J
ings and sending on the lirst St.
Louis 'dux' afternoons. Skin
wasn't exactly a typical type for a
messenger. He was ugly enough.l
all right, and freckled enough, but!
he was tio good natved, yet iie|
made d. Two dv? after he wasj
d'-signa ed as 'No. 2'. and donned |
his uniform, he was invited by1
Messenger No. 1 into ih~ hack ullej ;
and initiated. He came back with
> ;'.n? k ye and shy trout tooth!
buf | "iin'iig. After Hint his bonk i
was nearly always on top of the pile
with Hf'iing iner i 1 earnings,
a nil his .-.mile grew here, at; 1 his
g "d ..ati.re more cat.u-m
Jo *st." t w. :i\ every mornis?
s; >iess. but usually left at
night very much ot -.erwise That
Indicated a motlter at home stud as
later developments proved. ;. widow.
Messenger boys' mothers ar > usual ,
ly widows, for story purposes anyway.
After a while Skin got to
hanging around my table with a
sort of itching hesitancy. Finally
lie braced up and said he wanted to)
learn to telegraph. He had hough.
a learner's set through an advertisement
seen in a telegraph journal
and wanted to start right now. He
had done me a lot of minor favors,
such as running out for coffee or a
sandwich and I like the chap, and
so agreed to help him. He and one
or two of the others who could
make a letter or two rigged up their
sets in the battery room and startm1.
As usual, progress was slow
and the others dropped out. but Skin
kept digging. Finally he made
friends with tlie delivery clerk and!
the two worked together a great deal.!
! helped along from time to time.'
correcting bad Morse and occasion-!
ally sending to Skin for an hour o:-|
two on Sundays. After a couple of I
years Skin could g< t ten words a{
week, but he stuck to It.
"About this time I began to no..or
that Hetty Handley, one of the'
assistant delivery clerks, a young
miss of about 1(?, had fresh flowers
on her desk every morning. Natural
enough, you know, for a young
| girl to put flowers on her desk, es|
pecially a pretty girl -and Betty
was that and then some, with an air
of womanly graciousness thrown In.
I hadn't learned a word as to the
source of the flowers, but one day
'Skin' got in a mix-up with Jack
Craig, the biggest messenger in tlie
bunch, just outside of Hetty's grated
window. 'Skin' got the worst of it,
but he would not have if Hetty had
been a boy, it was plain to see. and
it was her litilo handkerchief that1
stopped the blood from Skin's nose.
Tlu- mystery of the flowers was solved.
"Time passed on and 'Skin' finally
got so he could get ten words
without a break and he was the
proudest youngster in Christendom.
About this time I loft the W. U. and
started working in a dispatcher's
office for W. M., and about throe
years later was promoted to a trick
dispatchership. I heard from 'Skin'
now and then and when he heard I
was promoted he wrote and said he
was fit for business and asked me to
get hint a job. He came on to my
town, I tried him out and he was
'there.' So I got the chief to place
him in u little town out on the*line.
He sent for his mother and they made
it their home. A Uttle later, like all
good dispatchers, I got mine. It's
THE LANCASTER NEWS. I
only a question of time, you know. 1 tb
don't care how good you are, how ^
careful you are. If you run trains pa
long enough, you are going to do it, ca
and one day I set one up. A head- bl<
ender between a work extra and an ?a
i excursion train. Killed three and
no
hurt several." The replica stopped g0
a minute, clinched his fingers and cu
: nroceeded: 11U
| "I was fired, of course, and about br
j crazy. 'Skin* sent me word to come otl
I out to see him and rest up. I did,
: and went into brain fever. His ni|
j mother nursed me?at least he and ^
' his mother did, and I pulled through. Inj
That was nine years ago. Since then vl<
| the nerve is gone, so I've been moving rei
iround here and there, visiting my ch
1 friends on nights like this, and at t,M
| Christmas going back for a few, days an
1 with 'Skin.'
"Oh, yes?you needn't ask. I know jv
what you are going to say?Hetty's en:
there too and there's a boy about mi
five and a girl about three. What tal
time did you say '16' got here?" 8ta
The operator walked over to the
wire, spoke to the dispatcher in "Z"
and wrote out a telegraph pass to
Washington for James Randall and .
Ojqi
handed it to the replica.
"Sixteen" blew l'<e station. The
replica grasped the operator's hand J? ?
i i . 8,00
and remarked: xnm
"Some day 1 may have a home? 'J!1'!
if I do, it may be in Kalamazoo? ;?n?t
not Kokomo ?but if you ever come non.i
tnere, come to see me."
He swung on the rear end of
! oq (
and as she pulled out he raised a pun
hand with a silent finger pointing ai"
upward, to the operator standing at
the tower window?thinking.
f
Christinas Time. M
By Charles Dickens.
Christmas Time! That man must
be a misantlifrope indeed in whose
breast something like a jovial feeling '
is not roused?in whose mind some
pleasant associations are not awakened?by
the recurrence of Christmas.
There are people who will tell you
that Christmas is not to them what 1
it used to be; that each succeeding t
Christmas has found some cherished ?
hope or happy prospect of the year
before dimmed or passed away; that ?*
the present only served to remind A
JEn
them of reduced circumstances and
strained incomes?of the feast they
once bestowed on hollow friends,
: n<l of t 1m* cold looks that moot them ^
now. in adversity and misfortune. j
Never hoed such dismal rominis- J
< oncos. There are few men who
have lived long enough in the worl I
iio cannot call ti|> such thoughts any
( y in the year. Then do not select ^
the merriest of the three hundred
t. ltd sixty-five for your doleful recol- ^
1 "ciions. but draw your chair nearer
the blazing lire?fill the glass and ft
tend round the song?and if your ?
room be smaller than it was a dozen ^
years ago, or if your glass be filled Jj
with reeking punch instead of spark- *
ling wine, put a good face on the ft
matter.
Look on the merry faces of your
children (if you have any) as they
nit round the fire. One little seat
may be empty; one slight form that
gladdened the father's heart, and
roused the mother's pride to look
upon, may not be there. Dwell not
upon the past; think not that one
. hort year ago the fair child now re:
olving into dust sat before you, with
the bloom of health upon its cheek, i
;.nd the gayety of infancy in its joyous
eye. Helled upOn your present
blessings?of which every man has
many not on your past misfortunes,
of which all men have some. Fill
your glass again, with a merry face
and contented heart. Our life on it,
but your Christmas shall he merry,
and your New Year a happy one.
Burro wers="Beware!
Gophers ^nd prairie dogs are the
hnne of western furmers, while In the
east woodchuoks are the type of burrowing
animals that cause the tillers
of the soil to forgot some of the things
the dominie tells them on Sundays.
Don Leonardo Ruiz, a California
rancher, says "dynamite Is the proper
medicine to give ground squirrels, gophers.
prairie dogs, etc."
Take-an Inch and a half or two
Inches of dynamite. Put It in a bit of
cloth or several thicknesses of paper
to form a small round cartridge. Tie
the cloth or [taper flrmly about one
end of n piece of fuse twelve or fourleen
Inches long, but do not use n cap.
Insert one of these charges well Into
the mouth of every hole and pack
i looso dirt around the fuse, leaving
enough of the end outside to light easily.
Light the fuse and go on to the
next hole. There will be no explosion
There being no cap or other detonator.
the dyiuumite will simply burn.
< filling the holt with dense, poisonous
fumes that win almost instantly stifle
and then kill every living thing Inside.
RUB-MIY-TISM
Will cure Rheumatism, Neuralgia,
Headaches, Cramps, Colic
Sprains, Bruises, Cut*, Burns, Old
Sores, Tetter, Ring-Worm, Eczema,
etc. Antineptio Anodyne,
I used internally or externally. 25c ,
)ECKMBER 21, 1915.
eir flow. Numerous irregularities
use them to meander about la aprently
wasteful ways, aud man's 1
relessness has added to these trou- wli
ss by allowing driftwood and loose Th
rth to form dams and sandbars. the
Ml of these things help to hold the am
od of waters back and cause either ma
odlng or swamps, which not only oc
py land that could be more profitably
ed for farming, but also form fine
eedlng places for mosquitoes and 1
ler obnoxious pests. Incidentally Pie
sy cause an annunl loss ninntmr in>n nt?
llions of dollars per year. "W
[n this (lay of enlightenment such pla
Ings arc both wasteful and, one Yo
glit add. criminal, especially so In
?w of the fuct that almost Instant
lef may be hud by a few web placed
urges of dynamite. Not only will
jse blasts straighten out the kinks
d bends and remove ledges and J1
ad bars, but they will deepen and im- ?
ave the channels as nature has real- |'ul
intended. Incidentally by straightIng
tb<? winding course of a creek
ich area of tillable land can bo ob- _
ned and farm operation In inuny in- 1 t
inces made much easier. 1 JJj
ooiiBdn-aoa ioj ?ttu .(hxd.i s.nnn ?n?x
>CZ KjsisuJnid .<q pti>s
0 'opanvt "OD ? .\aX3U3 f d :*s.>jppv A
sjninojp joj pii.is oj spa; 4| .>??j .(ihi i
vj?l|op pojpanq ouo J.ijgo .( qj, iuojka'h .>m , (
>ij a tin mioomil puB po?|q oq) uo Xil.wjtt. I
ii 'injiiouutiv.t) u oi silujp oi moj; ?.>*op u| |
u,U<i| ii.ijit:i *=? )) j.'JjJBtn oi|j uo ojn.? |uuo|i |
stio.i jfino oqi tq 'ojno 'opot?i "oj y jC.?i!.?qj
.fq p.iiniorjinitini ojn.i qjjttjn.-) ?.|to||
ujn.uj it:ii?|iniiisiio.i s.<j|nl>.u .'Joj.u.iqi pin "OB
sip tnnoijiijjisiioo R .iq <q q.ijnjn.1 \.o\nj.l stiq can
I-is' ojqB.msni i| poounmiojit '111.1111111.01 taonj eurl
vin.i oj .iniunj .fptinigcoo .tq putt ' aip.itn.u .
p.iq|J.">?.>jrt pint osn.itqp |n.io( r )| p.iotinntiujil
>op iqg.it .tinrin jn.oS n jo..| '.qqiunoui
>1 p.ivoiMns ? ? vjimv av.i; 1kk| oqj | lilt
'J.tqiaXo) jnit n.wtMiqp J.iqjn nn tinqi .tJiur.oo V
jo uo|)oos tqqi u| qjjvinj o.tooi m| oaoq.x,
Jh
T H
does not trully
. 1 1 1
to those who hi
this past year,
wish you all ?
prosperous Ne1
sa sb m w?
nih
The
I A Touch of a \
H Touch a match. Ir
utes ine i^eriecnon
Oil Heater is spreadi
and warmth.
The Perfection keep
Sold in many styles and si
Highest Award at Panama-P
Look for the Triangle Tree
Uae Aladdin Security Oil or
Oil Stoves, Lamps and Keat<
STANDARD C
(New Jeraeyl
BALTIMOR1
Waihinftnn, D. C.
Norfolk, Va.
Richmond. Va.
jH PR- PtJR - PER
pbrpbction
nJBk^ 1^. /pf
*> ?i ?i >Mi
Trie Man Who Dreama.
^ noted man once said: "The man t
th imagination rules the earth." t
e man who dreams and imagines J
> highest Ideals and then strives t
1 does attain them?that is the s
a who is master of his life.
The Latest Composition. |
dr Flatte?"That was the best
ce of ragtime I have heard on our
noplayer, dear." Mrs. Flatte?
'ell, that was one of those porous
sters I got in there by mistake."?
nkers Statesman.
Ejected.
Mamma, did you say the baby came j
>111 hoavon?" "Voc n.k,,4? * T .1 I
>v?, " 11J . I UUll I j j
nk he ear'e: I think ho was flrerl. j j
w could angels sing with him ! I
ttln* up that holler all the time?"? I
uston Post.
lead Stopped Up?
Try the Vick VapVI
plied In Salve Form Over Throat ti
and Chest Relieves by Inhalation
and Absorption. vi
01
apor treatments aro best for inflamma- pi
is of the air passages. The vapors F<
y the medication direct to the inflannnl to
iaccs without disturbing tho stomach. nV
uteraul medicines will do. A very con-1 tii
7ICK'S"Wte
<%> ^ <$> ?4? $ +?
The Word
1 A IN K
convey our
ave patronized
Wp fliprpfnt
w w vy VJI
a merry Chris
w Year.
JSC
Store thut Continues to Grow
latch Brings aTou
i five min- chill-free and co
Smokeless and take it whe
ing comfprt extra heat. L
carried. Smokel
Ten hours glov
s any room a gallon of kero
izes at all hardware and general sto:
acific Exposition.
temark.
Diamond White Oil to secure beet result
ire.
>IL GO/
MMlMaMiriMMMMaaMMAMWiM
Lemon juice for Headache.
Lemon Juice and water will very of:en
give gteat relief in the case of a
tick headache. A wineglass of lemon
luice in a little water taken three
imes a day is also recommended for
rheumatism.
- " ' ???
CHICHESTER SPILLS
RDAMn
uiMNiuriu
LADIH9 I
Hull jour Uroirirtut for cni-CTin?-TKR S A
DIA.?.-->ND 1'HaN 1i PILLS iu Rkd *ad/A
Sold metallic boxes, scaled with BluevO#
Ribbon. Tae.j NO OTnttt. Bnjr ? 7??e \S
t>rar?'ot and a?k f >r CIII.CHKS.T4k 8 V
DIAMOND BIUND PILLS, for twolltT-BJB
jenrs regarded m Best,Safest, Always Reliable.
SOLD BY ALL DRUGGISTS
as* EVERYWHERE TESTKL
Can't Breathe?
rmm
O-Rub Treatment *
anient vapor treatment is a good applies*
on of Vick's "Vap-O-Rub" Salve over the
iroat and chest, covered with a warm
inuel cloth. Tho body heat releases
tjiora that are inhaled with every breath,
zoning tho air passages, loosening tho
ilegm, and healing tho raw surfaces.
r>r deep chest colds, first apply hot wet
wels to open the pores. Vick's is then
ooroeu lurou^u tuo akin, taking out that
,'htnuss and aoroness. *2.r>c, 50c, or ftl.OO.
m^S&LKE.
VVVV V. V V V V
:s I
appreciation T<
[ us through %
e, in return *
tmas and a % *
t
:hs1
x
X
??n??????
ch of Spring |j
sy. Pick if up? jjSj
irever you wain
ight and easily ^
ess and odorless. $1$
zing warmth on
sene oil. a
^_
.. ?*?*? Mfc| | , W*-^, * ^gg ** <V- , | gj|
m ' . * $ ? . i'