Show r I l J r k When Bubbles Bubble Burst S S U y tr V J Ij a r V if fJ PHEN young full of pep sali sol sal ft i tiler dier bugs malaria and asi as- as assorted i sorted hooch I held a position on with the government I was a abuck buck private in Uncle Sams Sam's I. I t a army fir i J and wh while c not engaged in mopping up officers' officers quarters I Iwas tr was as employed as a up r- r of gus Gu-gus in jn Mindanao t f tf r ft l' l j After serving my sentence in inthe III the 1 army I fell into the electrical electrical t cal c l game b by r way of the heavy end rid stringing wire digging postholes postholes postholes post- post holes and the like In the course q I J of a dozen or more years because I hadn't the ambition to seek easier work I became foreman I 1 fl- flIt rIt It t was thus I met Artie Arte One Of my men jumped dumped the job fob in I 1 Q Oakland and by strange t Jc dente l e the next ferryboat froma fromI from I I Si 1 r isco filler It A i J brought a was f f A t- t Ie Af 42 4 2 Not until we the pulled out of or Oakland and were drifting across the desert at atthe atthe the he little end o of a freight did we weI I make Arties Artie's hobby Most transient wire wire stringers devote their ability as asT I I T shooters t shooters h oters to the shooting of ot craps In InU l U r out o of season Artie Artle didn't shoot I craps he shot a pistol Being back I. I j at at t the tail end of ot the train that way r t the e shack was not liable to hear the shooting and enforce the road j rule against shooting So Artie shot shot or- or r t. t from om the door and burned box after a box boa of ammunition Likewise he f burned everything he shot at Up to that time I had considered a av pistol pistol v something dangerous to the guy that held it or nearly everything every every- everything 1 thing thing- else within a radius of ot ten feet but not a weapon for potting Jack Jack- t 11 rabbits hawks and other things from ja e running train Artie did that and l p 0 moreIn more In our business we didn't know one neek eek where we would be ilie the next F we l W might be putting In a set of or yard t signals up near the big lakes when r o got orders to beat it for Arizona I nd 3 renew wiring in a depot dam- dam Ji aed ed by fire At least a third of or oro oui o time rne was spent in transit When I Ir found out how much Artie knew about about the invisible impulse as some sc scientific scientific sharp calls alIs the Juice I wondered why he didn't settle down somewhere and get a good Job But Buthe Buthe he seemed to like the life In a rare outburst of confidence lie he told me that he had worked at the same game on half a dozen big lines just because he liked to travel And so we pounded pound pound- ed around up and down the cot try cotA for a year before I got a line on what what hat v was 3 really eating Artie OConnor OConnor OCon I no nor For a long time one of Arties Artie's peculiarities peculiarities peculiarities pe pe- pe- pe had been soaking Into me gradually When we were sitting In our bunk car at night the other boys might be making a lot of ot noise but Artie was sitting by the door listening listen listen- ing eternally ing-eternally eternally listening for something Dozens of times he had stopped the racket or Jumped to the ground and away from the car It finally oc occurred occurred occurred oc- oc to me that this was only when there were other men around the neighborhood and still later that the sound of a mans man's voice raised in more or less tuneful tuneful melody seemed to get his attention Every time our car was V set out rear near a switch shanty or dump he seemed to take a special Interest In their home lIf life He would drop In on them and sometimes sometimes sometimes some some- times spend hours i in their company compan r. r Knowing him I couldn't understand it I r asked him one time why he mingled with such Inferior interior persons and nd he said the type Interested him and he liked to study them at close range And In particular he says I am Interested In their quaint songs I love music railroad music That got my goat Anybody knows a railroader railroader-at at t least a railroader of th the operating or or maintenance department depart depart- depart depart- ment has ment-has has no music In to his soul or ore e elsewhere about him 01 I began to take interest in Artie a. a as J a strange men He didn't look nutty or act like I any cuckoo I r had ever seen and I I knew he wasn't a hop head I ca can n spot a doper as far as Ican I can see him Aside from his everlasting pistol practice practice practice tice and his eternal listening for quaint railroad songs I couldn't find finda a particle of fault with him One day Artie made me Jump by suddenly asking If It I ever was in a penitentiary Soon as I could get one foot on the ground I r assured him that he shouldn't Judge everybody by their looks and that the only sentence I ever served was In the army And he says Oh I r didn't mean mean that I r Just wondered if they have electricians clans In the hoosegow to do the work or bring In regular gular r from the outside whenever they have havea havel I a l Job Wo We were lai laid out In ln the I 1 I 1 r I ii u. u r 4 t n nJ J 1 ff ti j t wl i I If k r lk t ti i c 4 l r tt i t y I 1 t tf f n v N 1 I t lf iS r y v r. r y I I r t a I 4 S. S r y t r P r rr I 11 Artie c didn't s. s shoot h oot craps craps' h he c shot a n pIS pistol piston toll 1 1 I first I II yards at Tucson when I got my I real lesson on Artie's Arties life work The had gone uptown toa to toa toa rest of the gang a movie or something and Artie and andI I were holding down the car He sat on a folding chair by the door smoking smoking smoking ing and I lay in my bunk reading a paper Just below us was the out hang-out and I could hear them talking cussing and occasionally laughing One of or them themI I broke into what he thought was song and a slight squeak of Arties Artie's chair made mo me look at him which I could do by simply shifting my gaze and not moving my head His face seemed longer and whiter and his blue baby eyes were sticking out ut like door knobs His right hand was sliding sliding sliding slid slid- ing down toward his tool kit Im I'm not liable Hable to forget the alleged song that that was singing Id I'd heard it a thousand times mostly inthe In Inthe inthe the South where the natives used to emba embalm m some event event of local Inter Interest st stIn In ho homemade verse and mix same with some old standard tune It wen went t like this dee Bra-dee wy chu didn't-chu run Wn you seen Duncan wit a fL gatun gatlin gun Arties Artie's hand came out of the tool toolkit toolkit toolkit kit and the poison polson little gun was In it that mans man's Billy Dolan he says life depends on how he sings that song Dont be a fool I says getting up because he sounds like a man nian that's off his zip To be sure I says he ought to be killed for trying to sing but you mustn't do lot let I it let a a. switch engine run over him Punishment will surely overtake him without you butting In Sit down and keep quiet Bays says Artie kind of swinging the gat around my way and his voice reminded me of or requiem mass I could almost smell lilies Then the poor b boob ob out by the shanty began again Wen th gals In Memphis heard the news news news- Artie put his gun back In the the kitbag kitbag kit kit- bag and drew a long breath Then The n he wiped his face with wit his sleeve I started cussing Walt Wait a minute Billy says say Artie TH rn have to explain something Give me a chance before belore you kick a a. rl rib out of or me And then thon Artie told his story I ca can remember it almost word for word It was Impressed on my memory as M you might sayI say I T was tossed out opt of at an orphanage says says says' Artie when I was waa about 6 years old and never knew anything about abou t my people I nev never r was very crazy about the tha folks who took me to raise and beat It soon as I was big biff enough I lived everywhere and every wa way until I was 18 or thereabout Then I got a Job as roundhouse flunky f In n Omaha It wasn't much of ot a a. a Job jot with wages to match so I got ot lodgIng lodging lodging ing down In the tha yards district with witha a family named Kent The old man was a switchman The old woman ran the shack and rented a a. half-dozen half rooms on the tha second floor They had Just one kid a 1 girl about 16 and a peach She was a I Irose rose planted In a abed abed abed bed of thistles and no more like Ilka the theold theold theold old folks or the gang around her than If It she didn't belong In that part atthe of at the world Little and delicate soft spoken she sha seemed scared all the time and I can understand why She didn't bel belong ng there I have I always suspected that she sha had been stolen from some rich rioh cultured par parents as asa asa a baby After th the th off blow I was almost positive The Kents dIdn't keep keap boarders so the only times I got to meet the girl were when we Just happened to meet In the hall or at the door Her folks acted sour flour and never Invited me or anyone else apparently Into the living roOms rooms downstairs I had been there thera a month before the old woman ever noticed me In particular Id I'd paid a month in advance and on the first payday she was laying forme for forme me to come across cross again She thawed out a I little when I was prompt with the dividend and made madeno no kick about the rotten way she kept my room It wasn't long after that I met the little girl on the sidewalk sidewalk side side- walk in front o of house and in the course course ourse of ot a conversation she said Ma Ia seems to like you Maybe Mayba she would let mo me go to the moving picture picture picture pic pic- ture show with you But to back and bring up the rear One of or the things outside of the dirty bed bed and and room that would have driven me away from there If It hadn't have been for that girl was a roughneck who roomed across the hall hail from me I never got to see him because he always came In late and woke me singing that damned song He had a hoarse voice and I Judge he was stewed most of ot the time And he sang that song different different different differ differ- ent from an anyone one Id I'd ever heard heard or or r ever have heard since That son song g originated down South And instead of putting it it It When the gals in Memphis heard the news news' hed he'd hed he'd In Invariably Invariably In- In invariably variably make It the tho girls In Denver Den Den- ver ver I suppose It was his Idea o of or f originality I was timid or I would have laid for him The I Ionly only thing that kept me there was j I Loves Love's dream gets young s so some e hard jolts but butt few t 1 boys encounter a problem of the dimensions all things o 1 K y 11 considered that c cL confronted y L rG Artie h he of the itching g trigger trig trig- t 7 M ger finger Jinger and uncanny skill I with th a pistol 5 0 u 9 5 ih e T L fi N NT r 3 I fro tt 7 j it 1 4 y w h y j 44 1 F Nl t s t I v j n rr t r Y b rt J I 1 t j fi J r Yd a 4 I v r a aJ 1 J t y I I i SR 41 Y 1 r w y M t e 1 t. t I I 1 i Jt o a Iti I 1 I i Its It's t My My Gand the little boy we flim o oa a growing Idea that some sonie some day when I got a better Job I would take tae that sweet little girl away from that horrible horrible horrible hor hor- dump Well Veil I was right there thera waiting when Pearl came out in the hall looking all excited and dolled up and prettier than ever Her ma was with her and followed us clear out to the corner telling me to take good care of Pearl She reminded me the that It was WM a rough neighborhood Pearl didn't talk much But she did ask me If I had a gun She said she sha didn't like gun I dont don't remember much about the I movie I 1 saw It didn't interest me and d didn't seem to appe appeal l to her too her too much comedy I suppose When we got out I wanted to go to a drugstore drug drugstore drugstore store for a soda but she said no must hurry home We had got down Into the district about three blocks from home She seemed worried about something but tried to to keep up upa a conversation In fact she talked more than she ever did before Then Thena a big stiff with a handkerchief over his face Jumped out of an alley and poked a gun In my my face Pearl didn't scream brave little thing until I tied into the thug He was twice my size and maybe that's the feas Jn n nhe he didn't shoot me I heard Pearl scream Dont hurt him dont don't hurt him and then the man got one arm free and hit me over the tho head with the gun That's the last I knew for fora a minute although I think I kept struggling to keep from going under When I came to Pearl and the crook were gone I It was a horrible mess The Tha po police police po- po lice were stupid and didn't care And my my belief that Pearl was a kidnapped child was confirmed by bv the attitude of her folks They s said ld it was the roomer across the hall that got Pearl Pearland and that all they knew about him was that he was a roughneck railroader rail rall- I They didn't offer m much ch help In the search and soon Boon after atter left town and I never found them again All I had to go on was the tho fact that the tle man was big and rough and that he sang Just one song and used the he wrong town in that song For twelve years now I have been listening for that song song with with the word Denver in it ft Some time I will hear it Then I will close out the chapter make chapter make good the oath I took twelve years ago I will give that stiff Just three minutes to tell me mex what became o of f the girl then gIrl then Ill I'll make use of ot the gun Ive I've been training That's why I asked you ou about penitentiary Jobs It mIght happen in Kansas or some of the s states tes where they dont don't hang g the defendant by the neck until neck until he hes he's s dead double dead double dead Call it a day boy You Touro ro too smart to waste a lon long life Ufa In the he i l hoosegow Think about something t good to eat If you must have a fad think about suffering Armenia Its It's no crime to cuss a Turk says II II I. I I wish I 1 could get out of or it but I cant can't was his answer answer So I quit pestering him then figuring to give I him some more good advice as soon as he thawed a little I flatter myself myself myself my my- self Im I'm a good kidder Udder being old and experienced Ive I've saved a lot of young bucks from committing matrimony and other offenses by Just talking to them like they were humans instead of trying to preach It takes an old man like me way past forty five and I going down the other slope as you I might say to understand them and say the right thing at the right time But somehow It didn't come convenient convenient convenient con con- for me to talk it over with the boy We hit It It up from Dan to Bersheba I Then one night it came out of a clear sky so to speak although it ft was drizzling a little wh when n I got back from tho uptown office No Im I'm not going to tell you where It was But It was w-as a a. little hole dog-hole out inthe In Inthe inthe the desert which had suddenly be become become become be- be come prominent in railroad offices because of a new Junction Shanty Shanty- Shantytown Shantytown town is right Nothing but shanties but but lots of or them The construe construe- construction tt tion on and operation outfits of two big railroads were concentrated on a n. hundred hundred hun hun- dred dyed acres I walked up to the car saw the lantern was alight lIght alight In thedoor the thedoor thedoor door and called Artie I dont don't think Im I'm yellow but from the first month with Artio Artie and his trained gat gatI I I never Jumped my home threshold I without giving the grand hailing sign and as I am am not an an all nighter I usually found him waiting for meArtie me Artie didn't answer answer but a boob sitting sitting |