| Show the limited mail by ELMER E VANCE A love story of steel rails CHAPTER IV continued I 1 jim was nas one of the fe few real estate iconoclasts who had adventured into the high outskirts of the town ton but the widow olear olean whose hoe ho e pioneering blood had been thoroughly drain ed cd by a steerage passage to america amen ca fort ears before when she wa na well N when lien she N was as forte fort 3 lears ears oung er had a large house near the center of ann town where it crowded like a brood hen ben oner oer the lock flock of bun bungalows galos on either side business c considerations onside rations too had a hand in mrs OL OLe carys arys location for she took boarders in addition to occasional unpaid activities a as s a nurse and regular reRi ilar well paid druda drudgery M in a backward elbow power she was zealously engaged in the latter branch of her manifold enterprises when ien I en bob and jim stopped by to inquire after the baby to whom mrs olear accorded the distraction and care of star boarder in hr her menace mrs oleary stepped aside from her tub and reNe revealed repealed aled with a hush huh warning a plump infant where here it was sleeping in a small padded q under the spacious tent of her skirts jim was na dull dul mi impressed presed with aith the obvious serenity of his s son on and heir beir bob similarly with aith III his namesake mrs tongue pumped in in time with her arms anns as a s they resumed the massaging of some engineers upon learning that bob had decided to pet get work mork and remain with nith jim she be scolded nom ow you nou bos bons cant be living up there alone its too bip big for ou and too far for me to be tr ottin back and forth in the rare care of it besides gently to jim better for MIU A ou not to lne line in rooms room and with things that always remind lou she pointed oer a be picketed succession of small backyards backards do ou mind that brown bungalow down donn the block I 1 hane hae it for rent and its just small mall enough for the two of ou and near enough for me to keep house for ou Nit without hout abusing me rheumatism it will be almot almost as good as having the little one home with ou jim and bob agreed heiple aly in the face of the widows kindly but positive management of their affairs then betook retook themselves once more toward the yards to spare both bob and himself main alain streets gauntlet of stares jim led a diverted wa na down a side street and across N wooded fields to tow ard ant the flank of the bustling yard proceeding in one of the mutually mutu all preoccupied moods that often fell upon them then the were ere startled suddenly sudden lv when nhen a fat pan panting tuiL excited figure lurched out of some shrubbery and confronted them potts declaimed bob genuine genuinely li pleased then Quick IN why the matter ou look as though someone lind had asked ou to work norl 11 A matter latter enough rn dear Pr Abile companion moaned the professor the yard dicks are in search of me I 1 am unjustly unjust accused of the theft of some brass JOur journals rink spike stole them but lie he cunningly manage to implicate me me potts an innocent and harmless man sir jr abon abo e reproach in knitter of per peronail onil integrity where the proper property tx and rights of others are iain concerned a as ou anoa rn dear bo be I 1 what dm am I 1 to to do if they apprehend me I 1 shall ha be comic connoted ted without a chance see lie he slipped these into my pocket I 1 was about to chiow them away aay han when I 1 siv ou wont our kind looking oung friend here return them for me and f fix the blame where here it belongs 7 bob took the journals 1 I can ouch for this man jim if boull help me explain to tile the railroad detectives detect ne jim readily agreed whereupon potts oerA overwhelmed helmed him with oratorical and fl flowery oNery expressions of gratitude what did ou do with the mone monc nou u got for saying saving the limited bob bro broke ke in humorous humorously l potts alert in the manner of ill his nomadic kind was read to scuttle off at the first alarm during his lachrymose explanation spike insisted upon a divi division ion 0 so o I 1 had bad to allot him half of the purse is as it is difficult for a man of ma m naturally liberal and generous tendencies to resist the importuning of a especially when that friend is equipped with a steel claw clann potts caree caressed sed the seit of his pants in woeful reminiscence then sir he borrowed my half bob and jim choked from a mixture of uncontrollable lible mirth at the comic opera complexion of tragic futility on potts face and of angry contempt for the tactics of the smi sinister ster bully spike so vehement ellement were the prom i res e of the young men to a avenge enge him thit that peace of mind descended upon potts like a gentle rain bathed in benign contentment he waddled off jauntily unafraid flourishing 1 a cov hand goodbye goodbe rny my dear bo bos and god bless ou will not forget ou arid and sav boull aull find spike hiding biding mc in the third car of that string of cattle empties on the mot siding potts broke into a carefree whistling of dais daisy bell as he marched toward the lonesome open spaces not man minutes later bob and jim picked their wa a across the coal dusta ards and shimmering rails which in the raw ran shower of sunlight seemed to undulate like bilter snakes and located morian bv hearing before coming within sight of him ile he was as pacing his dis respects to an erang wiper upon the subject of empty oil cans and emptier heads lead in tones that outdid the sun in lifting the atmospheric temperature morran was na small mall warped like a pickle barrel spigot a red headed throbbing half century old hut but undiminished fireball fired ill dynamic a as increment inclement left on earth b a flash of lightning might be which hiell mav or may not haie hae been the thought that inspired the divisions nickname for him bolts sparks spark seemed to flash steadily across the bridge of bolts nose from conr on of his enes ees to the other when hen jim after introducing bob turned in the stolen journals and divulged th facts of spikes where oner the nard ard telephone morran summoned detec detectives ties from th the e bead headquarters quarters oft offices ices arranging an immediate immedi ite ien dems at the scene of spikes hiding place splice spike surrendered with waspish bad grice grace to numbers number when he nia was surprised and routed out his Is male malevolent eves ces glowered upon bob a promise of unforgotten and now augmented hatred guess I 1 had bad de right hunch on you bo I 1 kne knew ver er fer a dick all de time lie he inferred erroneously in his animosity his catlike docility threw ins his captors off their guird guard so that he was able to sidle idle close to bob without hindrance swift and vicious in ill his treachery he jabbed hi his spike straight at the jugular area of bobs throat threat think aoud pull out with me inc said bob laconically after a brief silence ii ence punctuated punctuate by their careless flipping of the knife into the grass hoped vou ou too because old man when it comes right down to it mrs olear oleara might make a good foster mother for the kid but she cant take the place of his mother your job mother and father both no youre not leg loose like me old man sudden apprehension an anticipatory fear of loneliness dimmed jims eves as he grasped bob bobs hand stopping him in the act of throw throwing laig the knife and stammered cred you bob youre youra not thinking of 11 im thinking I 1 want to be on my dav n theres nothing more here I 1 can do your leave leae is up this weekend and auh be going back to work ork on adonda mondays s run I ive ie e lived on you all this time jim eaten dour food worn bour clothes im a liability and im going to liquidate myself by becoming scarce he finished with a short laugh jim got to his feet with gam determination mi and stood over oer bob frowning like a defense advocate before a bar of last appeal bob wilson oue done all the preaching around here for nearly a month so now non I 1 claim the right to crowd in a few fean words ive guessed youve been in some big trouble but I 1 know knon by dour manner your speech I 1 your our c everything cry thing that vou stand head an and shoulders above aboe the average citizen of this town that youve 1 ou e been accustomed to the best and not to the meanest of this Norl worlds ds goods good I 1 don dont t know or care iby why vou ou choose t to 0 drift but I 1 wish nish aoud let me be bour anchor I 1 ha any right to butt into lour our plans for our own life but god bob in a little over oer three short weeks ive come to loe you ou as a bi birther other wiit what could I 1 have hae done if providence sent you in rn my patha killed ayi myself self or gone to pieces knitli not a living lela tive to do for me N what bat you ou a a jim broke down domn A homeless bum prompted bob drilo throN throwing mg the penknife at a belligerent li bumblebee to cover coner his embarrassment jim reached down donn and wrestled bob to his feet im arrn he said bob im going to be old womanish manish enough to advise adie you jou to to do one of two to things the first is that if you are breaking so heart by remaining away anay and it is just something that can be explained epla ined and forg foi gien nen dont nun bour N our life and others remember the desolation youve ou e seen that be helped in my little home jim paused anxiously in his s eyes watching for some sign of a break some hint of an impression in bobs eves ekes but he looked in vain bob stood monumentally unblinking unsmiling and jim continued slowly after a fe few moments moment the second is if ou cant or dont cire care to do the feirt faist that vou ou settle town down with me here in crater city you can call bury burg yourself here as well ell as an adv place this town is no more than a fungus s knuckle on a great tin railroad lail road vuth ith no prospects of a future any different than its barren and laborious lih onous past no one ever c comes om e s here who have to be as violated isolated here as on a desert island and a damn sight more comfortable than hol hollowing loing it the comfort im considering nor the attractiveness of a tramps life said aa bob speaking 9 quietly and very erv t its just the satisfaction of knowing that as a bum I 1 would be like cern bum a living red lag flag of protest agair st the bum buggery of civilized society Ho bodoin as a whole social gesture is a crystallized thumbing of the nose by the least hypocritical minority of mankind at the useless shama and cant of the smug majority cant a man of dour our attainments tain ments merits who he obio uh combines breeding and intellect with a lack of hypocrisy be tie in his expression expresion pre sion of contempt for the whole social scheme said jim his words tripping on one an others heels heele in his hi to put oer mer the happy inspire tion that he had seized upon wh cant iou aou stan sta here and get a job on the railroad and demonstrate our own enate contempt by bv helping to shuttle the smug majority back and forth oer the mountain division in their endless geddings gad dings bob laughed at the boyish beela tion of jim jims confidence that his eager enthusiasm iii would assure victor 3 for his ar argument r ament and still iboa bob could think of f no good reason for passing up jims proposal it grew upon him sharply that he would be safer in crater city from chance contact with aith anone annone lie he knew than he would be roaming an around und the country even as a tramp if the towns name of cratem cita cit was geographically apt then the social tatus status of its citizens might be well described as ed bob chuckled with nith unholy glee he would become an of ter or a switchman something lowly louly something poor but honest oh it was as rich if only the ir if onla she could know enoi bob was roused from the daze of reflections into which he be had drifted by a re resounding crack on the sh shoulder out from jim who he misunderstood the causation but not the consequence of bobs chuckling stay he be rejoiced if I 1 can find work nork es promised bob grinning as lie he grasped and shook the hand that jim thrust out lodai this afternoon thi this er cr next net fifteen minutes is the best time to see ee about a job well put aside the delight of bumbly peg mcl h hie IN e to azlyn a seeing that ehlt iou ou lost dour our eilif and hike right down to see morran the Yard yardmaster mastor hes a good friend of mine and hell ster you into the right berth say u ahat hat job are we e going to get for you anyhow VI talking rapidly foolishly in his ex cx edited interest jim had bad alread already led bob out to tile the front road and off in the direction of the widespread yard that made crater city I 1 Nen veritable table cobweb spun with steel threads a 1 chugging heaving smoking cobweb over oler mid lond around and through which there fussed bussed by day in the sticky glare of an un and by night in the yellow glimmering of a thousand of its electric imitators an overall cd and best of human ants who from tune time to time scuttled out of the path of the mallet locomotives that sped ped across the web meb of giant spiders will it be so easi ease for me to get a job that I 1 can have hae a choice asked bob as them swung down grade on the gra gravelly elly hill road bob knew that despite his present grooming groon ling so different from the stubble and dirt of him on oil that fateful night a month be forel and his neat if rather confined appearance in jims second best suit he be had become familiar to every child and householder and trainman in clater city during his stay at jims cottage as the hobo who nho saved saed the limited 11 wherefore he asked smilingly it apt to be thought something of a social phenomenon for a tramp to be seeking work nork it sure is jim chuckled and what hat will ill put you ou ON over er be flabbergasted enough to make vou ou roundhouse foreman seriously though after morran sizes you up hell fit vou ou in some place all right he studied in silence for a few feu moments bobs bob straight lithe figure and sui swinging nging elastic carriage carnage then with nith fond admiration youre a husk customer and I 1 guess Morran ll put vou ou to firing you can step up to driving from that when ullen vou ou know the lopes say it be great if vou jou got to the throttle of the limited herbele some day dan and vied be making the run to genthert gc ther I 1 bob smiled to himself at jims navie naive summation of the ultimate goal of crater cites ambitious citizenry A small mark to say the leat least for ane of his still outwardly he agreed in a flat tone that undoubtedly it would be an ideal achievement but too ugh high and too fai to be dreamt of for the pre present tile the viere nere down doin into the ton now nou cratem city cupped in a jagged saucer of ancient Nol volcanic canic foothills that surged over oer many man broad counties like congealed ocean waves nac vias as intolerantly con conscious cious of its standing as mountain division headquarters railroad and impudent 11 boastful of its importance as the largest toun despite its modest thousand odd souls in a daas run east or N west eat 0 over er mountain or prairie A tartly modern modem main alain street rose in chicken and goat haunts on the hill and flowed its cob 1 le stoned way k a y p past a st thin banks of houses and finally a block long accretion accie tion of garages stores and a bank just before it mushroomed out nto into the green grcen scra scraggly g gl flowered lake of the depot plaza thence it its commercial flot flotsam am eddied into a besmirched that ran parallel to the railroad to be continued |
