Adventure, August 1917 — page 74: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

iz Barnes, the prodigy, to his own complacent surprise, was made superintendent of the Middle Division—where he proceeded to bluster and blow over everything and nothing—but, being surrounded by a pro- ficient staff and having a wonderfully eff- cient chief clerk who carefully censored his orders and bulletins, he managed to scrape along. That is the way Carruthers would relate it; and surely he ought to know, he being the oldest conductor in the service, with a surpassingly keen ear for underground gossip. And when he had told it so to his friend, young Joseph Donnelly, agent at Maple Creek, he added that he could see no hope that he—Donnelly—would ever rise, he being much too good an agent to ever expect to become an official. So there was Barnes in his high office when the depression set in and revenues commenced to fall off. Then came orders from the general offices to reduce expenses. Therefore, immediately, clerks were fur- loughed by the hundreds and train crews were taken off by the dozen. Everywhere possible things were cut and slashed to bring down the operating ex- penses. And circulars were forwarded to all agents to cut down, cut down, and tables were sent showing the distance in miles and fractions that a ton of freight had to be hauled in order to bring in enough revenue to purchase a pencil, or a pen point, or a pack of envelopes, and to save, save, save. Which tables greatly impressed and edified the ‘“‘boys” and filled them with fear—so much so that they at once ordered on their requisitions a double quantity of the usual supply of the various articles named lest there come a sudden shortage and a stop- page of the things needed. And after he had reduced all the big things to the lowest possible notch, Barnes turned to the little things, and one of his pet hob- bies became the subject of lights. Every light not absolutely necessary, he decreed, should be turned out during the hours of daylight. It became sort of a mania with him, and he went ranting and raving around seeing that the instructions were obeyed. He boarded No. 77, westbound, one bright Spring morning and took up his position on the rear end of the train in order to see what he could see over his division. — Everything went pretty well until they pulled through the little town of Maple Adventure Creek. As they passed the little depot there, Barnes beheld, at the extreme western end of the platform and on the curb of the street which crossed the tracks, a lamp-post with an iron plate fastened to it showing the name, “Maple Creek’”’—and the gas light inside the globe was burning, brightly! The superintendent uttered an angry snort, and then with flying pencil wrote a message in his ever-ready note-book and dropped it off at the next telegraph office. So that young Joseph Donnelly presently received these words over the wire: AGENT, Maple Creek. See circular No. 394 and turn out platform light immediately. J. G. BARNES. Superintendent Barnes went to the end of his division and came back that after- noon on No. 78. And when he passed Maple Creek again he perceived, to his indignant amazement, that the light still burned. He seized his pencil and pad once more. And directly Joe Donnelly received another message: AGENT, Maple Creek. See my wire this A.M. and turn out platform light without fail. See that my instructions are not disregarded in the future. J. G. BARNEs. =) THREE days later Barnes came [rae through Maple Creek again, on a = light engine this time. The light was still burning! ‘““Hey!”’ yelled the superintendent to the engineer. “Stop here! I want to get off.” The engine stopped and Barnes hopped off. He bounced across the platform to the light, grabbed the chain which hung down and that controlled the gas, gave it a jerk— the light went out. Then he stormed into the office where old Carruthers, his train in the clear on the siding, was chatting with young Donnelly while waiting for orders. “Didn’t you get my instructions to turn out your platform lights?” cried Barnes to young Joe, boiling. ‘Yes sir,’ answered Donnelly. He regarded his superintendent with singularly calm, steady eyes. “Then why didn’t you comply with them?” raged Barnes. “T did,” said Joseph, shortly. He did not like to be talked to in that manner, by any one. . CoOMmiclsoo (© 5}