Argosy All-Story Weekly, July 11, 1925 — page 131: what you’re looking at

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

THE CALL OF SHINING STEEL. She looked up at him, all the instincts of woman love written in her violet-blue eyes. Zeb felt as though he were transported to another world, far from the shining rails and rolling cars that he had known for so long. Neither ever knew how it hap- pened. Her arms were around his neck; her voice, soft and low was in his ears, and in little sobbing gasps she was half crying, half laughing: “Oh, Zeb, I love you, I love you!” The fireman from the back end of the tank almost fell off the edge of the tender in astonishment at the sight. The conductor from back along the train shouted, “ All aboard!” three times with no response. Finally he started ahead to see why Seventeen held the rails. Three cars back, he stopped and grinned behind his hand. He motioned to the fireman, still standing on top of the tender, by reaching his hand high above his head and bringing it down rapidly twice. The fireman slid over the coal. “ Boot- boot!” the whistle tooted, and in another half minute Zeb was aboard, a sheepish look on his face, and Seventeen was again in motion. Itchy-Witchy heard the lifting crossing blow as the rear car swung around the curve, and she knew that Zeb was happy. She reached up a hand to her soft, pink cheek, looked at the streaked fingers, black with engine oil, the mark of the railroad. Then, turning and walking across the tracks, she spoke to herself: “ Zeb White, next time—I want your face to be clean.” In another minute she added: “I don’t care whether it’s clean or not, just as long as you—” her sentence remained un- finished. CHAPTER XVII. WEDDING BELLS. HEN Zeb got in from his run that evening, as he walked across the yard after washing up, he again repeated in his mind their conversation. __ Although his talk with the woman he loved had been brief and hurried, still many things can be said in a few minutes. 285 A voice hailed him as he rounded the end of a string of cars. He turned to see the chief caller beckoning for him to wait. “White, Petey Dink’s marked up for Sixteen in the morning. Guess he’s got his ‘craps’ all in now. Do you want to take out a ditcher on the main line? Road- master says it’s a week’s job, but you know it probably will be two or three if they claim a week.” Zeb considered. “ Teil you what I’ll do, Jake. If you promise to relieve me in a week, I’ll take it out.” “ All right, Zeb. Five thirty in the morn- ing,” and the caller started to walk away. Zeb called out after him: “ Remember, just one week now! I’m laying off then for ten days.”’ The other stopped amazed. Zeb had never laid off for more than a day before unless he was hurt. “Ten days! Ten days! What for?” Zeb smiled and walked away without an- swering his question. But a few minutes later in the super- intendent’s office, when the “old man” asked the same question, Zeb answered: ’ “‘ Well, Colonel, I’m going to get married, so just have some passes made out for me and the little lady, will you? I’ve never seen Niagara Falls. Neither has she. I had thought of going out home and just taking it easy, but there’s no excitement up there. So we'll take a trip.” The superintendent arose and clasped Zeb’s hand. “Congratulations, White, and my best wishes, All I got to say is, she’s got a damn fine man. Am I invited to the wed- ding?” | Zeb shook his head. ‘ Colonel, I sup- pose I’m sorter of funny, but there’s not going to be any big wedding. She’s not much for formal doings, a few of her rela- tives and that’s all. I think it’s better than making a big stew over it.”’ The superintendent laughed. ‘“ Well, perhaps you’re right at that. I'll telegraph for the passes now. They will be here inside a week.” Zeb thanked him and went to his room to sit for an hour studying a picture of Itchy-Witchy that stood on his dresser. He eS =comicboo) a >). . le, ie Se Oe >