ad or his feet, hit a snowbank or a
pile of ties. Those were rough days, and the preservation of authority
demanded harsh measures.

Jimmy had got at 'em in a method of his own. He gathered himself into a
ball of potential trouble, and hurled himself bodily at the legs of his
opponents which he gathered in a mighty bear hug. It would have been
poor fighting had Jimmy to carry the affair to a finish by himself, but
considered as an expedient to gain time for the ejectment proceedings,
it was admirable. The conductor returned to find a kicking, rolling,
gouging mass of kinetic energy knocking the varnish off all one end of
the car. A head appearing, he coolly batted it three times against a
corner of the seat arm, after which he pulled the contestant out by the
hair and threw him into a seat where he lay limp. Then it could be seen
that Jimmy had clasped tight in his embrace a leg each of the other two.
He hugged them close to his breast, and jammed his face down against
them to protect his features. They could pound the top of his head and
welcome. The only thing he really feared was a kick in the side, and for
that there was hardly room.

The conductor stood over the heap, at a manifest advantage.

"You lumber-jacks had enough, or do you want to catch it plenty?"

The men, drunk though they were, realized their helplessness. They
signified they had had enough. Jimmy thereupon released them and stood
up, brushing down his tousled hair with his stubby fingers.

"Now is it ticket or bounce?" inquired the conductor.

After some difficulty and grumbling, the two paid their fare and that of
the third, who was still dazed. In return the conductor gave them slips.
Then he picked his lantern from the overhead rack whither he had tossed
it, slung it on his left arm, and sauntered on down the aisle punching
tickets. Behind him followed Jimmy. When he came to the door he swung
across the platform with the easy lurch of the trainman, and entered the
other car, where he took the tickets of the two women and the boy.
One sitting in the second car would have been unable to guess from the
bearing or manner of the two officials that anything had gone wrong.

The interested spectators of the little drama included two men near the
water-cooler who were perfectly sober. One of them was perhaps a little
past the best of life, but still straight and vigorous. His lean face
was leather-brown in contrast to a long mustache and heavy eyebr