the little "limb o' Satan" known as Elsmere Swinburne.
Elsmere could sleep anywhere on the slightest provocation. Deeming it
unwise to make his presence known to his brother until the train was
started beyond recall, he had curled up on a seat behind a large family,
and while waiting his opportunity had fallen asleep. The conductor,
taking him to be one of the overflow from the family in front, paid no
attention to him until after they had left. Then he tried to rouse the
child.

"Wake up, kid! Here, you've gone past your station. Wake up, I say! Gee!
We're running a sleeper on this train to-day, all right," as Elsmere,
lifted by the collar, only sank heavily back on the seat when released.

The conductor, goaded by the jests of the passengers, yelled in the
boy's ear, to no avail. Just as he was abandoning the task in wrath, the
child suddenly popped up, wide awake and interested.

"I want zwieback," he announced.

Mrs. Swinburne, having read in a child-study book that dry food was
bone-building, had brought her youngest up on long crumbly strips of
zwieback, and he was seldom seen without one.

"What you givin' us?" asked the conductor.

"I want zwieback," answered Elsmere cheerfully, in the persistent tone
he had learned to value for its efficacy.

"Where was your ma goin'?" asked the conductor.

"I want zwieback," replied Elsmere.

"Let me try," suggested a soft-voiced little lady. "I talked with his
mother quite a bit while she was on. Want to find your mamma, little
boy, and go to Grandma's and play with all the pigs and chickies?"

"I want zwieback."

"You talked with the woman, did you?" said the conductor. "Did you find
out what her name was?"

"Let me see. Yes. It's Peters. She was talking about going to his
folks', two miles out of Edgewater. She'll be worried to death about
this one."

"I should think she might be," remarked the conductor grimly, "for fear
he'd come back. Here, you young Sweebock, you get off here."

Elsmere obligingly followed to the platform and suffered himself to be
given into the custody of the station agent, to whom he presented his
petition for food.

"A little weak in the upper story," explained the conductor. "His ma had
about as many as she could manage and gettin' off at Edgewater she
forgot this one. Name's Peters, stayin' with old Mis' Peters, two miles
from Edgewater. You wire 'em to meet the express, and then you pass him
back. Tell McWhire not to let him g