ars.

"Look here, you young rascal," I said sharply, "what are you doing in
here? First thing you know you will short circuit some of these
batteries and then there'll be the de'il to pay: Don't you ever let me
catch you out here again, or I'll fire you bodily."

"I hain't been doing nothin', Mister Bates, I just wanted to see what
made the old thing go tick tick. Wot's all them glass jars for wid the
green water and the tin in?"

I explained to him as well as I could the construction of the gravity
battery. He had been forbidden to monkey with any of the instruments or
the switch board in the main office, but his infernal inquisitiveness
soon ran away with his sense, and it wasn't long before he was in
trouble. He pulled a plug out of the switch board one evening, and Burke
threatened to kill him. Another evening, he went into my office and
monkeyed with an instrument that I kept there connected to the
despatcher's wire, and left it open. There was no report from any of the
offices on either side, and investigation soon revealed the culprit. The
wire was open for ten minutes and Burke was as mad as a March hare, when
he reported it to me the next morning. I sent for Master Dick and
informed him that another such a report against him would cause his
instant dismissal. He seemed penitent enough, but two nights afterwards
he short circuited all the main line batteries by his foolishness, and
raised Cain in the office for a while. The next morning his time was
presented to him and he was told to get out. He pleaded hard but his
offenses had been too numerous, and I had to let him go. I must confess,
however, that we all missed him greatly, because, in spite of his
troublesome nature, he was a prime favorite with all the force.

Our road ran through some wild unsettled country, and a few years
previous, a Mr. Bob Forney and some distinguished gentlemen of the road,
had paid us a visit, with the result that the express company lost about
forty thousand dollars and their messenger his life. The country became
too warm for them and they fled.

Our flyer left two nights after this, having on board about a hundred
thousand dollars of government money, and I remarked to Bob Stanton,
the conductor, that it was a fine chance for a hold up, but he laughed
it off and said that civilization was too far advanced for that kind of
work just now.

About nine o'clock I was sitting in the despatcher's office smoking a
cigar before go