his red flag, and attached to it two cartridges and a red light, ready to
fire on a second’s notice of danger. The train conductor was trying to
make a list of the things lost ❦ The upper berth was absolutely empty.
The hat was gone; the dress, a tailor-made fabric, which the unseen said
between sobs was worth two hundred dollars, was swallowed by oblivion.
All the fluffy ruffles had disappeared. “Haven’t you a kimono?” asked
the Pullman Conductor, not so much for information as to reveal his
knowledge of technique. ¶ “I did have, but that has gone too,” was the
anguish-laden response ❦ Alas! All she had was the suit of pajamas
that she wore which clung close in this time of need. Even the gray
chamois-shoes were gone. Two women had left the train at four o’clock in
the morning at the Junction, but they carried nothing save hand-bags.
“They could have put my clothes on over theirs,” murmured the lady from
out the dismal depths of Lower Number Nine ❦ The train-hands retired to
the smoking-room to consult. It was no joke to them—they were all under
suspicion. ¶ Suddenly, the man from Syracuse had an Idea. He had with
him an extra pair of trousers, and of course the regular business-suit
he wore. Hastily he groped beneath his berth for his suitcase. With
trembling hands he pulled forth the pants. He reached over and pushed
them into the berth, saying: “Here, Miss, I am an Elk ❦ Don’t be afraid,
I’m an Elk, and the first prong of my creed is to do good ❦ I am a
respectable married man from Syracuse. I’ll help you out of this fix—put
on these.” And then, his generosity increasing as the Good Samaritan
instincts in his cosmos began to find expression, he handed over his coat
and vest. “Then here is my raincoat, which will come to your feet!” “Oh,
thanks, kind sir,” she said; “but I can not take your clothes—for what
will you do?” The voice was flute-like, and modulated like an aeolian.
“Oh, I don’t need any clothes,” said the liar from Onondaga County;
“besides, I have another suit.” ¶ “But my hat! my hat!” moaned the lady.
“Take this,” said the disciple of Chancellor Day. “Take this. I have my
traveling-cap,” and he pushed the hat into the unseen depths ❦ It was
a big, light-colored Roycroft Stetson. “Do your hair up on top of your
head, and pull the hat well down—it will be all right—don’t cry!” ¶ “But
I have no shoes!” “Wear mine—I have a pair of slippers.” ❦ And he pushed
his shoes through the curtain, and looked the other way. Only the onward
roar of the train was heard as the conductors came back. “You are sure
you had the clothes on when you boarded the train?” asked one conductor
in a voice ill-concealing his resentment. “Never mind—I’ll get along—go
away—I will make my claim on the road direct. Go away, please!” They were
glad enough to get away. ¶ As the gloaming began to gloam, the porter
turned up the lights. Now and then the electric bell buzzed. The obese
party was calling for his shoes. A man had lost an umbrella. He got it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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