ON THE Sunday afternoon following the big storm, when the delayed
passenger train on the C. P. R. slowly ploughed its way through
snowbanks into the station at Newbank, there alighted from it a young
man with bearded face. The line had been tied up since the storm on
Thursday night, but early on Sunday afternoon the agent at Newbank,
where the railway crosses the Souris on the long wooden bridge, gave
out the glad word that "she" would be down "sometime soon," and the
inhabitants--seventeen in number--congregated on the small platform
without delay. They were expecting neither friends nor parcels. But
there would be a newspaper or two, pretty old now, as some people
reckon the age of newspapers, but in Newbank a newspaper is very
wisely considered new until it has been read, and news is always news
until you have heard it, no matter how long after the occurrence.
Another good reason for all the inhabitants putting in such a prompt
appearance is that some one might get off, and hearing other people
tell about an arrival is not quite the same thing as seeing it for
one's self.
On this particular occasion, as old No. 182 came sweeping
majestically into the station, everybody was glad that they were
there to see it. There was snow on the engine, snow on the cars, and
snow every place, that snow could possibly stick. While the train
waited the conductor walked around the platform speaking genially to
every one. Even the small boys called "Hello, Dave!" to him. "Dave"
had run on this line since it had been built, three years before, and
everybody knew him. He discussed the tie-up on the line with the
postmaster, apparently taking no notice of the fact that the train
was pulling out. However, as the last coach passed him, he swung
himself up with easy grace, quite as an afterthought, much to the
admiration of the small but appreciative band of spectators.
On the platform were left the mailbag, two Express parcels, and three
milk cans. The people of Newbank stood watching the train as it ran
slowly over the long bridge, shaking all the valley with its thunder,
then they turned and walked over to the store to get their newspapers
and discuss the news.
"Say, I'd hate to live in one of them out-of-the-way places where you
never get to hear what's goin' on," said Joe McCaulay, sententiously.
"It's purty nice, I tell ye, to get a newspaper every week, jest as
reg'lar as the week comes."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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