The Trail of the Tramp: By A-No. 1, the Famous Tramp, Written by Himself from Actual Experiences of His Own LifeA-No. 1
General
The Trail of the Tramp: By A-No. 1, the Famous Tramp, Written by Himself from Actual Experiences of His Own Life
A-No. 1
Tramps
This last statement pleased the superintendent so well that he told Joe
to report a week after date in a regulation uniform and that he should
have a chance to prove his side of the argument. Joe thanked the
superintendent for his kindness and after he closed the office door he
jumped down the stairway three steps at a time, so happy was he. In fact
he realized that he had not only found a job that would decently support
him, but one that strictly conformed with his somewhat restless
disposition, as it permitted him to travel to his heart's content aboard
the flying trains, giving him at the same time a chance to earn an
honest living and see a bit of the world.
He gave a tailor a "hurry" order for a trainman's uniform, and when he
reported on the appointed day at the superintendent's office, he was put
in charge of a conductor who quickly became his fatherly friend, because
Joe did everything required of him in a most satisfactory manner. Each
pay day he placed a large percentage of his salary in a savings bank,
and as his wages were from time to time increased, he soon became the
owner of a comfortable bank account.
He always kept a sharp lookout for his brother Jim, but five years
rolled around in which time he found no trace of his missing brother.
Finally he was attacked by a severe case of homesickness; somehow he
felt a strange loneliness come over him, and the picture of his mother
could not be effaced from his mind, and fearing as much as ever to
return home without his twin brother, he finally wrote a long letter,
pleading for her forgiveness and inquiring if anything had been heard
from James since they left home together. He wrote his own address in
the upper corner of the envelope and dropped the letter into a mail box.
But from the moment the letter left his hands, his anxiety while
waiting for an answer became such a burden that he was unable to attend
to his duties, and had to ask for a lay-off. As hours were added to
hours and days to days without an answer arriving, the strain of the
suspense finally became so fearful that mute desperation was written in
every line of his face, and to end the misery he was busily packing his
suitcase ready to leave for Rugby, letter or no letter, the following
morning and there upon his knees plead with his mother to forgive his
boyish prank, when someone knocked on the door and when he opened it he
found it was his landlady who handed him a letter, and he recognized it
as being the same one he had addressed to his mother at Rugby, but there
was this time written across its face: "Moved to Canada. Present address
unknown."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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