Bob Chester's Grit; Or, From Ranch to Riches

by Frank V. Webster

  CHAPTER XII

  ALONE IN A STRANGE CITY

  Arrived at the Northwestern railway station, for a time Bob wanderedabout, enjoying the novelty of the people rushing hither and thither intheir search of either friends or relatives, purchasing tickets, andtending to the baggage, and he wondered how they could accomplishanything, so great was the hustle and bustle.

  In the course of his wanderings, he chanced upon the station restaurant,and though in his excitement and the novelty of the scenes about him, hehad not thought of eating, the sight of food suddenly roused his hunger,and he went up to one of the counters.

  The prices of the food, however, amazed him, and it was several minutesbefore he had picked out anything that he wanted that did not cost toomuch.

  So long did Bob linger over the consumption of the modest repast he hadordered, that the waitress began to eye him with suspicion. And finallyshe exclaimed:

  "Say! how long do you think you can stay here eating, or are you hopingthat you will get a chance to sneak off without paying me? But that gamewon't work. I'm too wise to get caught by any trick like that. So justcome across with the price of your feed."

  This caustic comment upon the length of time he was lingering over themeal, and the open charge that he was trying to defraud the waitress,hurt Bob, and his embarrassment was evident in the flush that mounted tohis face, as he stammered:

  "I'm sorry if I've taken too long over my food. I didn't know I wasexpected to eat it all at once. But I don't think you have any right tosay that I was trying to cheat you out of the pay. If I hadn't had themoney in my pocket to pay for what I ordered, I shouldn't have orderedanything. How much is it, please?"

  "Thirty cents," snapped the waitress.

  Quickly Bob thrust his hand in his pocket, and drew forth a dollar billand gave it to her.

  So deeply had Bob been stirred by the unjust reflection upon hishonesty, that his misery was plainly visible on his face, and thewaitress, returning, could not but notice it.

  "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad, kid," she apologized, "but you see,when people buy things in here, they generally pay for them right off,and we have so many tricks worked on us that we have to be pretty slynot to get nailed by some of them. But you're all right. You're onlyjust green."

  Leaving the restaurant, Bob returned to the waiting-room, where hepicked out a seat nearest the place where the train announcer alwaysstood when he called out the trains that were ready for the passengers.But as he sat there, he could not get the words of the girl in therestaurant out of his mind, and kept repeating to himself: "Only justgreen."

  The constant brooding over this remark suggested the thought to him: "Ifpeople here in the cities like New York and Chicago think that I don'tknow anything, and am not used to the ways of doing things, what willthey think of me out in Fairfax? I said I wouldn't let them take me fora tenderfoot, and I won't. I'll just pretend I know all about things andwatch how the other people do."

  This new resolve fascinated the boy, and he fell into a day dream, inwhich bronchos, cowboys, and herds of cattle figured prominently, and soengrossed did he become in it, that it was with a start he heard thetrain announcer call out the train for Kansas City and the West, whichhe was to take.

  Following the others who were going on the same train, Bob made his wayto the cars.

  Mindful of his recent resolution and the unpleasant experience with theporter of the parlor car, Bob scrutinized each coach of the traincarefully as he walked along until he came to one that was obviously achair car, and this he entered, selecting a seat well in the middle.

  Eager as Bob was to reach his destination, it seemed to him that theywould never start, but when at last the wheels began to squeak as thetrain got in motion, he gave vent to a sigh of delight.

  Of the people about him, he took only passing notice, and busied himselfwith trying to map out a plan of action after he reached Fairfax.

  When the conductor came along collecting the tickets, Bob proudly drewforth his pass and presented it. As though unable to reconcile the bitof paper with the poorly-clad boy, the conductor scrutinized theofficial transportation closely, from time to time glancing at Bob.

  Unable satisfactorily to solve the incongruity, the official muttered:

  "The pass is all right, but it doesn't seem right for this boy to haveit."

  This voicing of the thoughts, which were evidently passing through theconductor's mind, scared Bob, and he asked, assuming an air ofconfidence that he did not feel:

  "What's the matter with that pass?"

  "Nothing, provided you are Bob Chester. But I don't see why you shouldbe given one."

  "Well, if it's all right, and properly made out, I don't know that it'sany concern of yours why it was given to me. If you have any doubt aboutit, why don't you find out from the people who issued it?"

  "That's a good idea. It's just what I was going to do. I will just keepit until I know it's all O.K."

  And, putting the piece of official transportation in his pocket, theconductor moved along through the car.

  With dismay and a feeling of foreboding, Bob watched the conductor gofrom his car with the precious pass. He dared not protest; indeed, thethought of the proper way to make an objection did not occur to him. Infact, he did not know that he could do so, and his own temerity incalling attention to the fact that it was made out had startled him. Butbitterly did he rue his suggestion that the conductor keep theall-important paper until he was satisfied as to its genuineness.

  In a few minutes Bob noticed the brakeman come into the car and stare athim. But he did not know that the man had done so in obedience to theorder of the conductor, who had told the trainman to take a look at Bob,and then to take care that the boy did not try to leave the train untilthe matter of the pass had been properly cleared up.

  As the train whirled through the darkness of the night, Bob occasionallycaught a glimpse of light in the scattered houses or towns through whichit passed, but so dark was it that he could see nothing of the country.

  Dropping his chair back, the boy tried to go to sleep, but his anxietyover the safety of his pass made it impossible, though he dropped into adoze several times only to awake with a start.

  In the meantime, the conductor had sent a telegram to the offices inChicago where Bob had obtained the transportation, asking if a pass hadbeen issued to Bob Chester, and requesting a description of thatindividual.

  Whenever the conductor walked through the car, Bob inquired anxiously asto when he should receive the important piece of paper back again, butthe man in charge of the train only answered gruffly:

  "You'll get it back soon enough, if it's all right."

  "But if it isn't?" asked Bob, in a boyish eagerness to know the exactconditions he was facing.

  "You'll be put off the train, anyhow, and perhaps you will have to go tojail."

  As the conductor announced this alternative, he watched Bob closely, andthe start the latter gave at the mention of the possibility of arrest,only confirmed the man in his suspicion that there was somethingirregular about the boy's having the free transportation. But as thereader knows, it was no thought of the pass being spurious thatdisturbed Bob. The word "jail" had brought to his mind his unpleasantexperience in New York.

  From thinking about his arrest and the men who had been its cause, Bobwent over in his mind all the events that had transpired since thatmomentous happening, yet he had no regret at the course he had chosen.

  Not long after daylight, as the train entered what Bob could see was agood-sized city, and stopped at the station, the boy decided he wouldget out and walk up and down the platform in order to stretch his legs.

  Evidently never thinking the lad would be astir so early, the brakemanhad neglected to obey his instructions and keep close watch on Bob, sothat his leaving the car was unnoticed.

  Seeing a place where he could get a drink of water, Bob walked towardit.

  Just as he was in the midst of drinking from the cup, he
was stupefiedto hear the snorting of an engine, and, upon turning his head, to seethe train on which he had been riding disappearing from the station.

  With a cry of alarm, Bob dashed after it, shouting:

  "Wait! Stop the train! The conductor's got my pass!"

  But the few officials about paid no heed to the lad's frantic cries,and the train continued on its way, while Bob was left in a strangeplace, bereft of his pass, and without knowing what to do in order toregain possession of the precious piece of paper which was to carry himto Fairfax.