The Adventures of a Female Tramp by A-No. 1

The Adventures of a Female Tramp by A-No. 1

Author:A-No. 1
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781891053641
Publisher: Garrett County Press


CHAPTER IX.

“The Register of the Hotel de Tramp.”

No sooner had the little red caboose swinging at the rear end of the outgoing freight train whirled past Erie Jack and his hobo mates, than they jumped into the middle of the track and gave vent to their rage at being left behind, by vilely cursing the brakeman, who, although he had permitted the two unprofessional hoboes to continue their journey, had prevented the professionals from doing so.

They continued their denunciating until the train was lost to their view, and then they went to the water tank—the hobo’s “Hotel-de-Tramp”—and ere many minutes had elapsed, every one of them had picked out an available space upon its “register”—the supports and the crossbeams upholding the tank above—into which, with their pocketknives, more or less artistically, according to length of previous practice, each one carved his “name-de-road” and beneath it the date and an arrow pointing westward, the direction of their journey.

After they had thus complied with this—an almost sacred duty of the road—all went from one support and crossbeam to the adjoining one, carefully searching each timber for the trade-marks left by other hoboes who had arrived afoot at this lone desert stop, or had, like the present guests of the “Hotel de Tramp,” been bounced off the cars by angry railroad men, who had discovered them hiding aboard their trains.

When they had deciphered a moniker, it was read aloud by one of their number, and then those among them who recalled some item of road gossip connected with the bearer of this particular name-de-rail, recounted this knowledge, most of which were mere senseless campfire tattle tales, while some of them pertained to deeds which were well worthy of perpetuating, but many of the comments made concerned acts so criminal in character as to plainly stamp them as being flirtations with the penitentiary.

After the guests of the “Hotel-de-Tramp” had thoroughly exploited every hobo sign to be found on its “register,” they took seats upon the crossbeams, and soon a lively exchange of road adventures was under headway.

“Hey, Jack,” one of the story-tellers called to Erie Jack when he noted that the latter had for some time held himself aloof from his fellow hoboes and looked a picture of abject misery, “what is the matter with you, Jack, that you do not join us in our story-telling and so contribute your share toward helping us forget our troubles.?”

“Friend,” Erie Jack replied soberly, “I am not disheartened because we have been left here at this forsaken water tank, but I am downcast because the brakeman permitted the father and his son to proceed upon their journey, for only last night the lad promised to leave his sire and become my ‘road kid’.”

“Eh, Jack,” the other tramp jollied, after he heard the cause of the other’s gloominess, “the nerve you had in attempting to snatch a boy from his own father’s arms. Just the same, I say, cheer up for if you do not get next to



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.