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HAPPY DAYS.
[This story commenced in No. 257.)
Across the Continent on Cheek;
oR,
TT ‘ommy Bounce and His Funny Adventures.
By SAM SMILEY,
Author of “Harry Hawser,” “Bob and His Uncle Dick,” “Uncle Jake," “Smart and
‘,” “Goliah,” “The Last Bounce,” etc.
CHAPTER XI.
mmy-made himself particularly busy
about that freight house,
swiped somebody’s dinner can and
took it to Jim.
‘hen he ook a hand at moving this
thing and | that, just as if he were employed
in the y:
He sot a of a label and a paste brush
and stuck one on Jim’s hogshead.
TOMMY STAYED A WEEK 08 TWO IN SAN FRARCISOO, WAITING FOR AN OUTFIT AND SEEING THE SIGHTS,
INALLY LEFT FOR NEW YO! AS BY THE SOUTHERN ROUTE ON A VESTIBULED
my own passage,” he said. “Jim’s all
right, provided he isn’t too long on the
road, but he gets hungry, he knows
enough to yell to be let out, I guess,”
Tommy felt somewhat in the need of a
square meal himself, and so he determined
to put in practice a method which he had
tried successfully at one or two places in
the far we
He ed ‘pretty tough these days, with
his Seedy clothes and battered hat, but he
rn
ge ML
TRAIN AND WITH. EVERY COMFORT AT HIS COMMAND.
“Get out of here, you tramp!” growled
the boss at him. “What are you trying to
steal, anshew
“One toon hogsheads,” said Tommy.
“It's just my heft, and you haven't put a
head on it yet, clumsey.”
“I'll put a head on you if you don’t get
out of here, you young rance-box,” declared
the bos:
“yah! You ain’t man enough!” chuckled
mb to his nose, as he re
freated toward Jim’s hogshea
“ ‘The boss went after him, ‘and he dodged
behind i
Then the man sounded the head of the
cask, saw that it was loose, looked at the
label and gnouted:
“Here, you fellers, there’s another of
them casks ot beet to go to ’Frisco, and it
ain’t headed
A couple of men came,-put a hoop on the
big barrel, drove it down and made it tight
ander Tommy’s superintendence.
That is to say, he cheeked them while
they were at work, told them how to do the
jeb, cautioned them to be sure and make it
tight, and said many more thin:
“You'll get licked if oon don’ t get out of
this,” said one of the men.
“Who's going to do i" asked the cheeky
young traveler, defiant
“T am, i anybody eboald ask you, young
feller.”
“You? “why, you couldn’t lick a postage
stam)
0 on, now, or you'll get hurt.”
“Hurt nothing. Why, you couldn't lift
one end of that ‘task. ”
“Get out, I tell you,” and the man tum:
bled the cask over and gave it a roll toward
+a platform car.
“Why, you can do something, can’t you?”
lavghed Tommy, wondering how Jim felt
at being rolled about in that fashion.
saw the hogshead put on the car, and
then he was partly satisfied, though not en-
tirely so.
“I must see it start, and then I7 book
put on an extra tough look as he sailed into
a jestaurant, “walked up to the desk and
sald:
“Say, I want you to give me a square
meal, and I want it quick “see? 2”
@ same moment he put his hand
around to his Hip pocket, as if to draw a
shooter.
“Certainly, certainly; sit right down and
order what you like,” said the cashier, a
dyspeptic-looking young fellow -of twenty
something o or other,
“And you want to tell the hash slinger to
treat me white, see, and five me whatever
I want—you understan
gain the suspicious ‘movement of the
hand toward the hip pocket.
‘Thomas, let the gentleman have what-
ever he orders,” said the cashier.
Tommy sat down at a near-by table and
Thomas waited on him,
He got a square meal, and then sailed up
o the counter and s:
“Put that down on the slate and ut come
around some day and break it—se
a once more he made a move as it to draw
* The cashier ducked behind the counter,
expecting to hear a bullet go crashing
through the mirror.
en he looked up Tommy was going
cut at the door, waving a handkerchief
which he put in his hip pocket.
“Tra-lala, young fellow; you'll see me
later, if I don’t see you first,” said Tommy
as he waltzed out.
Then the cashier realized that he had
been nicely cheeked.
IT didn’t say I had a pop, but he thought
so,” chuckled Tommy. “That's the fault
of having too vivid an imagination.”
Then he walked back to the station and
found that the freight train, with Jim
aboard, had started a few minutes before.
ought to get there first if I go direct,”
he mused; “but maybe I'll be delayed. I'll
have to calculate on that.
‘ommy’s appearance was certainly not
in his favor if he wanted to ride on any but
a freight train,
-The very moment he was found aboard
anything ¢ else without a ticket, he was sure
to be fire
He must therefore set his wits to work to
secure a ride yy a fast train, having pret-
erence for 5)
Making his way to the passenger station,
he found a crowd waiting to take a train
for somewhere or another, he did not know |-
e
The first train that came along was
bound eastwa:
The greater part of the passengers wait-
ing went on
Tommy was “disappointed, but he was
used to that.
when \ hose that had not taken the train
wen
They. were simply seeing their friends
off, and not waiting to take a train them-
selves.
Tommy found by consulting the
time table that there would not be a train
for the west until two hou:
‘here were western trains before that,
but yy went
“Waiting for
my train,” said
y-
Tom
“Got your
ticket?”
“I’ve got all
the ticket ’'m
‘Well, you
can’t wait
around here, if
got your tick-
et.”
dt
“Who sai
Th
wv didn’t catch
AND WIEN HE on.
That wasn't
Tommy’s faul
. he man
went away. Half an hour later another
one came that way.
ay, what, train are you waiting for,
young feller?’
“Next train west.”
“Well, can’t you wait anywhere else?”
> “I can—but I don’t want
pel, don’t go to sleep aay ‘miss it, that’s
all.
- “Oh, I won’t miss it.”
Evening was approaching, by the way.
It had approached by the time the train
came along.
oe had quite a large number of passen-
“When the train arrived he was asleep.
That is to say, people thought he was.
He was as wide awake as ever he was,
however.
tra mhe passengers began to move toward the
rai
Then that Porter came 5 to him, gave him
a shake and s:
“Here's san a rata, if you're going to
take ie on can’t sleep here. Come, get
ou.”
wall Sieh” said Tommy, getting up and
going toward the doo:
He bumped inte halt a dozen persons be-
fore he reached
ome, com wake up, you're asleep yet.”
“All right,” and Tommy went on as sleep-
ily as before.
Several persons noticed him, and remark-
ed how sleepy he seemed to bi
en got aboard and took a seat in
the inlddie of the middle car on the train.
Some of those who had noticed him were
in that very car.
The minute he struck the seat he was
fast asleep again.
That is, he seemed to
It took the conductor some little time to
get to him, as the train was quite a long
one.
“Tickets!”
Tommy made no answer,
The conductor took up tickets all around
him. .
“Ticket!” :
Tommy made the same answer as before.
Then the conductor gave him a shake.
It didn’t make a bit of difference,
room he was certainly dead to the world
now.
The conductor shook him to beat the
ban
A he did was to snore.
~ “Poor fellow, he’s dead tirea,” said a
Sympathetic woman, “I noticed him in the
waiting room."
“Let him sleep, conductor,” said a man
seated near. “He’s going through, I
reckon.’
The conductor tried another shake.
Tommy didn’t open his eyes, or even
‘unt.
“Well, that’s the hardest case I ever
struck,” muttered the conductor,
He dropped Tommy, who settled in a cor-
ner just where he fell, and seemed not to
know a thing abou
en he went on, haying no time to
waste just then.
Tommy stayed just where he had been
jumped,
The conductor had to go through the rest
oe ihe traip, and it took him some time to
a
“then there was a stop to be made,
be started at the head of the train before
he came through again.
rent before | s took him a certain time to
reas vetore “also, he fskea that young gen-
tleman for his tic!
is previous Srperienco was repeated,
with frills.
He shook and he shook and he yelled.
None of these things seemed to do a bit
2
me
go°d-
He just couldn't make Tommy respond
to, bis attention
him alone; can’t you see how tired
out ihe is?
- “I don’ suppose he has had any sleep for
days.”
rene” must be going through. So it’s all
ot only wish I coula sleep like that.”
The conductor had to give up. :
It was some time before, he came that
way again.
npommy was still sound asleep, appar-
Ye
The puncher of tickets gave a grunt and
went on without trying any more gym-
mastics on Tommy. .
The pext time he came along he did the
same thin,
Finally Fommy did get to sleep for fair.
If the man had skaken him then he
8
5
would have probably awakened and given”
himse!
He had had too hard 2 job before, how:
ever, to want to repeat
The train ran into Oaidand in the early
morning, and the passengers got off to take
the steamer over to San Francisco.
ommy turned his overcoat inside out
before he left the car.
e lining was all of a color and wasn’t
as rusty-looking as the outside.
‘hey were half way across the bay when
the conductor came along and spied Tom-
my.
He knew his head, but did not recognize
the coat.
You see, he had shaken Tommy’s hat off
and had had a good look at his curly head.
“Hello, you’re awake, are you?” he asked.
“Oh, yee = wide awake.’
“You loo! t.
“Yes, ees my style, Everybody who
I'm the most wide awake
“Well, I reckon you are, but I had some
fun trying to wake you up last night.”
oe I know you did,” said Tommy, with
eyo know I did!” repeated the conduc
ter. “Why, you a idn’t know a thing; you
were simply a
jh, no; I can't, I was very much alive
at that time. You didn’t shake me more
than three times, did you?”
“I shook you a dozen times.
“Yes, I know, but I mean you had three
chances, three trips.”
“Yes, I tried three times.”
“That's what I thought. I went to sleep
after that, but I guess you’d given me up
as a bad job and didn’t try it any more.”
he conductor had to look after some
thing just then, and Tommy changed his
seat.
The next time the man came around
Tommy told him funny stories and kept
him laughing.
e did this on two or three occasions,
and the man had no time to ask for an ex-
planat
i nally, as they neared the city, he said
‘0 T
“You Maon't mean to tell me that you
knew I was trying to awaken you, and yet
you couldn’t get awake?’
“Of course not. I was not asleep at all.”
“Then why didn’t you say s
“T didn’t have to,” laughed my.
“Well, but see all the trouble T was put
0."
“Yes, and see all the trouble I would
have bad if you’d known I hadn't
ticket.” Bot any