“My good boy,” answered Mr. Stewart solemnly. “Of course you don’t know how your conduct appears to us, any more than we know how to regard you. I can only say that I feel very humble and ordinary alongside of a clean-souled man like you, and I know you’re worthy of any appreciation that can be tendered you. But hark, there’s the skipper’s bell, he’ll be anxious to know all about everything and you won’t tell him, but I will, whatever you say, so get along with you.” And C. B., still in a mental mist of wonder, rushed off to his charge.
Captain Taber was naturally in a feverish state of excitement through wonder. He had heard the shots and the rushing to and fro, imagined all kinds of happenings as he lay there helplessly fretting and yet ashamed of his want of confidence in the goodness of God. And now when C. B. came swiftly gliding in, his face all aglow with eagerness, a great wave of thankfulness rushed over him, and he held out both his hands, saying, “Thank God you’re all right; my boy, do tell me what has happened?”
Then, first having seen that the captain wanted for nothing, C. B. told him the stirring story in his own quiet, unexaggerated fashion, his simple eyes brightening and his breath coming short as he realized the danger they had all gone through and emerged triumphantly from, for their assailants were of that desperate class who value life at less than the smallest coin, are ready to dare anything in order to gratify their desire for plunder, and who in this case felt quite certain of securing a rich booty. They had lashed a huge log across the rails, and erected by its side a pole with a red light upon it, which made the engineer of the train slow up until he brought his engine butt up against the obstruction, and immediately found himself threatened by a couple of revolvers held at his face by desperate-looking men, who threatened him with instant death, unless he obeyed their command. Helpless to resist, he threw up his hands while they bound him and his mate, then boarded the train itself, with the result we know.
Presently, with a clanging of great bells and a hideous jolting over badly laid points, they rolled into the great station, where a little crowd of officials who were awaiting them sprang into the car as it came to a rest, and greeted Mr. Stewart with that mingled air of equality and deference which is so peculiarly characteristic of the States between employés and their employers. In a few curt sentences Mr. Stewart informed the new-comers of the events of the last couple of hours, and then led the way to where his prisoners were lying, glaring like trapped wolves. In a few minutes they had been removed to a patrol wagon, which rumbled off with them to prison, and then Mr. Stewart turned to confront a couple of night reporters, who, with the keen scent for a story that all their class in the United States are noted for, begged to be “put next” to the adventure, whatever it was.
With a grim smile Mr. Stewart led them to the main saloon, bade them be seated, ordered a steward to bring them refreshments, and then sent for C. B. When our friend arrived Mr. Stewart introduced him to the reporters as the hero of the night, assured them that he would tell them all about it and, excusing himself, disappeared.
It is impossible for me to convey any adequate idea of the contrast between C. B. and his interlocutors, whose picturesque slang, eager faces, and ravenous pencils all seemed to him so strange. He could not imagine their errand, they were equally taken aback by his calm, straight gaze and transparent simplicity. But presently, after a rapier-like question or two, one reporter said to the other: “Hank, we’re up against a mighty big scoop. This hold up’s only a tail-piece, the story ahead of it’s the thing, and our friend here hain’t no idea of the height of it. Now less go slow an’ take it between us an’, hold on a minute——” He darted off and got the attendants to seal up the car to any outsiders, declaring that Mr. Stewart would see nobody till the morning, then returned to the feast.
So C. B. told his story to the reporters, who took it down with heaven knows what fantastic additions. They had never had such a lovely subject before, a man who answered all their questions straightly and simply, making no reservations. Many times they paused and looked at him, feeling uncertain whether some colossal joke was not being put upon them, but were reassured in spite of their brazen scepticism, and when at last they raced off to their offices with the spoil they both felt that they had had the time of their lives.
C. B. was rather glad when they went, for he was tired, and went straight to Captain Taber, whom he found sleeping sweetly. And, as all the car was quiet, he too went to his comfortable bed, and, entirely unexcited by the stirring events of the day, fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. When he awoke it was to have thrust into his hand by one of the car attendants two newspapers, each with flaming headlines, describing in American journalese the happenings of the past night. Glancing through the two and a half columns of gush he felt his blood surge up into his head to find himself portrayed as a hero of the highest eminence, his life history sketched out, in fact all his quiet, open talk with those two guileful strangers transmogrified into something that took his breath away. And even then he was unable to grasp more than the remote fringe of the significance of those two newspaper reports; he did not dream of the millions who would read his story all over the United States and Canada within the next twenty-four hours, or the fact that within a week or two the whole of the civilized world would be talking about him.
At present his feeling was one of extreme annoyance at seeing his name in print, and making a hurried toilet he hastened to his friend, Captain Taber, whom he found propped up in bed eagerly devouring the story, and occasionally chuckling with laughter as he came across some exceptionally turgid piece of description, or a sentence of such extraordinary jargon of slang that even an educated American could hardly translate it. It gave him thrills of great joy, and when he saw the face of C. B. as he stood holding the two papers before him, he laughed as C. B. had never heard him since his disaster.