Some of the girls wept a little and asked how far it was to the railroad station.
I didn't ask how far it was to the station. I knew what to do. I began to walk.
Do you know, I never struck such a confounded lot of ties in all my life.
The railroad must have employed non-union help. You couldn't judge them at all. You'd strike a lot that were three feet apart and think they were all that way. You'd go to sleep until you struck one at a four-foot interval; then you'd wake up pretty quick and murmur gentle nothings about the company.
About the second day out, I landed at the town of Bridgewater. I walked into the only hotel of the place and thought I'd bluff 'em a little.
"What are the rates?" says I.
"Five dollars a day and up," says the clerk.
"Oh, come off," says I, "I'm an actor."
"In that case," says he, "it's five dollars a day, down."