Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/107

 TRAVELING WITH A REFORMER

&quot;My dear sir, will you put down those cards?&quot;

&quot;All in good time, perhaps. It depends. You say this order must be obeyed. Must. It is a strong word. You see yourself how strong it is. A wise company would not arm you with so drastic an order as this, of course, without appointing a penalty for its infringement. Otherwise it runs the risk of being a dead letter and a thing to laugh at. What is the appointed penalty for an infringement of this law?&quot;

&quot;Penalty? I never heard of any. *

company orders you to come here and rudely break up an innocent amusement, and furnishes you no way to enforce the order? Don t you see that that is nonsense? What do you do when people refuse to obey this order? Do you take the cards away from them?&quot;
 * Unquestionably you must be mistaken. Your

&quot;No.&quot;

&quot;Do you put the offender off at the next station?&quot;

&quot;Well, no of course we couldn t if he had a ticket.&quot;

&quot;Do you have him up before a court?&quot;

The conductor was silent and apparently troubled. The Major started a new deal, and said:

&quot;You see that you are helpless, and that the com pany has placed you in a foolish position. You are furnished with an arrogant order, and you deliver it in a blustering way, and when you come to look into the matter you find you haven t any way of enforcing obedience.&quot;

The conductor said, with chill dignity:

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