Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/111

 TRAVELING WITH A REFORMER

The conductor looked the Major over wonder- ingly, and then said :

&quot;It beats me it s bran-new I ve never struck the mate to it before. But I swear I think you d do it. Look here, I ll send for the station-mas ter.&quot;

When the station-master came he was a good deal annoyed at the Major, not at the person who had made the mistake. He was rather brusque, and took the same position which the conductor had taken in the beginning; but he failed to move the soft-spoken artilleryman, who still insisted that he must have his car. However, it was plain that there was only one strong side in this case, and that that side was the Major s. The station-master banished his annoyed manner, and became pleasant and even half apologetic. This made a good opening for a compromise, and the Major made a concession. He said he would give up the engaged stateroom, but he must have a stateroom. After a deal of ransack ing, one was found whose owner was persuadable; he exchanged it for our section, and we got away at last. The conductor called on us in the evening, and was kind and courteous and obliging, and we had a long talk and got to be good friends. He said he wished the public would make trouble oftener it would have a good effect. He said that the rail roads could not be expected to do their whole duty by the traveler unless the traveler would take some interest in the matter himself.

I hoped that we were done reforming for the trip flow, but it was not so. In the hotel-car, in

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