Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1884 — The Railroad Hog. [ARTICLE]

The Railroad Hog.

“Is this seat unoccupied?”a lady timidly inquired. Her voice was not very loud. It did not recall the fat man from his reverie nor his gaze from something interesting in the brick wall of the depot The lady passed on as though embarrassed at the sound of her request. “Is one of these seats disengaged?” The question was asked in a firm, clear voice by a young woman who looked steadily into the monopolist’s eyes as though she understood him. His head turned slowly, and he coldly replied, “All engaged.” Then he resumed his 6tudy of the wall, and the train moved slowly out of the depot “Oof!” The exclamation resembled exactly the grunt of a pig. It was made by a young man with a dimple in his cheek and a twinkle in his eye, on a seat diagonally across the aisle and behind the bald-headed man. He was absorbed in an interesting article in a newspaper. The exclamation was not noticed. “Oof! Oof! Oof!” A young lady in the seat behind the person intended to be described by the young man with the dimple, tittered aloud. The fat man with four sittings stole a wicked glance at the young man with the newspaper, and then settled back with a determined gesture of his head and neck as if he wasn’t going to mind it. “00-00-oof! kweek! kwe-e-eek! oof! oof!” The passengers turned their attention to the passenger with the four seats. The bald spot on his head began to get red. “Kwe-e-eek, kwe-e-eek, kwe-e-eek! Oof, oof, oof, oof!” A tittering and giggling broke out spontaneously up and down the car. The bald spot on the fat man’s head blazed. Then one foot was dragged slowly off from the front seat, then the other. A hand reached out carefully and set one valise on the floor. Then the other valise followed. “Seat here, I guess, ladies,” he growled. Three women threw grateful glances at the grunter and took their seats. The grunter, who had not lifted his eyes from his newspaper, turned it over to continue reading, but just at that instant the train glided into the tunnel.— New York Sun.