ut Sicklen made no answer. He called for forty-five minutes at
a stretch, 22 all the time waiting at Bakersville. He stopped for five
minutes and then went at it again. In ten minutes Sicklen answered.
Burke started to give the order, but Ferral broke and gave the "OS"
report that 17 had just gone by.

That settled it; No. 22 was hung up another hour all on account of
Ferral's failure to attend to his duty. I opened up on him and said,
"Where have you been for the last fifteen minutes?" The same old excuse,
"Lunch," came back at me.

"Well, where were you for ten minutes before that?"

Then that dear old stereotyped expression, "Fixing my batteries,"
followed. But I was only too sure that he had been asleep, and No. 17
going by had awakened him. So I gently remarked that "I was not born
yesterday, and said that he would probably have ample time to fix his
batteries after this; that, in fact, I thought it would be a good thing
for him to take a long course in battery work, and I would assist him
all I could--I would provide him with the time for the work."

The next morning I laid the matter before Mr. Antwerp, and he wanted the
man discharged forthwith. But during the night my anger had cooled
somewhat and now I felt inclined to give him another chance; so I simply
urged that he be laid off for a while.

"All right, Bates, but make it a good stiff lay-off--not less than
fifteen days," said Mr. Antwerp.

I wrote Ferral accordingly; but I had scarcely finished when a letter
came from him to me, begging off, and promising anything if I would not
discharge him; but, instead would lay him off for _forty-five days_. I
took him at his word and gave him the forty-five days he asked for,
instead of the fifteen I had intended to give him. But, about two weeks
later he came up to "DS," and looked so woebegone, and pleaded so hard
to be taken back, that I remitted the remainder of his punishment. He
was greatly chagrined when he learned that he had trebled his own
sentence. He was never remiss again. Go over to the despatcher's office
any night and you will see him, bright and alert, sitting opposite the
despatcher doing the copying. He is in the direct line of promotion, and
some day will be a despatcher himself. I never regretted my leniency.

In addition to the main line, I had a branch of thirty-eight miles,
running from Bentonville up to Sandia. The despatching for this branch
was done from my office, and when we wanted