In all cases
_they will send plainly and distinctly_." If the despatcher had sent
according to my ability just then he would have sent that order by train
mail. But instead, from the very beginning, he fired it at me so fast,
that before I had started to take it he was away down in the body of it.
I had written down only the order number and date, when I broke and
said, "G. A. To." That made him madder than ever and he went at me again
with increased violence the sounder seeming like the roll of a drum. I
think I broke him about ten times and finally he said, "For heaven's
sake go wake up the day man. You're nothing but a ham." Strangely enough
I could take all of his nasty remarks without any trouble while the
order almost completely stumped me. However, I finally succeeded in
putting it all down, repeated it back to him, and received his "O. K."
When the train arrived the conductor and engineer came in the office and
I gave them the order. The conductor glanced at it for a moment and then
said with a broad grin, "Say, kid, which foot did you use in copying
this?" My copy wasn't very clear, but finally he deciphered it, and they
both signed their names, the despatcher gave me the "complete," and they
left.
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