The
shadows from the flickering fire played over her.
"Tell me all about yourself," she said. "Then about your work."
Neale told all that he thought would interest her about his youth in
the East with a widowed mother, the home that was broken up after
she died, and his working his way through a course of civil
engineering.
"I was twenty when I first read about this U. P. railroad project,"
he went on. "That was more than three years ago. It decided me on my
career. I determined to be an engineer and be in the building of the
road. No one had any faith in the railroad. I used to be laughed at.
But I stuck. And--well, I had to steal some rides to get as far west
as Omaha.
"That was more than a year ago. I stayed there--waiting. Nothing was
sure, except that the town grew like a mushroom. It filled with
soldiers--and the worst crowd I ever saw. You can bet I was shaky
when I finally got an audience with General Lodge and his staff.
They had an office in a big storehouse. The place was full of men--
soldiers and tramps. It struck me right off what a grim and
discouraged bunch those engineers looked. I didn't understand them,
but I do now.... Well, I asked for a job. Nobody appeared to hear
me. It was hard to make yourself heard. I tried again--louder.
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