Whereupon one of the most degraded-looking men stepped out of the line
and hoisted him in. Now the virtue and the joy of this act lies in that
it was service of love, not hire. The carter was poor, and the man knew
it; and the man was standing in the spike line, and the carter knew it;
and the man had done the little act, and the carter had thanked him, even
as you and I would have done and thanked.
Another beautiful touch was that displayed by the "Hopper" and his "ole
woman." He had been in line about half-an-hour when the "ole woman" (his
mate) came up to him. She was fairly clad, for her class, with a weather-
worn bonnet on her grey head and a sacking-covered bundle in her arms. As
she talked to him, he reached forward, caught the one stray wisp of the
white hair that was flying wild, deftly twirled it between his fingers,
and tucked it back properly behind her ear. From all of which one may
conclude many things. He certainly liked her well enough to wish her to
be neat and tidy. He was proud of her, standing there in the spike line,
and it was his desire that she should look well in the eyes of the other
unfortunates who stood in the spike line. But last and best, and
underlying all these motives, it was a sturdy affection he bore her; for
man is not prone to bother his head over neatness and tidiness in a woman
for whom he does not care, nor is he likely to be proud of such a woman.
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