Now, fully realizing the danger of my position, a sudden fear assailed me, and I began trembling from head to foot.
It had required scarcely thirty seconds to make the discovery, and within the same minute I had turned and was again squeezing under the terrible looking axle.
Considerably bruised about the hands and knees, I reached the opening just as the engine pushed off.
Securing a firm grip upon a piece of machinery above the opening, and taking a step forward with the slowly moving engine, I drew myself up to safety.
Here the station agent saw me, and I was pulled down. I was greasy and black, and my clothes were torn, but no limbs were missing.
The conductor, agent and others came hurrying to the engine to see the man who had dared hobo under the boiler.
Chipley is a fine little town of about 1,200 inhabitants, and a more sociable lot of people I've never met.
It was soon mouthed about the streets how I reached the town, and for a time I was the cynosure of all eyes, though no one offered to arrest me.
There are some five or six saw-mills around Chipley. About two miles from the town is a large saw-mill and brick kiln owned by J. D. Hall.
A young merchant of the town informed me that Mr. Hall was badly in need of labor and was paying good prices.
Even to hobo the roads, a man needs money, and I decided to stake up a bit before continuing my way.
Sometime before noon I arrived at the mill.
Mr. Hall looked me over quite critically.
"Did you ever do any hard labor?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," I untruthfully replied, for, to be candid, I had never done a day's hard work in my life.
"Well, you don't look it," was the compliment. "However, I'll give you a trial at $1.50 per day. You can board with Mr. ...... for thirty cents a day."
"That's unusually cheap for board," I said. "A man doing hard labor needs plenty to eat and I'm perfectly willing to pay at least $3.50 per week."
"My men furnish plenty to eat for any man," said he, "but you won't get any pie or cake," he retorted, eyeing me with undisguised disapproval.
"O, that's all right! I can eat anything," I hastened to say.
"Very well, Mr. Peele, you may come to work this afternoon. It's not far to your boarding place. Just keep the straight path through the woods there, and its the first house you get to."