Meredith heard the official say, "All right. Decorate ahead. I'll hold it
five minutes."
The man sprang up the steps of the smoker and looked in. He turned to
Meredith: "Do you know if that gentleman in the gray coat is Mr. Harkless?
He's got his back this way, and I don't want to go inside. The--the air in
a smoker always gives me a spell."
"Yes, that's Mr. Harkless."
The man jumped to the platform. "All right, boys," he said. "Rip her out."
The doors of the freight-room were thrown open, and a big bundle of
colored stuffs was dragged out and hastily unfolded. One of the men ran to
the further end of the car with a strip of red, white and blue bunting,
and tacked it securely, while another fastened the other extremity to the
railing of the steps by Meredith. The two companions of this pair
performed the same operation with another strip on the other side of the
car. They ran similar strips of bunting along the roof from end to end, so
that, except for the windows, the car was completely covered by the
national colors. Then they draped the vestibules with flags. It was all
done in a trice.
Meredith's heart was beating fast. "What's it all about?" he asked.
"Picnic down the line," answered the man in charge, removing a tack from
his mouth. He motioned to the conductor, "Go ahead."
The wheels began to move; the decorators remained on the platform, letting
the train pass them; but Meredith, craning his neck from the steps, saw
that they jumped on the last car.
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