NEEDLEY


"Needley?"

It wasn't wholly an interrogation--it seemed to Madison that there was
even sympathy in the parlor-car conductor's voice, as the other took his
seat check.

"Health," said Madison meekly. "Perfect rest and quiet--been overdoing
it, you know."

"_Needley_!"--the train conductor of the Bar Harbor Express, collecting
the transportation, threw the word at Madison as though it were a
personal affront.

The tone seemed to demand an apology from Madison--and Madison
apologized.

"Health," he said apologetically. "Perfect rest and quiet--been
overdoing it, you know."

"We're five minutes late now," grunted the conductor uncompromisingly
and, to Madison, quite irrelevantly, as he passed on down the aisle.

Somehow, this inspired Madison to consult his timetable. He drew it from
his pocket, ran his eye down the long list of stations--and stopped at
"Needley." Needley had an asterisk after it. By consulting a block of
small type at the bottom of the page, he found a corresponding asterisk
with the words: "Flag station. Stops only on signal, or to discharge