He turned to her: `My dear madam, you are all right, just go in there
and take your seat anywhere; when I come in I will fix everything.
Go straight into that car and don't come out in this cold air any more.'
The lady went back and the old fellow said, `Nick, go in there
and seat that lady, if you have to turn every man out of his seat.'
Then, as the porter went in, he turned back to his irate friend.
`Now, my dear sir, you don't mean that: you'd be the first man to give up
your berth; this gentleman has his sick wife with him and has been ordered
to take her South immediately, and she's going to have a lower berth
if I turn every man in that car out, and if you were Mr. Pullman himself
I'd tell you the same thing.' The man fell back, baffled and humbled,
and we all enjoyed it. Still, I was without a berth, so, with some misgiving,
I began: `Captain?' He turned to me. `Oh! you want to go to New Orleans?'
`Yes, to spend Christmas; any chance for me?' He looked at his watch.
`My dear young sir,' he said, `go into the car and take a seat,
and I'll do the best I can with you.' I went in, not at all sure
that I should get a berth.
"This, of course, was only a part of what went on, but the crowd had gotten
into a good humor and was joking, and I had fallen into the same spirit.
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