"John D. Fitzgerald - The Great Brain At the AcademyUC - 4" - читать интересную книгу автора (Fitzgerald John D)

can see you don't know the answer so I will tell you- They
were called captains because they had full command of a
train just like the captain of a ship. Now fork over that
quarter."

Poor old Sweyn was as foolish for making that bet as a
rooster trying to lay an egg. I don't remember my eldest
brother or me ever winning a bet from Tom. Sweyn
handed Tom twenty-five cents.

When the train arrived in Cedar City a man wearing
a white cap and jacket boarded the train and went into
the smoking car. As the train left the depot he came into
the coach. In front of him he had a box-type tray held by a
strap around his neck.

"Candy, peanuts, chewing gum, and magazines'" he
called out.

Tom stared at the man as a passenger bought a candy
bar and a magazine. "Who is that?" he asked.

"The candy butcher," Sweyn answered. "And it just
goes to prove you don't know everything about trains."

"Why do they call him a butcher?" Tom asked.
"Butchers only work in meat markets."

13

"How should I know?" Sweyn said.

"Which just goes to prove you don't know everything
about trains," Tom said.

"One thing I do know," Sweyn said. "If you want any
candy you had better buy it now and eat it before we get
to Salt Lake City. The superintendent. Father Rodri-
guez, only allows each student to buy ten cents worth of
candy once every four weeks. And parents are forbidden
to mail any sweets to their sons or bring any candy on visit-
ing days."

The academy was beginning to sound like a reform
school to Tom. "What has he got against candy?" he asked.

"He says it is bad for the teeth and health," Sweyn
answered. "And if you have any candy when you get there
he will take it away from you."