Kenosha tribune & telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1856-1859, 1857-03-12

/ l.
to my feet, and met a passenger upor
the platform. He was one of our chic
owners of the road, and was just on hi,
way to Berlin. He was pale and excl
| ted
'Sir," he gasped, "is Martin Krollel
on the engine?''
"Yes," told him.
"Holy Virgin! Don't you know him?'
''Know him?" l repeated, somewhat
puzzled!
'What do you mean? He told me
his name was Kroller, and that he wal
an engineer. We had no one to rur
the engine and"
'You took himr' interrupted the man
"Good heavens, Sir, he is as crazy al
any man can be! He turned his brain
over a new plan for applying steam pow
er. l saw him at the station, but j die
not then recognize~him, IS / wa:
in a hurry. Just now one Of the passen
gers told me that your engineers were
all gone this morning, and that YOU
found one who was stranger to you.
Then | knew that the man whom | ha0
seen was Martin Kroller!-He had es
capped from the hospital at Stettin. You
must get him off somehow"
The whole fearful truth was now oper
to me.
The speed of the train was increas
ing each moment, and / knew that 6
few miles more per hour would surely
launch us all into destruction. I called
to the guard, and then made my way
forward as quickly as possible. Ireach
ed the after platform of the tender, and
there stood Kroller upon the engine
board, his hat and coat off, his long
black hair floating wildly in the wind
his shirt unbuttened at the throat, his
sleeves rolled up, with pistol in his
teeth, and thus glaring upon the fire
man who lay motionless upon the fuel
The furnace was stuffed till the very
latch of the door was red hot, and the
whole engine quivering and swaying as
though it would shiver in pieces!
"Kroller! Krollerr' l cried at the tor
of my voice.
The crazy engineer started and
caught the pistol in his hand. o! how
those great black eyes glared, and how
CHASTITY and frightful the face looked.
''Ila! ha! ha! he yelled Economically
glaring upon me like a reused lion.-
They swore | could not make it. But
see. see my power! see my engine.
made it. [ made it! and they were
jealous Of me. / made it, and wher
twas done they stole it from me. But
Eve found it. For years I've been wan.
dering in search OF my great engine
and they swore it was not made But
I've found it! / knew it when / saw il
this morning at Dantzig, and l was de.
termined to have it. And I've got it
/ Ho! no. no! we're off to the moon, / say,
BY the Virgin Mother, Wen be in the
moon in four-and-twcnty hours! Down
down, william! If you move I'll shoot
youm
This last was spoken to the fireman,
who at that moment attempted to rise;
and the frightened man shrank back
again.
Here's Little Oscure; right ahead -
shouted one of the guard.
But even as he spoke the buildings
were at hand. A sickening sensation
settled upon my heart, for | supposed
We were gone now The houses flew
by like lightning. | knew that if the
officers had turned the switch as usual
we should be hurled into eternity in one
fearful crash. | saw n fash-it was
another engine; / closed my eyes, but
still we Numbered on. The officers had
seen our speed, and knowing that we
could not haul up at that distance, they
had changed the switch, so that we kept
! on.
But there was sure death ahead if we
did not stop. Only fifteen miles ahead
was the town of Schwetz, on the Vestti-
| la, and the entrance. near the bank OF
the river, was short curve in the road.
At the rate we were now going we
should be there in a few minutes, for
each minute carried us more than mile
The shrieks of the passengers now
arose above the crash Of the rails, and
more terrific than all else arose the dem.
oniac yells of the mad engineer.
''Mercitul heaven" gasped the guard
man, "there's not moment to be lost
Schwetz is close by! If you dare not 90
I'll 90 myself" he added Lets shoot
him -
At that moment tall, stout German
student came over the platform where
We stood, and we saw that the madmar
I had his pistol aimed at Us. He grasped
a heavy stick of wood from the tender
and with steadiness of nerve which
could not have commanded, he hurled il
with such force and precision that .he
knocked the pistol from the maniac's
grasp. saw the movement and on the
instant that the pistol fell, sprang for
ward and the German followed me.
grasped the man by the arm, but should
have been mere infant in his mad pow.
er had been alone. lie would have
hurled me from the platform had not the
student at that moment struck him with
stick of wood which he had caught as
| he came over the tender.
| kroller settled down like a dead man.
and on the next instant | shut off the
steam and opened the safety-valve. A.
the freed steam shrieked and howled in
its escape, the speed Of the train began
to decrease, and in few moments more
the danger was passed; and as | settled
back, entirely overcome by the wild emo
tons that had ragged within me, we be-
Gan TO turn the curve by the river, and
before was fairly recovered the fireman
had stopped the train in the station at
SchwetZ.
Martin Kroller, still insensible, was
taken from the platform, and as we car
ried him into the guard room, one OF the
guard recognized him, and told us that
he had been there abou: two weeks be-
| fole.
He ca-1e,' said the guard, and swore