The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1864-03-02
whit covered him. and doubtless quite

p" ihe SoNNtN& him. oxI0 OcutOCSo qAAsC
dead.
With fingers almostas lifclesss as his
own, l searched him, and found. besides
the expected revolver and bowie knife .
large canvas belt, fastened around his
+, waist, containing the stolen moneys I'd
! fastened back with II to Alice, fear.
| ing she might be overcome With the cold
and fall asleep. t>y ec
| just as 1 had my hand on the doos Of
the car, / heard well known sound:-
there was no need to think twice-the
driver of the expected train, blinded by
the snow, had not seen the danger sif-
nal: With criminal negligence they Asd
not telegraphed our non arrival from r.;
the train was rushing on MS!
shouted loudly to the occupants OF
the cars to save themselves, and sprang
into ours for Alice.
Even in the short time had been ab-
sent she had nearly gone to sleep.
No wonder, poor girl! She had expe-
rienced hunger, thirst, for she dared not
take food from the oyerseer, lest he sho' 4
poison her excitement and cold-bitter
cold-such as happily We don't expert
ence in England.
seized her in my arms, and had hard.
ly leaped from the car before the crash
came. sf1
ii l will not dilate on the horrors OF that
collision-we have too many of such de
scriptions in our daily papers. Happily,
my shouting had aroused most Of the
passengers, but some three or four never
knew how death came.
! l laid the fainting body OF Alice for .
few moments. carefully wrapped up, on
the snow. whilst searched for our late
evil companions. -Ia l-
/ The murderers had met Q milder fate
! than they deserved.
7 The frozen overseer was completely
smashed beneath the engine.
Whether the doctor" really died from
the effects of the cold and chloroform
cannot tell, and do not like much to think
about it.
He was also bruised and almost a
shapeless mass; both had died painless
deaths.
The engineer and stoker Of the train
(which had run into us had jumped into
: the snow, and were unhurt.
I The passengers were very few, and,
surprising to say, only one was killed.
We made a great fire of the debris, and
waited the morning, when help should
come.
Amid all the horrors of the scene felt
a thrill of happiness in having Alice look
/, ing at me as her sole pr rotector. and thro'
the night laying her head on my shoulder
I in sheer WEAKNESS and exhaustion, suf-
] fering my arms to support her
7 l felt rs if had known her for years.
Was the gentle girl who leaned uncon-
scionsly on me-whom had met under
such strange circumstances-was che
| soon to be severed from me? No never!
And with that thought clasped her clo-
ser to my heart.
At last help came About five o'clock
in the morning an express came from r.,
lexpecting to find break down; they
y took us up, and we arrived at P
: about clock.
T asked Alice what she would wish to
Z do?
(. In some confusion she said:
F; II know not what to say!'' But put
I ting her little hand in mine, she said
'Will you, who have watched over me
through that dreadful night, who have
saved me from the horrors OF which
cannot think, see me safe back to my own
home-iny own, indeed, now; it will be
very lonely, no one to welcome me but
the servants but it is my right place! Am
l asking too much!"
Need tell the reader my answer?
I offered myself, poor surveyor, 40
her husband as we'll as protector. o7
/, She did not say no..
:. We gave up the plantation. for could
not reconcile myself to my owning slaves
although theirs was anything but bond
age.
The railway accident was universally
belived to be the cause Of the death OF
Alice's uncle, the oyerseer, and the Doc
tor" Alice, with pardonable deception,
explaining that the Doctor" not find
ing DR.. W at his own town, insisted
on going to the next, to some other sur.
QeOn.
Alice and 1 have now lived happily in
England for many years, but we never
see the snow lying thickly on the ground
without shuddering at the recollection Of
the night which we passed in the snow
drift. EDwARD DURoN.