Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1867-03-30
TALES & SKETCHES.
ESCAPEII FROM JUSTICE.

IL WAS bliteI COlu ulSuJ III JduudTy-
when houseless wanderers on the moor
might have sunk down frozen to death, and
the very marrow seemed to CONCEAL to ones
bones.
"There's one advantage in steam," growl-
ed fat old gentleman in the corner seat
wind and weather don't effect it. No flesh
and blood horse could stand night like this,
but the iron horse keeps straight ahead, whe-
.her the thermometer is at zero or at boiling
| water heat"
just then the conductor entered.
sit is dreadful night, conductor" l said,
feeling, with stiffened fingers, for my ticket,
in the breast pocket of my coat
| "DreaGful, SIR" feeingly responded the
conductor. "Why. the breakmcn can't live
outside, and so look the other way when
they creep in, poor fellows, to get breath
of warm air at the stove. We havnt had
such night as this since a year ago come
the second of February, when Tom Blask-
slee, the baggage master, froze both his
feet, and woman who was coming on from
Chicago got off at Blinn's Four Corners
with her baby in her arms, dead corpse !"
! Frozen to- death ~
"Aye, frozen to death and she never
thought, poor thing, but that 1t was asleep.
My baby's cold, said she, but we'll soon
/
such night as this"
And the conductor opened the door, and
plunged across the coupling into the next
car, crying out:
"Hardwick !"
1t was quite considerable city-with
handsome iron depot, faring gas lamps,
and the usual crowd around the platform,
with its hands in its pockets, and its cigar
! end flaming through the night.
Our car was nearly the last of the long
train and but one passenger entered it-a
slender young girl, wrapped in gray
| blanket shawl, and wearing a neat little
travelling hat of gray straw, trimmed with
stone-colored velvet flowers. She seemed
to hesitate like one unused to travelling, and
finally sat down near the door
pardon me, young lady," said l, "but
you had better come near the stove"
She started, hesitated an instant, and then
obeye6.
"Does this train go to Bayswater 2" she
asked in a voice so diliciously soft and
sweet that it seemed to thrill through me.
"Yes. Can l be of any service to you 2"
"Oh, no-not at least until we reach
Bayswater. l would like carriage then"
1--WE shall not be there before three
hours"
"Do we stop again 2"
"Only at ExmOuth."
She drew deep sigh, seemingly of relief,
and settled back to her corner. BY the
light of the lamp that hung in its brass fix
ture opposite, could see her face, that of a
lovely child. Apparently she was not more
than sixteen, with large blue eyes, golden
hair down straight away from that face,
and little rosy mouth like that of baby.
"Do you expect friends to meet you at
Bayswater, my child :" asked, inciden-
tally.
mo sir-I am going to school there"
sit will be an awkward hour for you to
arrive by yourself-one in the morning"
"Oh / am not afraid" she said, with an
artless laugh; Il shall go straight on to the
seminary"
So the express train thundered on, with
steady, ceaseless pulsing at his iron heart,
and constant roar.
Suddenly the whistle sounded, the train
began to slacken its speed.
"Surely we are not at Exmouth yet,"
thought "unless l have fallen unconscious
ly asleep and allowed the process of time to
escape me-"
/ glanced at my watch it was barely hall
past eleven, and knew we were not due al
Exmouth until few minutes after twelve
l rubbed the frost from the window pane
and looked out.
We had stopped at a lonely little way
station in the midst of dense pine woods.
us this Exmouth z"
1t was the soft voice of the pretty travel
er opposite. ......
"No-I don't know what place it is
some station"
"Does this train stop at stations Z"
: "Never, generally they must have beer
especially signaled here. You are cold, m,
2 child-your voice trembes."
1T is cold," she said, in a scarcely audi
BILE tone, drawing her shawl round her,
"Oh l wish they would hurry onw
"We are moving once more" said.-
"Conductor,"-for the man of tickets wa
: passing through the car-"why did we sto]
p at this backwoods placer"
"Out of water" was the reply, as he hui
d riedly passing by.
: Now knew perfectly we'll that this ans
wer was not the real solution OF the mat
J. Ter. Our delay had not exceeded half
minute, altogether too short time for RI
plenishing the boileri and where on cart
was the water to come from in that desc
lating stretch of barren pine woods