Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1869-07-22

4
fiendish chuckle, and stopped at a
station that the train never stopp-
ed at before. | looked at my
watch and determined to send a
brakeman back with a lantern
and stop the express. just then
a thought struck me that made
my hair stand up on end. There
,cdsn't lantern ON the train-the
drunken beast had smashed them
all-there wasn't soul at the sta
ton, which was miles from its vii
lage; the express didn't stop be-
fore it reached Poughkeepsie, SO
that | couldn't leave word to eau
ton it, and just then | heard its
whistle mile or two back. The
engineer heard it too, and laughed
a diabolical laugh.
"That decided me. | caught
up a wrench and hit him back of
his ear, and he dropped like dead.
l dragged his body Il didn't know
| then whether ! was handling a
corpse or not) off the engine, and
threw it down by the rodside and
jumped on the engine.
"'Jimmy,' said |, the express is
after us. Mack smashed all the
lanterns-so we can't stop her
Our only chance is running away.
from her-so cram in the wood,
and I'll open everything
81 knew, by observation, how to
open and how to shut off, but of
course couldn't graduate the speed
like a professional. opened ev-
cry thing you may be sure, and
away we jumped. 1t was curl
GUS chase. To be chased by 10
comotive don't fall to the lot of
every one. Our engine was not
SO powerful one as the express
engine, and our train was quite
long; so we crammed in the fuel
and depended upon high pressure
for our salvation. Ofcourse | new
er thought for moment of stop
ping that side Of Poughkeepsie; so
we speeded past the stations, all
lighted and filled with wondering
faces.
"Just after passing the second
the gong on the engine stratck-some
one bad pulled the safety rope
The freman's hand went instinct
lively to the whistle to blow
brakes but | caught it. It was
the most anxious minute of my
life. If | did not mind the signal
and something was wrong and an
accident should occur, should al
ways be blamed, even if l didn't
blame myself. But, if | stopped,
the express might--probably
would run right into us. The
pull didn't sound professional-like
a brakeman's; it probably was a
| jerk at the rope by passenger
who had been carried by bis sta
tion--so I'd chance it.
Gall this went through my mind
like lightning, as you may imagine
--one thinks quickly on such oc-
casions--and l caught the fire.
mans arm. He had never heard
of such a thing as disobeying the
gong, and stared. l was too ex-
cited to speak, but pointed to the
fire, and he put in more wood qui-
city.
"Well, to make a long story
short, I never blew brakes till
the engine was opposite the sta
ton, then ] shut off, blew one
whistle, and went sliding up the
road. Just as we stopped, the ex-
press, whose station whistle | had
heard just behind me, came up to
the depot, and stopped where the
trains usually do. If | had mind
ed the gong or stopped in front of
the depot, I'd been smashed.
"You see there was no way to
do but to run for it. We hadn't
a red light for the rear car we
hadn't lantern nor couldn't get
one, to send back to signal the
fiagmen were on a strike, and the
express didn't stop anywhere till
it reached Poughkeepsie, and she
had got SO close on to us when the
engineer cut up as he did, that l
i couldn't stop at a station and send
a man back. Before he could
have got far enough away, they'd
have been so close that they
couldn't have broke up in time,
| but would have come into US.
81 didn't know whether I'd kill
ed Mack or not, and took the 'owl
train back, and found him all
right as regards death, but very
sick from the dip I'd give him.
"The company gave me this
watch when they heard of it"
The wedding epidemic prevails