The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1869-08-17

bege httle while ago, and picked ur
the hrakemen's lanterns aud slung en-
IN a bunch At me lodged, aud they
went ont Of tie car door and smashed
Then be couehlcj and went back to the
engine
didn't like the idea of drunken
engineer, but had to laugh at the fate
ot the lanterns II Il bad known how
was 70 groan over their fate soon, ]
wouldn't have laughed then.
When ! got above Fishkill. thought
I'll let those who got on at one Of the
little stations ride free 70 tie next sta
ticn, while ! rode on the engine and
Investigated
50 ! got on the Corning, and Mack
looked black enough instead Of civil as
usual i iokel him about lis bad luck
in making his stations, and he growled
out curse asked him il he knew
how nearly he had got into the light
ming express time The man was oyi.
IDENTITY drunk and surly | happened
to put my hand down under the seat
aud felt bottle. Pulling the cork out
| smellod whiskey, and quietly threw it
overheard But Mack saw me and
cursed me for destroying his property.
What did you throw that bottle away
for ? it wasn't your rum, he said, at the
ead Of an awful swear
I'll tell you why, said /; I'm con
ductor of this train, and you're too
drunk to do your business right, and
you'd get worse aud worse if you had a
bottle.
Then be grinned savage sort Of a
grin, and quieted down into a silent
state but he looked dangerous about
the eyes.
'You conductor OF this train, are you
III show you how much you have to do
with running it, says he, and began to
slow up, and we behind time already,
you know | didn't know exactly what
to dove We're getting dangerously
near the lightning express time-and
while was debating, he suddenly
blew brakes, with fendish cbuckle,
and stopped at a station the train nev.
er stopped at before. ] looked at my
watch and determined to send brake
man back with lantern and stop the
express. just then thought struck
me that made my hair stand on end.
There wasn't lantern on the train
the drunken beast had smashed them
all-there wasn't soul at the station,
which was miles away nom its village;
the express didn't stop before 1t reach
ed Poughkeepsie, so that | couldn't
leave word for il to stop, and inst then
! nea1u nsiso Vwv vacK.
The engineer heard it too, and laughed
diabolical laugh
That decided me- / caught up a
wrench and struck him back of the ear,
and he dropped like dead. / dragged
bis body { | didn't know then whether
/ was handling a corpse or not) off the
engine, and threw it down by the road
side 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 III open everything
knew, by observation, how to open
and how to shut of, but of course !
couldn't graduate the speed like pro-
fossional / opened everything, you
may be sure, and away we jumped. II
was a curious chase. To be hunted by
locomotive don't fall to the lot Of ey
cry one. Our engine was not SO pow
eriul one as the express engine, and
our train was quite long; 80 we cram
med in the fuel aud depended upon
high pressure for our salvation. of
course, / never thought for a moment
Of stopping that side Of Poughkeepsiei
SO we speedod past the stations, all
lighted and filed with wondering IA
.ces
Just after passing the second, the
gong on the engine struck one
bad pulled the safety rope. The FIRE
mans hand went instinciyely to the
whistle to blow brakes but | caught il
II was tho most anxious minute Of my
life. If / did not mind the signal, and
something was wrong and an accident
should occur, should always be blam-
cd, even If / didn't blame myself Bat
il stopped, the express migAt-prol,-
ably would--run right into rs The
pull didn't sound professional like a
brakemans. II Was probably jerk by
a passenger who lad been carried BY
his station-so Ia chance it.
All this went through ny mind like
lightning. rs you may imagine-one
thinks quickly on such occasions
| caught the fremaua arm. He Tad
never heard Of such thing as disobey-
ing tho gong, aud stared. | was too
excited to speak, but pointed 10 the
Gra, aud he pat in more wood very qui-
city.