Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1870-02-18
THE WANING AT THE BRIDGE.

In the year 1861 | wa superintendent Of
the Howrich and Rocky River railroad.
1t was line which done good run of
business, connecting as it did a great city
with fourishlng back country, and we ran
a pretty good number OF trains over the rails
in The course of twenty-four hours.
The daily trains were every hour, but af
ter nine in the evening there was only one
train, until the steamboat accommodation
at half past three in the morning.
The intervening train was the Belport
mail. 1t was made up at Belport and ran
as far as Clinton, express all the way.
Belport was the large city of which ! have
spoken, and it was there that my office was
located, for the business was all settled and
arranged at that end of the line.
OF course, give fictitious names, and the
reader need not expect to find Belport on
any railroad map.
The 1890 train, or the midnight mail, as
it was more frequently designated, was run
by Earl Rogers, young man OF seven or
eight t-and-t twenty, who been employed on the
road for several years.
He was the best engine driver on the cor
poration, and for that reason he had been
selected for the train, it being deemed expe-
dent to put men of best judgment on the
train, because there was a better lockout re-
quired by night.
Earl, taken all in all, was one Of the f.
nest fellows ever saw.
Frank, handsome, generous to fault, and
we'll educated.
He had fallen into the vocation of an en-
gineer more from his love of excitement and
danger than anything else, perhaps; and if
there was ever any particularly perilous
business to be done, Earl Rogers was our
man.
For some time he had been desperately
in love with Laura Demain, the daughter of
rich old fellow Just on the other side of the
Rocky River, half dozen miles beyond
Belport.
This love was fully returned, for Laura
was noble-hearted girl, and did not care
for wealth or ambition when weighed in the
balance of love; but old Domain and her
were two, and there was no probability of
his ever giving his consent.
He had set his heart on her marrying
Prince Carlton, a young blood of the vicin-
ty reputcd wealthy, and of an old family.
Demain's opposition naturally made the
lovers more determined, and they only wait
cd an increase of Earls salary to be mar
ried, in spite OF Papa Deman. Earl was a
faithful fellow, ard was doing my best to
get an advance for him, with every proba-
biily of success.
Somehow, | took strong interest in
Earfs love affairs.
am an old codger, and love matters are
rather on, of my line, my .Jorte being the
calcu ating of accounts, the regulation of
freight rates, and the management OF busl-
ness so AS to secure the f.t,est dividends to
the stockholders.
Perhaps my interest in Earls love for
Laura might have been because | most cor
daily detested Prince Carlton. He was al
ways blowing" our road, finding fault with
the rate of ,peed. with The grade, with the
carriages, with the ventilation, with every
thing, in short, for nothing suited him.
Then upon one occasion he AMI | had a
few words. neither very pleasant nor very
choice, and he had called me a scoundrrl,
and had returned the compliment with in
terest. After that we were worse friends
than ever.
One dark rainy night in November, just
after the nine o'clock had been got off, |
was sitting in the office trying to balance an
account that would not balance, the door
opened and Earl Rogers walked in. He
had on his waterproof suit, the hood over
his head, and The collar buttoned closely,
but saw that his face was very pale and
his eyes cleaned with an unnatural fire.
"What in the world has happened, Rog-
ers ?" said /. "You look as glum as if you
were going to a funeral"
"Mr. Woodbury." said he. earnestly, "do
you believe ia presentiments ~
"No,' said I. "I certainly do no.. They
are all old women's whims I"
"Perhaps so. ! wish ! could think So"
said he, sadly. 81 have been trying hard
to-"
"What is it, Earl? Anything gone wrong
with Laura ?" for did not know but the
little jade had been playing off with him af
ter the manner of women.
"No. You will laugh at me, Mr.. Wood
bury, bu: must tell somebody, or l shall
90 out of my WITS" said he, half laughing,
land before heaven tell you it is all truth.
Thursday afternoon took hand-car and
went over to Rocky River bridge. ] do not