Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1871-02-09
When l got above Fishkill.

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engine and investigated. o.. r.
So l got on the Corning, and Macl
looked black enough, instead of az
civil as usual. Ijoked him about hi;
bad luck, in making the stations
and he growled out a curse. / asked
him if he knew how nearly he hat
got into the lightning express time
The man was evidently drunk anG
surly. l happened to put my hand
down under the cushion of the sea-
and felt bottle. Pulling the cork
out smelled whisky, and quietly
threw it overheard. But Mack saw
me and cursed me for destroying his
lproperty.
| "What did you throw that bottle
away for? it wasn't your rum~ he
said at the end of an awful swear.
4 "Tll tell you why" said 1, "Tm
conductor of this train, and your
too drunk to do yoHr business right
and you'd get worse and worse il
you had a bottle" ~, ...
Then he grinned a savage sort of
grin, and quieted down into silent
state, but he looked dangerous
about the eyes.
| "You're conductor of this train,
are you? I'll 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.
l didn't know exactly what to do
we were getting dangerously near
the Lightning Express time, and
while 1 was debating, he suddenly
blew brakes, with a fiendish chuckle,
and stopped at station that the
train had never stopped at before. 1
looked at my watch and determined
to send brakesman with lantern
to stop the Express. Just then a
thought struck me that made my
hair stand on end. There wasn't a
lantern on the train-the drunken
beast had smashed them all. There
wasn't soul at the station, which
was miles away from its village; the
Express didn't stop until it reached
Poughkeepsie, so that I couldn't
leave.worG to caution it, and just
then / heard it whistle a mile or two
back. The engineer heard it too,
and laughed a diabolical laugh.
That decided me, / caught up
wrench and struck him on the back
of the ear, and he dropped like dead.
1 dragged his body 1 didn't know
then whether was haulinga a corpse
or not), off the engine, and threw it
down by the road side, and jumped
on the engine.
"Jemmy," said 1, "the Express is
after us. Mack smashed all the
lanterns, so we can't stop her. Our
only chance is running from her; so
cram in the wood and I'll open
everything" EfI aGes'
1 knew by observation how to
open and how to shut off, but of
course could not graduate the speed
like professional. I opened every
thing, you may be sure, and away
we jumped 1t was curious chase.
To be hunted by a locomotive don't
fall to the lot of every one. Our
engine was not as powerful an 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. Of
course / never thought for a moment
of stopping that side of Pough-
keepsie; so we speeded past the
stations, all lighted and filed with
wondering faces.
just after passing the second, the
gong on the engine struck. Some
one had pulled the safety rope. The
freman's hand went instinctively to
the. whistle to blow brakes, but 1
caught it. 1t was the most anxious
of my life. 1 did not mind the sig
nal, and if something was wrong
and an accident should occur, /
should always be blamed, even if /
didn't blame myself. But if 1
stopped, the Express might, proba-
bly, would, run right into us. The
pull didn't sound professional-like
brakeman's. 1t probably was a
jerk at the rope by a passenger who
had been carried by his station, so
I'd chance it. ..l .-.H..sr d.
All this went through my mind
like lightning, and as you may i'm
agine, one thinks quickly on such
occasions, and 1 caught the fire
mans arm. He had never heard of
such thing as disobeying the gong,
and started. 1 was too excited to
speak, but pointed to the fire, and
he put in more wood quickly.
Well, to make long story short,
1 never blew brakes till the engine
was opposite the station. Then 1
shut off, blew one whistle, and went
sliding up the road. Just as we
stopped, the Express, whose station
whistle 1 had just heard behind me,
came up to the depot, and stopped
where the trains usually do. If
had minded the gong, or stopped in
front of the depot, I'd have been
smashed. -. en-
You see there was no way to do
but to run for it. We hadn't Ian
tern, and couldn't get one to send
back to signal; the flagmen were on
a strike, and the Express didn't
stop any where till it reached Pough
keepsie, and she had got so close on
to us when the engineer cut up as
he did that 1 couldn't stop at sta
ton and send man back. Before
we could have got far enough away
they'd have been so close that they |
couldn't have broken up in time,
but would have come into us. Il
1 didn't know whether l killed
Mack or not, and took the "owl
train" back, and found him all right
as regard to death, but very sick
from the clip I'd given him.
The company gave me this watch
when they heard of it. .'E
Touching. -
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