The herald. (Smyrna, Del.) 1870-1871, 1871-04-15
miscellaneous.
GO
MY Highway Robbery.
BY JAMES MAURICE THOMPSON.

"No money! What in thunder ID you
get on for? How'd you expect to trav-
ell on this road 'thout the stamps? Of
with you, and no whining round me! ]
know my business and you know yours,
maybe. Any baggage?"
mo baggage" mutterod dolefullyi
hut you can take my overcoat. l can
get the money at Savannah"
"Dang your old overcoat! What you
s'pose want with your old rags ?"
''Ragsl Look here, there's not 9
break in this coat. Good as new"
"Off with you, quick 70
"For heavens sake 70
"shall kick you OFF,"
"I'm d thousand miles from home"
"Dang yonr homei of with you, or
I'll sling you eff"
''Try it if you dere -
Whor! thud! biG! biffi lick-to-
whack! spat! scuf1ie a-bangle! kow-
him /! thrash bim whollopi and out
we went together on to pile of cross
ties. AS he clinched me l struck him a
heavy blow in the face with my right
fist, while with my left hand l pulled
the bell-rope. Toot'l toot | said the sig
nal whistle and eff went the train.
Do you quite understand what had
done? It's all very plain to me. I had
stolen conductor. Let me be explicit.
To tell you the truth 1 had just served
through the war in the Confederate ar
my, and only twenty-one years old at
that. You know there was conscrip-
ton law, and en- 1 was eighteen 1 had
TO go in. was assigned to duty in
Florida, and when the war ended l
found myself suffering from wound
and thousand miles from home. 1
staid In Florida till the winter of '68,
when, finding myself we'll again, and
seeing no earthly chance of ever finding
any employment in that distracted State
which would enahle me TO lay money
enough to pay my way home on the
cars, l set cut afoot. Not till had
walked a hundred miles or more did |
fully realize the difficulty of my under
taking. consequence of my wound
mad for long time been i'll doors, scar
cely taking any exercise at all, and now,
was we'll, I was tender as a |
woman. My feet swelled so that had |
to split MY boots all to pieces, and my
le gs got stiff and sore. suffered from |
lack of food, too, at times, for the count
ry through which I passed was thinly
settled, with people so poor that they
had nothing for me. Finally reached
the railroad, and it was my most direct
route to Savannah, where 1 hoped to find
some friends, I followed it. This rail-
road passes through the out lying mar
shes and cypress waste oftLe great oak
swamp, and it was in the most
dismal part of that wild barren that a
happy idea entered my brain. 1t was
hat of stealing ride. A freight train
rad just passed me going north, and 1
Knew that i'll less than an hour pas
'enger train would follow. My plan
vas to stand near the track and leap
ipon the rear platform of the hinder
most car. I did this without accident, d,
md found myself a moment af,er,
along very comfortably, seat
ID on the platform steps. Ahl it was ;
delicious to feel the cool night breeze !,
aiming my feverish face. Night air? !,
es, it was near midnight, and the full
noon was shining 9gloriously. How .
weetly rested. How much pleasanter
han walking. af.r ssfs,a :
But luck did not favor me. My ride ]
WA. I
iss short one. ! had not been seated .
lore than two minutes when something =
'pped me ON the shoulder. looked /
p. eTickets!" said the man who leaned h
' er me. f5s !,
"Got none," said I. y
money them" said he. y
"Got none" replied. y
Then followed, what is chronicled at
le beginning of this sketch. He had r
p and pulled the bell rope, bringing
le train to stand-still. 1 did not r.