Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-11-20

troubled her were not in the cut, nor were
they coming to meet her. She was very
nearly through, herself, before she could
any way make out what it all meant; but,
as she paused in the deep shadows of the
rocks and peered timidly out toward the
low dull and muffied sounds, with which
the voices were no longer mingled,
broad, quick CLEAN, as from lantern
suddenly shaded or extinguished, shot
across the track not many yards below,
and then all was darkness and silence.
But that one moment of illumination
had revealed extraordinary things to the
keen, excited vision of Katie Crownin-
shield.
There were men, three or four, she
could not say Just how many, but rough,
fierce, wild, and anxious looking, and be-
fore them, on the railroad track, from
which the rails had been pried away just
there, was confused heap Of heavy gran
lite powders and fragments. Katie under
stood it as clearly as If those men had
taken her into their confidence, and had
told her in words.
II was a plot to wreck the traini
No matter why-wnether for revenge,
or plumber, or in the utter malignity of
lost souls-Katie never paused to SO much
as ask herself a question, but turned and
fled back through the cut as for life and
death, for both were with her, side by
side, and hurrying step for step. She had
no thought or dread that the wreckers had
seen her, or would follow. Neither was it
at all likely; but Katie's brain was too
full of her purpose to admit thought of
self, and she held out her lantern fearless
ly enough now, that she might be doubly
IF fba
And now she was out in the open air,
beyond the upper entrance, and she could
see the peaceful light still shining from
Aunt Betsy's window But there was no
time to go there for help.
The train must be SO very near!
Katie did for moment think of kind
ling bright fire on the track, but that
would take too long, and the great ruin
and horror would come before even
small fagot would be well ablaze.
"There's nothing but my own little lam
term" almost sobbed poor Katie. MAY
be he will know it when he sees it, but he
must be warned before he reaches the
cut"
The lantern shone like frosty little
star, determined to be seen, as Katie
sprang forward up the track. She had
not far to go, for the train was ahead OF
time that night instead of being behind,
as would have been more desirable under
the circumstances. Never had anything
appeared to Katie Crowninshield more
suddenly than did the great, glazing eyes
of the locomotive headlight that now
glowed upon her out of the overshadow-
ing night, and her lantern seemed to have
simultaneously vanished.
at is so small" she cried, in agony,
land he will never see it,"
Nevertheless, on a low mound of earth
and stones, close by the side of the track,
Katie took her post of charity and dan
ger, and swung her little lantern frantical-
ly to and fro, while she now tried to make
her sweet girls voice heard through the
roar and clamor Of the rushing train.
On came the railway giant, tugging
with him his precious freight of human
life, and it flashed upon Katie Crownin-
shields mind what an awful capacity for
suffering that train might have on board.
On, with the great glare and the allah
sorbing torrent of sound, and, almost be-
fore Katie knew it, the object Of her hope
and fear had dashed ruthlessly past her,
and was quickly swallowed UP from her
sight in the rocky jaws Of the deep cut.
With cry of grief and disappointment
on her lips, and strange thrill of pain at
her heart, the poor girl sank upon the
ground and buried her face i'll her hands,
while the little lantern dropped neglected
ly beside her.
Only for one brief instant, however, did
Katie yield to the terror and the trouble of
it, for in another she had picked up her
starry friend, sprang to her feet, and dart.
ed away down the railroad track toward
al, hn so,1f IF
fawn, and there were sad wings to her
speed, but it seemed to her as if she
should never get through the cut. She
paused a moment, when the lower end
was reached, to gather breath and to
brush the salt mist from her eyes before
she looked upon the awful scene she knew
must be prepared for her.
And then-why, there was the train, the
rear car rising close in front of her, while
the others land there were but few ofthem
that night stood all erect upon their
wheels beyond not all upon the track,
except one great, dark mass, whose
polished metal glittered in the varying
lights that flashed upon it, and whose
hOarse throat screamed angrily with the
escaping steam, for the locomotive had
come TO grief pretty decidedly among the
granite powders that were heaped on the
track by the fends who had planned the
wreck. The passengers were swarming
out of the cars, and none of them seemed
to be hurt at all, nor did Katie hear
sound that told of pain as she swiftly
threaded her way among and past them.
She had caught a glimpse of group
away beyond even the shattered locomo-
tive, however, which forbade her linger-
ing for an instant. Right down toward
her own garden-gate four men were carry
ing heavy burden, and others were fol-
lowing, and Katie heard them say, as she
darted by:
"Who is it!"
"Why, it's the conductor. He was
thrown from the platform of the forward
car"
'Is he killed."
"They say so. Nobody else was hurt.
He was splendid fellow"
A tall, handsome, bearded man, in dark
blue clothing, but his face was CHASTITY
pale when they laid him on Grandfather
Crowninshield's own bed, and the surgeon
who had been among the passengers, bent
gloomily above him.
1Head all right - muttered the man of