Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-11-20

ii.'ie, aileT nef return from Amt
be'Sy s. TO see the nightexpress 90. flash
ing by: 1t was grand sight when it
came lncomparably more interesting and
mysterious IN the darkness than ever in
'he gay, ana Katie wondered she had
never thought 50 before; but she almost
ohGohsclously raised her little lantern
ana swung IL around her head as She had
used to wave her handkerchief
Could she believe her ewes?
She almost refused to give tban, o,,,,
faith at first, but then there folIoxed y
quick flush in her cheek and warra
glow at her heart; for she was snra th b.a ~
had been an answering light. and She
could almost picture a tall form in dark.
blue clothing, standing on the platform
between two of the cars.
She knew very little of railway matters
but was not so dull that there was any
speclal mystery IN "a change of trains nv
conductor. She did not let Grandfather
or Grandmother Crowninshield see her
however, the next evening when she
again crept out to the gate, almost seloth-
erlng her little lantern; for she had a
halt-f1uttering sort of dread that this sec
ond experiment might fail.
fall? No; the greeting from the train
was as ready as was Katie's own good
evening, and the little lantern was like
~ thenceforth to be the very foremost of
prime favorlteS with its mistress. And
now, while the October days grew cooler
and the glorious evenings longer, Grand
mother Crowninshield began to grumble
little at the disposition her darling
eVlnced to pay so many visits to Aunt
Betsy.
Its lo"~ walk for you, child" she
said; land i s through the cut, too. What
if railway rain should come along be-
fore you could get out %
80 grandmamma, thatll never happen"
laughed Katie; the railroad and | are
very good friends"
You ought to be-" said grandmother.
Il never saw any living being care more
for dumb thing than you've always
done for that there train"
But grandmother was nearer right than
Katie; for only night or so after that
1t must have been that Aunt Betsy's clock
was slow-fOr Katie was in the very mid
die OF the cut when her ears were sudden
ly filled with the shrek and roar with
which the train dashed in at the upper
end.
Her heart beat quickly for moment,
but Aot with fear; for, as she sprang light
y upon a projecting rock that she had
often before noted as a very available
perch, she gathered her fluttering dress
more closely about her and exclaimed:
There, Pm safe enough but to think
of its coming so neari"
Near enough, indeed, and Katie leaned
back hard against the crag behind her;
for it seemed as if she could feel the
breath OF the iron monster on her cheek.
In one hand she clutched more tightly the
folds of her shawl, and in the other she
raised her lantern, as if its feeble star
could be of some protection, and then her
grasp Of it grew suddenly very tight, in
deed; for, leaning out little from the
platform of a car, and looking forward, as
if impatient for the train to clear the cut,
stood tall handsome, bearded man, in
dark-blue clothes, with lantern in his
hand, and his eager, watching, expectant
face, came so very close to her Ownl
1t was like a flash of lightning; but
Katie knew the face, and she knew also
that she herself had been seen, and she
had even marked the swift paling of
the bronzed yisage as it recognized her
and then swept on into the darkness be-
yond.
He was afraid I would be hurt" she
thought; ana then she said aloud: "But
he must have seen how safe | was, up
here on the rock. l don't believe he
swung his lantern at our garden gate to-
night"
Katie did not relate her adventure even
to her grandmother, and on her next visit
to Aunt Betsy's she was careful to come
away in time.
Il don't want to get home so very much
too early,n she said to herself as she fin
ished her visit and hurried her departure;
''but | don't like being caught in the cut
at all. I'm glad I'm so sure not to meet
| believe I'd want to hide away
from a stranger, tonight, almost as much
as from a railway train"
1t was indeed an unusually dark and
gloomy night, but Katie was destined to
be disappointed in her hope of getting
through the cut without seeing anybody.
As has been said, the granite ledge had
necessarily been pierced on a curved line,
so that no one standing at one end Of the
cut, moderate as were its dimensions,
could see more than halfway through.
Aunt Betsy's house was some little dis
lance from the upper entrance, and the APP
proach to the latter was gloomy enough,
that night, even for one who knew every
inch Of the way as well as Katie did; but
her little lantern shone out cheerily
q gainst its bright reflector, throwing its
radiance ahead, as if it were trying to tell
her: "There dear, that's it; don't be
afraid, III show you the track" But
Katie remembered, just then, that it was
getting later every minute, and she trlpped
briskly into the cut, wondering why the
lantcrn-light should make it look so
strangely high and narrow. She had not
gone far, however, before the granite walls
brought to her ears, all the way from the
lower end and round the curve, as if the
cut had been a speaking tube, the sound
of voices that were evidently meant to be
low and guarded. There were other
sounds mingled with the voices, and
Katie could not make out more than a
word or so here and there, but there was
something about it all that startled and
her At first she was half in
clincd to turn and make the best OF her
way back to Aunt Betsy's; but that seem
ed foolish, and Katie was reallya courage
Gus little soul She hid her lantern under
her shawl, however, and stepped very
lightly and swiftly forward, trying to re
member f there were not a rock or hollow
where she would be as safe from men as
she had been from the passing train. She
uId not think of or find any such place,
and, after all, the persons whose voices
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
!. ord the