The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-09-23
BY THE NIGHT EXPRESS.

Il.
up express painting through its ten min
utes' rest at Rugby. What with passen
gers Just arriving and passengers just
departing, what with the friends who
came TO see the last of the departing
passengers, or TO meet the arriving ones
the platform was full enough, can as
sure you; and / had some difficulty in
making my way from carriage to car
riage, even though generally find that
people (almost unconsciously perhaps)
move aside for the guard when they see
him walking up and down close to the
carriage doors. This difficulty was in
creased, too, by the maneuvers Of my
companion, London detective, who
had Joined me TO give himself a better
opportunity of examining the passen-
gers. Keenly he did it, too, in that
seemingly careless wayof his, and while
he appeared to be only an idle, lounging
acquaintance of my own, knew that
under his unsuspected scrutiny it was
next TO impossible for the thieves he was
seeking TO eScape-even in hampers. |
didn't trouble myself to help him, for
knew it wasn't necessary; vet / was as
anxious as hundreds of others were that
those practiced thieves whom the police
had been hunting for the last two days,
should be caught as they deserved.
Sometimes we came upon group
which my companion could not take in
at a glance, and then he ALWAYS found
himself unusually cold, and stopped TO
stamp a little life into his petrified feet.
OF course for me this enforced standing
was the signal for an attack of that per-
sistent questioning with which railway
guards are familiar; and, in attending
to polite questioners who deserved an
swering, and impolite ones who insisted
on ii, | had not much time for looking
about me; but presently did catch my
self watching "A girl who stood alone at
some distance. a girl very pretty and
pleasant TO look upon, | thought,
though her face and her dress and
her attitude were all sad. She stood
Just at the door of the book-oflice; tall,
slight girl in deep mourning, with a
quantity OF bright fair hair plated high
upon her shoulders, with childishly
innocent face, and pretty, bcwildered
eyes, wished could have gone straight
TO her and put her into one-the most
comfortable-of the lines of carriages
at which she gazed so timidly. just as
L hesitated a very remarkable figure ell
bowed its way to me; a stout, grandly
dressed old lady painting painfully and
almost piercing me with restless, half
opened eyes, that looked out through
the gold-rimmed spectacles perched on
her sharp nose. Two porters followed
her, laden with bags, cloaks, umbrellas
and tlowers--the only flowers in the sta
ton | expect, that winter highland
one of the men winked at me over her
head, while the other guarded her
treasures with a face of concentrated
anxiety and thoughts engrossed by pos
sible fees.
This is the London train, is it,
ga'ad?n she asked, peering sharply into
my face, with her half closed eyes, rs
she found it difficult to distinguish me
even through her spectacleS.
From her whole attitude | guessed
her to be deaf, but | never guessed how
deaf until, after yelling my answer so
loud that the engine driver must have
heard it eighteen carriages off, she still
remained stonily waiting for it.
''Deaf as dozen posts" said the de-
tective, aloud, giving the old lady an
expressive little nod in the direction of
the train.
- Slow tramp she asked in that
plaintive tone which the very deaf often
use.
"Mail!" 1 shouted, putting my face
as close to her cheek as | fancied she
would like
80 ''Ale!" shrieked back at me, the
spectacles shaking little on her thin
nose. "Why should you want ale for
listening to civil questions that you are
paid to answer? Ale, indeedl | be-
lieve railway men think of nothing
else.''
Then she shook her head angrily and
wSddled off, looking as acid an old par
ty as | should ever try to avoid. In at
every door she peered through her gilt
tering glasses, the two pOrterS follow
ing her, until she made a stop before an
empty second-claSs carriage near my
van, and with much labor and assist
ance got herself and her packages into
it.
When passed, few minutes after
ward, she was standing in the doorway,
eflectually barring the door to another
passenger of her own unattractiye ap-
pearance there, and prolonging with an
evident relish the anXieties of the obSe-
qUiouS porters. / fancy that though the |
purse she fumbled in was large the coin |
she wanted was but small, for passed |
on and left her still searching and ask |
ing questions of the men. but hearing |
nothing either of their replies or of the |
loud asideS in which they indulged to |
each other. | had reached the other |
end of the train and was Just about |
making my way back to my own van
when the young lady had before no.
ticed went slowly in front of me toward |
the empty first-class compartment near
which | stood
'Am | right for Euston?" she asked !
me gently, as she heSitated mt the door. |
''All right, Miss, - | said, taking the |
door from her, and standing while she
got in. ANY luggage?' For from
that very moment took her in a sort |
of way into my charge, because She was
so thoroughly alone, you see, not hav-
ing any friends there even to see her off. |
No luggage, thank YOU" she an
Swered, putting her little leather sachel /
down beside her on the seat, and setting 4
herself in the corner furthest from the |
open door. DO we stop anywhere |
between here and London?'
Don't stop again, Miss, except for
few minutes TO take tickets" a" Then / |
looked at her as to say, - You're all |
right, because I'm the guard, . and shut
the door.
suppose that, without exactly being
aware of it, l kept sort of watch over
this carriage, for saw plainly enough 4
a lazy young gentleman who persist |
entity kept lowering about it and look
ing in. His inquisitive eyes had of
course caught sight of the pretty face in
there alone, and / could see that he was
making up his mind to join her; but he
seemed doing it in most careless and |
languid manner. Hewas no gentleman
for that reason, l said to myself, vet his /
dress was handsome, and the hand that
played with his long, dark beard, was
small and fashiOnablv ployed GlancinC