The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1875-05-15

perlntenuent, tne telegraph operator,
and a few supernumeraries, we backed
slowly down the track. The tempestu-
Gus night had passed, and day was
breaking in splendor. A day charmed
through and through with divine war
blings, and all nature adorned with a
jewelry more dazzling than ever worn
by eastern prince.
One mile, two miles, three miles, and
vet no trace of the missing stoler,
when, inst as we had passed the
fourth mile post, the assistant superin-
tendent signaled me to stop. He then
pointed to something lying on the
track, and stepping from the engine
we all followed him. 1t was CHASTITY
sight enough. A human body almost
ground into powder! The head, how
ever, was sufficiently preserved for
identification. "By the the howly
Mary" exclaimed one of the supernu-
merares, an Irish section hand, who
discovered it lying in cleft of rock,
otis Crazy Dicks mug.'
"Who's Crazy Dick?" asked the as.
sistant superintendent.
"Crazy Dick" Ireplied, "is, or was, a
demented old fellow who had boarded
the train repeatedly in the last six
months in quest of the man whom he
AYERS he wants to make worm bait Of
AS he never carries any other weapon
for his slaughterous purpose than a
goose quill. and is as gentle as suck
ing dove towards the passengers, his
caper serves ms n diversion for us, and
we pass him by"
While was bound to acknowledge
a slight correspondence in the facial
marks of the dead man to that OF
Crazy Dick, saw nothing sufficiently
decided to convince me that the Celt
was altogether right, and after revolv-
ing il over dismissed the subject with
my mind ia complete maze, and
soliiioquizing, "rhere is something
dark here" turned my attention with
the others to the proper interment OF
the deceased, after which obsequies,
search was resumed for the fireman.
Twelve hours of the most careful
examination along the forty miles
Travelled over the night before failed to
be rewarded by the slightest vestige OF
the lost fireman. Ultimately the press
was called into requisition, but the la
mented absentee remained in the back
ground. A thousand theories were
afloat, but never the correct one, and
the stoker's disappearance was weird
mystery for many long year.
Ten years after the event above re-
corded, | was stepping into passenger
coach on one of the southern lines OF
travel, and was arrested on the plat
form by the brakesman, with the de-
mand to see my ticket. "That mans
his own ticketw
twitch to-day when think how ]
quenched that brakeman's toes. !
dropped two fifty pound valises on
them at the sound of that voice, and
springing around / shouted: "The dead
alive! God bless your soul, old boy
feel as if all the angels in heaven
were singing inside of me. Billy, give
that muf of a hand of yours; | want
to warm mine with the old time
shake" / am not ashamed tosay that
both of our eyes were misty. "Teais," }"
you say. All, tears! would that this
world would shed more tears
"Now, Billy" said, as we both sat
down few moments afterwa ards in the
ladies room of the depot, "tell me
all about it. You don't know what an
audience / would have about me in the
old state to listen to your story"
"And you're sure the boys would all
like to hear it, hey ?"
"As | know my heart BEATS"
"Well, you recollect that red Ian
tern" commenced Billy, (which made
me jump for the tender brake on that
night?'
| nodded "yes."
swell / felt sorter cross that you
didn't come TO stop when that bloody
looking warning flashed up the track.
That lantern was meant for me. Some
body was on board that had to keep
my eyes open for. That somebody
was Crazy Dick w
laughed heartily. "CraZy Dick
Why, he was as harmless as poodle y
"Yes, everybody thought So" con-
tinued Billy, "but l found out better.
/ hadn't the pluck to tell you boys that
| was afraid of him, because you only
noticed him breathing destruction
against some imaginary being, as you
thought, and saving the air with a
goose quill. But the very day before
we started on that run the switch-man
came to me and he says, Billy, look
out for your mutton tonight. / heard
Crazy Dick mumbling plans to hack you
up with a butcher knife he bought at
RS hardware store You know that
switchman is always in earnest). And
he says, If Crazy Dick gets on the
train I'll warn you with red lantern /;
and keep your peppers peeled Now,
YOU know what that red lantern meant.
| wanted to check up and scatter. You
didn't let me scatter, so ! rode on, and
when ten miles out. while straining my
eyes irto the darkness beyond, hiss
like aserpent's struck my ear. ! turned
my eyes behind me and, Almighty
God there stood Crazy Dick right at
my back, glaring at me with his CLASSY
eyes, and ready to put daylight
through me with a ten-inch knife.
Another minute, and | would have
been disemboweled, or dis-something,
so / gave a quick spring out of the
window"
"what, jumped out of the cab win
down
"As my names Billyw
"And not scratch nor hole i'm you
big enough to empty a hOd of brick ?''
al struck the ground as neat as a cat,
and as $ 1nd as Vanderbilt. Then
Travelled l was timid about facing
the boys in this Crazy Dick affair, and
] never stopped until ! had put many a
mile between u.s."
"Crazy Dick wasn't SO lucky" i
ventured to add.
"W-h-a-tr' exclaimed Billy, in a
surprised tone, ''that idiot didn't jump
too?u
"Yes, he jumped too, Billy, but he'll
never jump again, thepoor crack-brain.
We ground him, Billy, as the mills Of
the gods grind, exceedingly small. 1t
was as much as we could do to sweep
him together again."
"Well, WELL thoughtfully calculated
Billy.
Ii was but a few moments now be-
fore the departure of the train upon
which / was to take passage to New
Orleans, and ss we were in the act Of