The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1876-05-19

towels in the Mushroom, and then will
come and sit with you till you can come
home"
She went into the dressing room as she
spoke, taking no light, but depending on
the candles burning in the office. / was
rising from my seat to send the telegraph,
when the door opened and four of the
worst characters in the town, led by John
Martin, entered the room. Before | could
speak, two threw me back in my chair,
one held revolver to my head, and John
Martin spoke:
"Mr. Hill was here to tell you to stop
the up train. You will not send that mes
sage. Listen. The rock is there to stop
that train-put there for that purpose
There is $4,000 in gold in the train. Do
you understand 2"
| "You would risk all the lives in the
train to rob it !" cried horror-struck.
Exactly !" was the cool reply. "One-
fifth is yours if you keep back the mes
sage. The money has been watched all
the way along!"
saw the whole diabolical scheme at
once. If the train came it would be
| thrown off the embankment and easily
plundered by the villains who would lie in
wait there.
Come" Martin said, twill you join
us 2"
"Never |" 1 cried Indignantly.
"We must force you then. Tie him
| fast |"
trembled for Alice. If only my life
were at stake I could have borne it better.
But even five were both murdered could
not take the blood of the passengers in the
froi MI
from the little room as l was tied hand
and foot to my chair, bound so securely
that l could not move. 1t was proposed
to gag me, but finally concluded that my
cries, if I made any, could not be heard,
and handkerchief was bound over my
mouth.
The door of the wash room was closed
and locked. Alice stood undiscovered,
then the light was blown out and the ruff
fans left me, locking the door after them.
There was long silence. Outside /
could hear the step of one of the men pac-
ing up and down watching. l rubbed my
head against the wall behind me, and sue
ceeded in getting the handkerchief on my
mouth to fall round my neck.
l had scarcely accomplished this when
there was tap on the inner door.
"Robert" Alice said
"Yes, love! Speak low, there is a man
under my window"
"Are you alone in the room ?"
Eyes, dear"
81 am going to Postville. There is no
man under my window, and l can get out
there. ! have six long roller towels here,
knotted together, and have cut my white
skirt into wide strips to join them. The
rope so made reaches nearly to the ground.
| shall iasten it to the door knob and let
myself down. 1t will not take long to
reach home, saddle Selim and reach Post
vile in time. Don't fear for me. When
you hear hen cackling under my window
you will know l am safely on the ground"
Little Alice My heart throbbed heav-
lily as l heard her heroic proposal, but l
dared not stop her.
"Heaven bless and protect YOU" I said,
and listened for her signal. Soon the
cackle noise told me the first step of her
perilous undertaking was taken.
1t was dark, cloudy and threatening a
storm, and nearly as | could guess, close
upon o'clock. She had to 60 six miles
and | could only wait and pray. was
too much stunned even yet to realize the
heroism of this timid woman starting alone
upon the dark ride through wild coun-
try with storm threatening.
Nine o'clock AS the bell of the church
clock ceased to strike, rumble, flash,
told me thunder storm was coming rap
idly. Oh, the long, long minutes of the
next hour
Ten o'clock. The rain falling in tor
rents, the thunder pealing, lightning flash
ing Alice was so afraid of lightning
Often l had held her, white as death,
trembling, almost fainting, in such storm
as this. Had she feared to start with the
storm in prospect, or was she lying some
where on the wild road overcome by ter
ror, or perhaps stricken by lightning
Eleven o'clock. The storm was over,
though the still night was inky black
no sound to cheer me, none to make the
hideous suspense more endurable. A host
of possibilities, like frightful Nightmares,
chased one another through my tortured
brain.
Would the next hour never pass Once
the clock tolled midnight, all was safe.
| was drenched with a perspiration
wrung from me by mental agony one hour,
chilled with horror the next. No words
can describe the misery of waiting as the
minutes dragged along. In the dead ST.
lence far off sound struck thrill of hor-
ror to my heart, far exceeding even the
previous agony. Far, far away faint
whistle came through the air. Nearer and
nearer, then the distant rumble of the train
growing more and more distinct.
The midnight up train was coming
swiftly, surely, to certain destruction!
my ! Ia Ho1 ha
tercepted her at the cottage9 Was she ly-
ing dead somewhere upon the wild road
Her heroism was of no avail, but was her
life saved In the agony of that question
the approaching rumble of the train was
lost; far more did feel the bitterness of
Alice dead than the horror of the doomed
lives the train carried. Why had let her
start upon her mad Grand
tried to move, and writhed in impo-
tent fury upon my chair, forcing the cruel
cords to tear my flesh as vainiy tried to
loosen even one hand. The heavy train
rumbled past the telegraph office. 1t was
an express train and did not stop at my
station but as | listened every sense
sharpened by mental torture, it seemed to
me that the speed sackened. Listening
intently | knew that it stopped at the en-
bankment, as nearly as could judge. Not
with the sickening crash expected, not
preceding walls and groans from the in
jured passengers, but gradually and care
fully. A moment more and heard shouts,
the crack of firearms, sounds of some con-
fict.
What could it all mean The minutes
were all hours till heard a key turn in
the door of my prison and moment later
two tender arms were round my neck and
Alice was whispering in my ear.
"They will come in few minutes, love,
to set you free The villains left the key