Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-07-14

SAS entlu OLler men. Ii Is not
a confirmed habit with me. and il
never will be.
There Royal, she drew closer IN
him and laid one appealing hand
on his arm, you surely will not r..
fuse to promise. me never to toueb
another glass of liquor?
Nonsense, Grace; You talk as If
I were a confirmed drunkard. Let
me go now; Pve only just time to
reach Shepard's arms to meet Lee
and Delmar.
The tears sparkled in Grace's eyes.
Then have no influence whateY-
er over you, Royal?
Lots of it, little woman. Now,
don't look sober. Only you know.
it's but folly to ask such unreasoua.
bic pledges. Good-by.
Good by, Royal.
Yexed!"
s'Only sorry, Royal Because I
know that papa viii never let me
marry a man who drinks.n
Royal turned on bis heel. while a
dark frown, contracted his bIack
brows, and hestrode away mutterlno
something about ssnarrow-minded
old fools, who expected every one
to be cut after their own pattern" /"
But he had walked only a little
distance when the cloud cleared
away from mis- face, and the old,
careless, good-natured smile once
more came baek,.N $40
r-sDear little GracleI he said to
himself. ssPerhaps she's right, after
all l believe l am getting more
found of astraY glass than I ought
to be; but of course there's no dan
ger. A man can always control
himself. Still, Tn 90 back to-mor-
row and make my peace with the
little blue-eyed kitten, and if She
wants me to promise, why, TIl pro-
mise %
The @Shepard's ArmsD was an IN n
pretending little village hostelry,
through whose drawn curtains the
evening" lights shone eheerrilV. and
Royal Meriam's boon companions
welcomed him uproarioasIy. ga1
eYOn're coming to the end Of
your rope, old fellows said ones
ssthe superintendent Is going to strike
everybody that drinks a social glass
off from the list. Says it amt busi-
ness-hke-can't afford to run any
risks"
q don't know what the worlds
coming to, for my part, said anoth-
ct, looking into the bowl of his
short, black pipe; "a man might as
well be slave, and be done with it,
''I've heard something of it be-
fore, said Merriam, carelesslv. sI
don't know bat it's wise enough
regulation, on the whole; but there's
one thing certain, PHI drink the SUI
perintendent's health tonight. if
never do again.
A general laugh echoed this asser-
ton of Royal Merriam; and, in the
hour or two that followed. poor
Grace Arden's piteous request, Grace
Arden's tear-brimming blne eyes
were entirely forgotten.
"Drunk-I drank Never was
more sober in my life. Yes, yes, I
know its time to start, and here I
am as fresh as a cricket"
Royal Merriam swung himself to
his place on the glittering frethrot-
tied locomotive, with the careless
ease and Iightness of a mountaineer.
''Go ahead!o' he called out.
The depot master looked cautious
ly at him. You may not be drunk, |"
said he soto Uocs, but you have been
drinking, my fine fellow, and you'll
getreported at headquarters before
the world Is 7tWenty-fOur hours
older. as 81 - as 8 sa-57l-1 a.11l
So saying, he drew little men,
orandumbook out Of his vest pock-
ct, and wrote down the words, Me-
riam, engineer Flying Dart, upon it
with the slow, mechanical accuracy
of one who considers in his own
mind. v.a-a..ls5-
Merriam fully believed in his own
assertions that ne was not drunk. he
had been drinking a good deal, bnt
then he, knew hrs head could stand
more than the average Of brains. He
felt little lightness-a joeular con
tent-as he sat there at his post.
The lights along the road sparkled
more prominently than usual; the
stars seemed to shine with unwonted
brightness, and once or twice he
caught himself huskily answering
some one who had not spoken.
81 Whats that you are saying, Mr..
MeriamS said the fireman to him at
last. f
Sayingl Royal laughed out loud.
didn't speak; 1 was only coughing.
II All of sudden he grew sleepy
his brain seemed to become confused.
All right, said heal rightl III
back the Flying Dart against any
engine on the road. WhE, she
couldn't 60 wrong if she was to tryl
Are we-far from the drawbridgel
The fireman suddenly started to
his feet with a hoarse. gasping cry,
The signall cried he. The red
light Stop her, for Gods sake;
sound the brakesl We are on the
bridge, and the draw is openl
In less than q second the mist and
drowsiness and fatal lethargy seem.
ed to clear away from the engineers
brain, and he had fully comprehend.
ed the awful terror of their position
the express train rushed at dizzy
speed toward the yawning gulf, be-
meath which lay the black river.
The signal And he had not seen
it. aG
Pretty Grace Arden, with toe
words Of warning that he had laugh
ed at--the coy hearthstOne Of the
Shepard's Arms where the liquor
sparkled redly against the irelight--
all his previous hfe--seemed TO rise
up before him in that second with
death beckoning darkly beyond,
Mechanically he sounded the Whis-
tie. sharp and shrill-tWo brief IN,
earthly shrieks-and then sprang
ont info the darkness, through which
-e- = 1..t,+ . st,,aau,ad lilra an ava ~