The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-08-01

ut rattling speed, fully believing that
the other train would he on time. Nine
mules from D is the little VILLAGE of
Papt'. There is y telegraphstation there,
butt the operator has no night work. He
closed his office and went home about
nans' o'clock, and any messages ON the
wires for him were held above or below
uantiD next morning. When T sighted
this station saw a red lantern swinging
between the rails. Greatly astonished, /
pulled up the heavy train and got u bit of
news that almost lifted me out Of nav
boots~ 1t was Gods mercy, as plain as
this big depot. 1t was the operator who
was swinging the lantern. He had been
rousest from sleep by the whistles Of a
locomotive. when there wasn't one Within
ten miles of him. He heard the foot !!
toot!- t0ot! while he was dressing, and all
the way rs he ran to the station, thinking
he had been signalcd. Lo! there was, no
train there. Everything was rs
quiet as the grave The man, heard his
instrument clicking away, and leaning
his ear against the window he caught
these words as they went through to
DID,
"For Gods sake, switch the Eastern
express off quick! Engineer on the
Western express crazy drunk, and run
ming a mile minute!''
1.-THE operator signalled us at once.
We had left D. nine miles AWAY, and
the message couldn't have caught us
anywhere except at Parto. Six miles
further down was the long switch. 1t
was time We were there, lacking one min
ute. We lost! two or three minutes in
understanding the situations and in con-
sulting, and just got ready to switch
in where we were when the headlight of
the other train came in view. Great
Heavens! but how that train was flying.
The bell was ringing, sparks flying and
the whistle screaming, and rot man of
us could raise hand. We STOOD there
on the main track, spell-bound as it were.
There wouldn't have been time, anyhow,
either to have switched in or get the pas
sengers out. 1t wasn't over sixty Sec
ons[s before that train was upon us. l.
prayed to God for a breath or two and
then shut my eyes and waited for death,
for hadn't the strength to get out of the
cab. 1865 ,.st
''Wcll, sir, Gods mercy was revealed
again. Forty rods above us that loco
motive jumped the track and was piled
into the ditch in an awful mass. Some of
the coaches were considerably smashed,
and some of the people badly bruised,
but no one was killed, and of course our
train escaped entirely. Satan must have
cared for Big Tom, the other engineer.
He didn't get a bruise, but was up and
across the fields like deer, screaming
and shrieking like mad tiger. It took
five men to bind him after he was run
down, and to-day he is the worst lunatic
in the State.
"Tom was good fellow" continued
the engineer, after {; pause, land he used
to take his glass pretty regularly. never
saw him drunk, but liquor kept working
away OH his nerves till at last the t,'e,,eas
canght him when he had hui dred and
fifty lives behind his engine. He broke
out all of a sudden. The fireman was
thrown off the engine, all steam turned on,
and then Tim danced and screamed and
carried on like tiend. He'd have made
awful work, sir, but for Gods mercy.
I'm trembling yet over the way he came
oO"A III us, tuO L III never tnlnk OF IL
without my heart jumping for my throat.
Nobody asked me to sign the pledge, but
l wanted my name there. One such night
on the road has turned me against intoxi-
eating drinks, and now that I've got this
red ribbon Oh can talk to the boys with
better face. Tom is raving, as I told
you, and the doctors say he'll never get
his reason again. Goodnight, Shiny
train goes in ten minutes"