The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-08-28

went on Jack, in describing the scene to
me-and just here, he shall speak for
himself The only means by which |
might perhaps have made her relax her
hold would have been by aiming one
or two tremendous blows with my right
fist (Which was mt liberty at her face.
Had it been a mans, there would have
been no hesitation; had it been indeed
that of an ordinary woman, at such ~
pass / should not have hesitated to strike
her, to stun her, if | could, by any
means; but that face, that | seemed to
know so well, yet so mysteriousiy, |
could not raise my hand against it, and,
as my arm swung up with the first inn
pulse to deal her u blow, it fell helpless
by my side. Vain were my efforts to get
her hand away from my throat there
was n terrible swaying to and fro for -
minute or two, ] felt the grip of the long
fingers tightening, and myself choking.
Suddenly we fell, the whole carriage
seemed to be falling-there was fearful
jerk or two, IL strange upheaving of the
floor, tremendous rattle and crash-I
appeared to be thrown headlong to some
great distance, and-all was darkness!"
The termination of that deadly strug-
gle was brought about in II manner as
marvellous and unlocked for as could
well have been imagined.
Some fifty souls, say, were travelling
in that train-all, save one, in apparent
security. Jacks life alone was in dan
ger, when, 10! by one of those marvellous
condolences which do happen Mt times
in the supreme moments of existence,
the rescue came, but at the cost of many
Il life, which but just before would have
seemed worth treble the price of Jacks.
At the very instant that his might
have depen led upon another tightening
grip or two from the hand of n maniac a
! frightful catastrophe occurred to the
train. The tire of an engine wheel
broke and half dozen carriages were
| hurled down steep embankment. The
scene that succeeded is, unhappily, OF
| too common an occurrence to need more
than a word of reference here. Seven
passengers were killed outright and
double that number slightly or badly
| hurt, the remainder escaping, as by IL
miracle, with nothing else than severe
! shaking.
| My friend was among the shaken. He
had been thrown clear of the debris on
to Il soft, grassy spot, half bank, half
hedge; emphatically, his life was saved
But what followed it was that which
caused the suffering-that wrought the
terrible change ii Jack.
In the darkness of that soft autumn
night he strove, foremost among those
who had been spared, to render such
! help as was possible to the less fortunate
| When the official assistance came, and
| fires were set blazing to give light, al
most his first care was to try and seek
out his dangerous fellow-traveler. In
the confusion nobody was prepared, of
course, to listen to Jacks account of
her, even had he been prepared then to
give it. She. was not, evidently, moving
about among the crowd he assured HIM
self of that; but supposing her, like him.
self. to have escaped injury (and he con-
cludcd that this was likely), might she
not, with the stealth and cunning incl
dental to her malady, be hidingsand be
thus further Guiding detention, become.
with her homicidal mania, rs dangerous
to the community at large as some fierce
wild animal would be? The thought
made him shudder: he must lose no time
in assuring himself OF her fate.
As soon as an approach to order could
be evolved out of that awful chaos, he
had convinced himself that she was not
among the injured, Then he turned to
the dead His eye fell upon several mu-
! tilated and motiOnleSs forms, which had
| been laid in an ominOus row at the foot
of one part of the embankment. Hers
WAS not among them; he could find no
trace of her.
At length, as sfckly dawn was be-
thinning to make the search easier. he en-
| deavored to discover the spot where the
carriage he had occupied had fallen, and
to retrace his steps quite TO the rear of
the train, by the way)to the place where
he found himself lying after the catas-
trophe.
BY this time he had made known
briefly TO some officials that woman
was missing who had been in the
carriage with him, and one or two Of
them followed him in his quest. Pres
entity he realized pretty well where he
had been thrown; he ali but identified
the spot. Then he scrambled through
the hedge, and there, ON the opposite
side, on the sloping bank of ditch, he
beheld, lying quite still, her dark, un-
mistakable form.
He ran forward, and, bending over
her and looking down upon the marble,
up-turned face, saw at a glance that
there was nothing dangerous about her
nOw-those terrible eyes were closed for
ever. Except for a slight wound on one
temple, whence little blood had tTickled,
and the distorted but now rigidly closed
hand, which had been so lately at his
throat, she looked as calm and unin-
jured as if she were merely sleeping
while death had restored for a brie
period much of that beauty, the traces O
which had struck him when her val
was first lifted.
One of the surgeons here came hurry.
ing up, in answer to summons.
Good heavensm he exclaimed: ''hert
she is, then, at last! Why, she mus
have been in the train. How on eartl
did she manage it?"
who is she?" inquired Jack. earn
estly, with strange return of the old
inexplicable sensation. 'Who is she
You appear to know her. Pray tell me. ;
"Oh, one of our inmates she got away
Yesterday morning; no Ona knows how ;
was the answer.
you are from LOngmoOr, tlen. How
long has she been there? What is he
J name?"
"Oh, she has been there upward O
twenty years, believe; long before m,
; time,"
"And her nameP"
Upon my word. at this moment,
can hardly" went on the doctor, me
: chanically passing his fingers over on
2 of the pulseless wrists before him, an
with calm hesitation which contrasts
| strongly with Jacks earnest, impetuou
? manner. Il can hardly remember.
think she was committed for the murde
. of her own little girl. 1t was sad case
, I know. Ali her name; | have it,
e went on the doctor suddenly; "her nam