The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-05-21

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crazy engineer following Us. and | de
termined that nv first business the mex
dav should be to complain II the Super
intendent of his fool-hardiness
thought that possibly, being for the mo
ment his own master and no Longer
under the immediate orders of a conduc
tor. he was indulging in a kind OF rail
road spree, and for a lark. was driving
Us to the top of our speed. expecting to
end the race and his days work at the
same time at Jamaica.
Well, we tore through that sleeping
| village without stopping long for re
| freshments, | can assure you. and
looked To see our comical friend in the
rear pull up at the station and take
lodgings for the night. But we were
mistaken in our guess. Not whistle
was given by our pursuer as signal
that he intended to stop; not a signal
Of slackening was shown: but, on the
contrary, he was gaining upon us even
when we We're doing our very best.
! Sometimes curve in the road would
| shut him moment from our view, but
| he would round it in an instant, and
| every new turn brought him more close
| " upon US Jamaica had been left far
/ behind. and we were out upon the
wide Hampstead plain. The old Con-
| stitution was on her muscle. Our train
was actually swaying and rocking with
speed like a Yacht on the waves. The
| telegraph poles, upon which the light
| from our windows would CLINT in the
dense darkness, were flying behind US at
every second. The sound of our wheels
as they struck the end of the rails was
| continuous hum. But, do the best that
it might, our engine with its heavy
train was no match for the light weight
ed one behind. That was gaining upon
us, and was not the eighth of mile off,
The glare from its lantern shown bright
ly in our faces; | thought Jacks face
| looked little pale, and perhaps mine
did too. Now that our pursuer did not
halt at Jamaica, we were entirely off our
reckonings, and we could make no guess
as to the cause Of our chase, nor when it
would end. The prospect seemed that
we might be driven to the end of the
road if We were not overtaken and
smashed before it could be reached.
3" That's the Franklin, sure, broke
out Jake once more. No other engine
on the road could overhaul us as we are
going now. What can that fool Of a
Simpson mean by driving her at such IA
rate2 He must be drunk. If the boss
| doesn't break him tomorrow he won't
get his deserts. He will be into us in
two minutes.
You are right, Jake, said |. Go
| forward and see if YOU cannot get up
little more Roadway. Empty few of
] . l., ,,-,,I
pitch it in and see what can be done
''While Jake was forward on his
errand | thought over the situation.
| Here ] was with hundred or two
passengers under my care, all ignorant
Of the danger which | knew they were
in. If we should be overtaken and
crushed in the rear, the disaster would
! be a serious one and would probably
cause the death or injury at least of
some Of the passengers. If we were
not smashed in this way there was an
other and perhaps greater danger before
us. The tr,:i Of which | have spoken,
which left Greenport when we left
! Brooklyn, was on its way to meet us on
the same track. 1t should switch off at
| Lakeland in the middle Of the island
and allow us to pass an hour after we
started, or at II o'clock. 1t was now
! half-past 10, and we were close to Lake
| land already and would pass there long
| before the arrival of the Greenport
train beyond Lakeland without warning
of our approach, and a collision in
front us well as The rear would be the
consequence.
1--WE reached and flew through the
! 7 Il, - L,
ahead of time. OF course the Green
port train was not there yet, but was
coming down the road. Our speed was
now a little ahead of any ever before
made upon the Long Island road. The
telegraph poles fairly danced behind US,
and the bushes on either side Of the
track seemed continuous wall of fire
as they were lighted up by the flame
which was pouring out Of our smoke
stack. But dangerous as it was for us
| to keep on, it was just as dangerous to
slacken speed, and so on we went"
The conductor rolled his quid from
one cheek to the other, raised the win
dow by his side and expectorated into
outer darkness, and became silent for
several moments as if burdened by the
recollection of his former perils. After
waiting a reasonable length Of time for
him to resume his story, | said, "when
the collision occurred, was it with the
train in front or in the rear, or with
both %
''Oh. the collision !" said the conduc-
tor. ''WelI, now you come to the
ridiculous part of the story The
collision did not take place at ALL" he
said, in an apologize tone, as if there
ought to have been a serious accident
after SO much preparation. "While ]
was standing on this platform thinking
whether / had better warn the passen-
gers to hold themselves ready for a
shock, Jake came from forward dragging
after him two large petroleum cans,
each Of which would hold quarter of
a barrel of oil.
CHOW, then, said Jake to me, eff
you will oil one side of the track l will
try the other.
9 saw at once what his plan was.
We each brought the mouth of an oil
can as near to the polished surface of the
rail as possible and commenced pouring
on it the kerosene In less than a min
ute half mile of the iron rails on both
sides was nicely oiled and as slippery as
the tongue of Hebrew dealer in second
hand clothes"
You have raised my expectations Of
a catastrophe so high that you have been
obliged to grease the track so as to let
them down again easily" said 1, for ]
felt little nettled at the unexpected
turn the story had taken, and was inclin-
ed to believe that the conductor was
drawing largely upon his imagination for
the facts.
Why don't you know that an engine