Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1880-02-12
Misrenanv,
BY THE NIGHT EXPRESS.

A bitter December midnight and the W
express painting through its Ten minutes
rest at Rugby. What with passengers
Just arriving and passengers just depart
ing; what with the friends who come tc
see the last Of the departing passenger:
or TO meet the arriving ones, the platform
was full enough, assure you; and had
some difficulty in making my way from
carriage to caniagc, even though | gener.
ally find people (almost unconsciously,
perhaps move aside oil the guard when
they SEQ HIM walking up or down close to
the carriage doors. The difficulty was in.
creased, too, by the maneuvers OF my com.
panion, London detective, who had
joined me to give himself better oppor.
tunlty of examining the passengers.
Kecnly he did it, too, in that seemingly
careless way Of hi ,and while he appeared
to be only an idle, lounging acquaintance
OF my own. knew that under lis unSus.
pected scrutiny it was next to impossible
for the thieves he was seeking to escape
even in hampers. didn't trouble my.
self to help him, for | knew it wasn't
necessary yet was as anxious as hun.
dreds of others that those practiced thieves
whom the police had been hunting 70,
the last TIVE days should be caught as they
deserved.
Sometimes we came upon group which
my companion could not take in at glance
and then'he always found himself unusu.
ally cold and stopped to stamp a little life
into his petrifed feet OF course for me
this enforced stamping was the signal fol-
an attack ofthat persistent questioning
with which railway guards are familiar;
and in attending to polite questioners who
deserved answering and impolite ones
who insisted on it, had not much time
for looking about me, but presently did
catch myself watching girl who stood
alone at some distance. A girl very pref
ty and pleasing to look upon, | thought,
though her face and her dress and her at.
titude were all sad. She stood lust at the
door Of the booking office-a tall, slight
girl in deep mourning, with a quantity of
bright fair hair plated high upon her
head, as well as hanging loosly upon her
shoulders; with childish, innocent face,
and pretty bewildering eyes. | wished
could have gone straight TO her and put
her into one-the most comfortable-of
the line of carriages at which she gazed
so timidly. Just as | hesitated very re.
markable figure elbowed its way to me
stout, grandly. dressed old lady, painting
painfully and almost piercing me with a
pair of restless, half.opened eyes, that
looked out through the gold. trimmed spec
tacles perched on her sharp nose.
Two porters followed her laden with
bags, cloaks, umbrellas and flowers, the
only flowers in the station, expect, that
winter; and one OF the men winked at me
over her head, while the other guarded
the treasures with a face OF concentrat.
ed anxiety and thought, ,engrossed by pos.
sible force.
"This is the London train, is it ,ga'adp''
she asked, peeping sharply into my face
with her half-closed eyes, as if she found
it difficult to distinguish me even through
he, pectacles,
From her whole attitude | guessed her
to be deaf, but never guessed how deal
until, after yelling my answer so loud
that the engine driver must have
heard eighteen carriages off, she still re.
mained stonily waiting for it.
deaf as a dozen posts," said the de.
tective aloud, giving the old lady an ex
pressive little nod in the direction of the
train
"Slow trainp" she interrogated In that
plaintive tone which the very deaf often
use.
"Mail!" shouted, putting my mouth
as close to her check as | fancied she
would like.
"Ale!" she shrieked back at me. the
spectacles shaking little on her thir
nose. "Why should you want sic fsl
listening to ! questions that you are
paid to answerl Ale, indeedl believe
railroad men think of nothing else."
Then she shook her head angrily ant
waddled of, looking as acid an old party
as should try to avoid. In at ever,
door she peered through her glitterini
slasess, the two porteys following her On
ihs made atop before an empty SEQ