The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-09-28
What a Woman Did.

nARSTOW'S SIDING is small
Id station on the G. S. and Western
Railway, and located out on the prairie
at the edge of bit of scrubby woods.
The little village of Barstow is about a
mile from the station, and to reach 1t
one has to take rough road through
the woods. The line at this point is
perfectly straight, and reaches to the
horizon in both directions. These facts
are essential to a right understanding
of the events that took place at the
station one night about year ago.
Old Sam Britton, station master, sat
by the stove in the middle of the switch
house idly looking at the dull-red Goals
in the ugly stove. His daughter Mary,
about nineteen, sat by the little tele-
graph apparatus near the window that
looked out down the line. BY the aid
of lantern she was reading stray
newspaper, the Iron Trade Review, a
strange paper for girl to read; but it
belonged to dear friend, and some sin
gular pictures had interested her greatly.
She did more. She read and listened.
Not thing stirred in the dull, bare
little room save the restless sounder on
the table. The incessant clatter of the
machine fell on her ear and yet she
heard it not. Elm City was talking to
Centreville, forty miles off, and every
word was spelled on her sounder. Yet
she heard it not, for her mind was alert
to catch another sound.
Her father had let fall the paper he
was reading. He could not read, for
bitter disappointment kept his mind
harrassed and troubled. How long was
this default of payment to the employees
of the railway to continue? The last
months wages had not been paid, and
another month had nearly passed. The
line needed repairing The trackmen
had complained that very day that new
and better tools were needed and that
more ballast was wanting.
Suddenly, far away on the sea-like
horizon, arose star. The young girls
eyes were on the paper, and yet she saw
it rising. She looked out of the curtain
less window and watched the star grow
ing bright. 1t did not seem to rise, but
to grow big with brightness. 1t is not
for love to sit and gaze. 1t must act.
She rose, and in silence went to one of
the great iron switch bars and stood
with both hands clasped about the ham
die, and gazing down the line, where
fbo efor bad hooo,,oo q f1anoa
Then came far away sound through
the night. She pulled the bar forward
far down the track the switch moved in
the dark, and great green eye became
red. Up the line in the opposite direc-
ton, another green star suddenly turned
red.
Samson Glider sat on his high seat
with one hand on the throttle-valve,
gazing steadily ahead. A constellation
of green and yellow stars had sprung up
in his horizon. Jack Cinder, his fire
man, on the other side of the engine,
had given voice to the monster as it
painted along on its way. All one star
had flashed red. The engineer blushed
and smiled in the dark, and pulled the
Unbelievable. Then came push and
a jar as the heavy freight train rumbling
behind pushed against the engine. The
motive power had ceased, and the i'm
mense momentum of the train drove
the idle engine swiftly forward. The
whistle spoke to the men behind, and
they gladly pulled the brakes, and the
train entered the siding. The headlight
threw lurid glare on the switch-house,
and by the light Samson saw young
girl by the track. She was dressed for
rough weather, and wore red hood
that was not lovely. To Samson 1t was