The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1881-01-06

lueIo udu Uccl Soiuc t1Ou de t1le
| works recently strike or something
growing out of delay in paying the me1
their wages. This is how it happened
that the $4,000 money package came
into my keeping for night.
Well, when l had made all SNUG
about the station and got off my we
clothing, [ sat down comfortably with
pipe and newspaper to enjoy my Gus
tomary reading. The storm outside
continued to rage more and more
| fiercely, but within things were as coy
as could be. had a blazing fire in the
stove, a cheerful light, an easy chair
plenty Of good tobacco-the only lux
ury in which was really extravagant
"a fresh newspaper and bottle Of
good Holland gin, wherewith to make
my regular nocturnal toddy. Certainly
these were pleasant surroundings fol
| an old fellow like me, and as a rule
| they yielded as much solid comfort rs
a man has a right to expect in this
world. But that night things seemed
all out of gear, as I have said. My
pipe didn't soothe me as was its wont;
try as might l couldn't get interested
in the newspaper; an uncomfortable
| feeling of dread-a feeling that some
shadow but horrible thing was about
to happen-possessed my mind, and
even when I had mixed up a toddy
considerable stronger than usual, it
failed to bring the relief l had hoped
for.
1T all comes of that pesky money
package" muttered to myself. 'Why
couldn't it have got here on the 11:3O
and saved me the job of keeping it here
over night?''
Just at this moment came a terrific
clap of thunder and flash Of lightning
vivid enough to make the lamp dim. |
had locked up the package in the safe
and put the key-there was no combi-
nation lock-in my pocket. But l had
not the largest faith in the security of
the old safe. 1t had occurred to me
often that a person could open it even
if he wasn't skillful cracksman. 1t
was my custom to leave my door open
between my little room and the ticket
Office, so that if Red Ravine was called
on the telegraph key 1 could hear it.
The instrument had been clicking away
at a great rate for the past hour; but as
it was none of my business [ had paid
no attention to what was going on over
tho wires. l judged now from the
nearness of the lightning and the jerky
sounds of the instrument that the storm
was playing the mischief with the mes
sages. I passed into the ticket office,
where light was left burning, and
%i,,o }l,,,l-,,,rr 1,,lo !,
the money package would be less ex-
posed in the safe than it would be under
the mattress of my bed, and | finally
concluded that the latter place would
be the hardest for any possible thief to
reach. So I took out the heavy brown
envelope and slowed it away under the
mattress. Then | took a second glass
of toddy, which was usually against my
rule, but which I thought the circum-
stances warranted.
Once more I sat down to my news
paper and pipe, but with no better sue
cess than before The storm seemed
now to have centered right over the
little station. Peal after peal of thun-
der rent the air and the lightning play
ed about the sky like phosphorus on
an inky background. If you have ever
CHANGED to be in telegraph office dur
ing a thunder storm, you may have
seen the electricity dash down the
wires in a way to make timid people
nervous. Even veteran operators,
like myself, wouldn't want to under
take to receive that sort of message l
was tempted to close the key, but the
meaningless ticking had a sort of fas-
cination for me in the mood I then
was. 1t was like the incoherent NUT
terings Of maniac where now and
then, at long intervals only, could one
distinguish a word or sentence. May
be the extra allowance of toddy had
made me more imaginative than usual,
and given wired coloring to my
thoughts; for listening to the rapid
chck-click, I remember Of fancyipg
that some spirit-hand had got hold OF
the key and was pouring out a vail OF
woe over the wires.
| was too restless to sit still and too
nervous to go to bed Besides, even if
[ hadn't been SO upset in my mind, ii
is doubtful whether l could have slept
through such a storm as that
To occupy myself about something
relighted my lantern, went into the
freight room, examined again the bolts
of the door and the fastenings of the
windows and returned to the room
more worried and upset than ever.
Just as l was entering my own nest the
light Of the lantern fell squarely on the
wooden box. Oddly enough, until
that moment | had forgotten all about
the dead young woman. Thinking so
steadily Of the $4,000, had, suppose,
driven the box out of mind. But l
can't say it was any comfort to have it
brought back now; for corpse is
never the most cheerful of company,
and, feeling as I did then, would a
great deal rather have had no COM
pany at all.
1t must have been the imp of the
peryerse, suppose, that impelled me,
after the box had been brought back
to my mind, to leave the door open so
that l could sit and stare at it with
morbid curiosity. As 1 have already
said. my sleeping apartment was par
titioned off from the freight room and
was connected with the latter by a
door. The body had been placed in
such position that when this door
was open the head Of the box was in
sight. Two or three times l got up to
shut the door. but some strange fatality
drove me back to my chair and caused
me to keep in view the box with its sad
freight All this time the storm ragged,
the thunder discharged its mighty bat
teries, the lightning flashed and the
mad rawlings of the telegraph continued.
| caught my hand trembling as I tried
to refill nv pipe. Nervousness, no
doubt; but possibly an observer might
have thought old Billy was frightened.
l had just risen to wind the clock on
the shelf, when suddenly out of the
hitherto meaningless ticking of the in
strument sharply and distinctly came
to my ears these sounds
.-.-. =. - =.
which i'll spoken words meant,
Watch the boN!'
started as if charge of electricity
had shot through my frame. I could