Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1881-02-12
AHeadIigHtin View

Il We SeGU SOOu uCai Va AuAito1A
life that's Interesting and exciting
in the twenty years that I've been
twisting breaks and slammlng
doors for q living.
1--WE seen all kinds of sorrow
aid all kinds of joy-ssen the hap
by bridal couple starting out on
their wedding tour with the
bright and hopeful future before
them, and the black-robed mour-
ner on her way to a new-made
grave wherein she must bury the
idol Of ner lonely old heart.
wealth and pinching power
ty ride on the same train and the
merry laugh ofthe joyous, healthy
child is mingled with the despair
ing sigh OF the aged. The great
antipodes of life are familiar to
the conductor, for every day the
extremes Of the world are meeting
beneath his eye.
"I've mutilated the ticket of
many black leg and handled the
passes of all our most emin ent
dead-heads. / don't know what
walk of life is more crowded with
thrilling incidents that mine"
Ever have any smash ups"
'.Smash ups? Oh, yes, several of
them. Mono, however, that
couldn't have been good deal
worse.
"There is no incident ofmy rail-
road life,' continued the conduc-
tor, running his tongue carefully
over a broken place in the wrap
per of his cigar, "that l never
spoke to before to any one. 1t
has caused me more misery and
wretchedness than any one thing
that ever happened to me in my
official career.
Sometimes even now, after
the lapse of many years, l awake
in the night with the cold drops
of agony standing on my face, and
the horrible nightmare upon me
with its terrible surroundings as
plain-as on the memorable night
il occurred.
~ was running extra on the
Union Pacific for a conductor who
was an old friend of mine, and
who had gone South on a vacation
for his health.
"About 7.30, as near as / can re-
member, we were sailing along all
comfortable one evening with a
straight stretch of track ahead for
ten or fifteen miles, running on
time and every one feeling tip-top
as overland travellers whendo you
get &C quainied with each other
and feel copgenial. All at once the
train suddenly slowed down, ran
in on An old siding and stopped.
"Of course / got out and ran
ahead to the engine to sec what
was the matter. Old Autifat the
engineer, had got down and was
on the main track looking ahead
to where, twinkling along about
six or seven miles down the road,
apparently was the headlight of
an approaching train. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY "wild," for nothing was due
that we knew of at the hour.
"Howevsr, we had been almost
miraculously saved from fright
full wreck by the engineers watch
fulness, and everybody went for
ward and shook old Antifat by
the hand and cried and thank ed
him till it was the most effecting
scene for while that / ever wit
messed. 1t was as though we had
stopped upon the very verge of
bottomless chasm, and everybody
was laughing and crying at once,
till it was a kind of cross between
a revival and picnic.
CATER we had waited about half
an hour, should say, for tho BIAS
ted train to come up and pass us,
and apparently she was no nearer,
a cold, clammy suspicion began to
bore itself into the adamantine
shell of my intellect. The more /
thought of it, the more unhappy /
felt. almost wished that l was
dead. Cold streaks ran up my
back followed by hot ones. /
wanted to go home. / wanted to
be where the hungry, prying eyes
of the great, throbbing work-day
world could not see mo.
II called Antifat to one side and
said something to him. He swOre
softly TO himself and kicked the
ground, and looked at the head
light still glimmering in the dist
ance. Then he got on his engine
and yelled "All aboard" In a
few moments we were moving
again and the general impression
was that the train ahead was side
tracked and waiting for US, al
though there wasn't sideirack
within twenty miles, except the
one we had just left.
sit was never exactly clear to
the passengers where we passed
that wild train, but | didn't ex-