Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-01-08

w
stood. Turning her back to the
wind she hagan to call the children.
How loudly the wind roared through
the telegraph wires! Perhaps they
could not hear i'm all this din. She
walked on toward the siding. Not
thing to re seen. She wondered
if there had been mistake. Per-
haps the car was on the other side
track. No, the rails were unoccu-
pied as far as she could see in every
direction. What did it mean !?
What had happened? She stag
gered back into the station and
startled her husband with a cry of
despair.
1.-THE car! The children %
The station-master ran out upon
the platform and looked ND and
down the line. Not car in sight.
1t had been blown away before the
terrible wind, and was perhaps at
this instant rolling swiftly onward
with its precious load to destruction.
What would happen to it? Would
it meet a train or run into a station :?
Would the children try to get out or
would they stay in the ear until it
was wrecked /?
He sprang to the door of the depot
to telegraph the terrible news down
the line, but just as he opened the
door he saw faint white cloud on
the western horizon. 1t was train.
Help was coming. At the same in
slant his wife appeared with new
grief and terror in her ewes.
81 cannot get a call in either di-
rection. The wires are blown down"
This added to the danger, for
there was now no means of sending
word in advance of the runaway
car. 1t must go on to its fate with
out help or warning.
Help is coming, mother; here's
train bound east"
Nearer and nearer came the train,
and the father and mother stood
watching it as it crept along the
rails. 1t seemed as if it would
never come. AT last it reached the
platform and proved to be passen-
ger train bound up the Black river
road, and not intended to go in the
directi0n in which the car had been
blown away. The instant it stopped
the statiOn-master ran to the engi-
neer and told the terrible story. The
mother, with quicker wit, found
the conductor and demanded that
the engine be taken off and sent
after the children.
The conductor was a man of reg
ular habits, and such a bold request
struck him as something extraOrdi-
nary. Take the engine off, and
leave the train and passengers wait
ing at this lonely station the idea
was preposterous. Some of the pas
sengers gathered near and asked
what was the matter.
"Three children lost, blown away
in an empty car"
Some one said, eyes, go at once !;
we can wait here till the engine re-
turns"
The conductor said he must tele-
graph for instructions; but some
one said, 1.-THE wires are down, !"
and the people only cried out the
more, "Let the engine go ~ So the
mother ran to the tender and began
to pull out the pin, that the engine
might start.
'fHoId on, marm," said a brake
man "I'll cast her off. You Jump
aboard, if you want to go too. Fire
up, Jack, and make her hum"
1t was all done in a moment, and
away flew the engine, leaving the
conductor and statiOn-masters staring
in surprise at this singular proceed
ing. The station-master did not
feel very happy. He had half in
tended to go with the engine, but it
would never do to leave his post.
"Fire steady, jack" said the en-
gineer to the fireman. "It's no use
to get excited, for we're in for long
race"
"It's enough to make a fellow ex-
cited to see that woman" said the
fireman.
The engineer turned round, and
there by his side stood the mother,
her eyes strained ahead down the
line in search of the missing ones.
"Oh, sir, open the throttle wide /;
! don't try to save coal at such time
as this"
ave must keep cool, marin, and
go steady, or we shall run out of
coal and water and come to a stand
still on the line"
The woman said not a word, but
nodded mOurnfully and leaned
against the side of the cab for sup
port, and then the fireman gave her
his seat, where she could look out
ahead over the line. How the en-
CINE shook and roared! The little
finger of the steam gauge trembled
and rose higher and higher, as the
steam pressure increased over the
raging fire. The engine seemed to
be eating up the track in front, and
behind the rails sprung out like
shining ribbons in the sun, The
station and train had already sunk
down out of sight, aud the grassy
horizon on either side seemed to fly
away in a kind of gigantic waltz.
The wind died away to a dead
calm, and in few moments a little
breeze sprang up and blew in at the
front windows.
ave are beating the wind" said
the engineer. ''If we keep up this
pace we will soon Overtake them"
Chow long have they been gomez"
shouted the fireman above the roar
of the engine.
81 don't know" screamed the
woman, without taking her eyes
from the horizon, where the rails
met the sky. at may have been
two hours or more. They were
playing in the empty car"
"HOw did she get out of the sid
ing?" (He meant the carr
ats one of the new switches"
said the engineer. "Cars can easily
Jump out upon the main line"
All! something ahead. Was it
the runaway car? No, the next
station. What a terrible pace
Twenty miles already!
sob, don't stOp!' cried the
woman as she saw the engineer put
his hand on the throttle valve.
al must, marin we are out of
water, and perhaps we can learn
something of the runaway"
The sudden arriving of the solita-
ry engine containing two men and
woman, startled the station-mas-
ter, and he came out to see what it
meant. He seemed to guess at the
truth, for he said:
"After the runaway carr
ayes, yes. There were three chill
dren inside"
sob, marin, Pm sorry for We. 1t
went past here, going twenty miles
an hour. 1t came down grade all
the way, but the up grade begins
about two miles out. was inside
when it passed, and didn't see it till
4 800 Ia,Nh