, 1883-06-30
and eriel together.

and he aid that Tom Gray is going
to leave md 1 can have his chance
and been next week; If like. What
do you say, dear mother"
go Jackp said, 'how can get
through the long, lonesome days
without you? And If anything
should appen to you, should die ?
q" 40 I mother 2 he said, gently,
for the aars were in my eyes again.
But ~ luld not heed him.
"AA you give up your school PI
cried. md al our plans for you to
come III haughtp
."FN - Thought Of that, too he
answer But he said that the
whel4ss & belonged to the man
that wis faithful and true. And I
promised him. You can trust me,
moiherP
'Trust him? All, yes he had
struck the right chord at last, and l
lifted my head and dried my tears.
Whatever unseen dangers l might
fear for my boy would be of the
body, net Of the soul. Faithful and
true ? thanked God and took cOur-
age.
at was wonderful how he succeed
ed with the books and papers and
the Other things he sold. There was
something in him that made him a
favorite with everybody. l have
been told by more than one that the
sight Of his frank, handsome face
was like sunshine, and that people
bought Of him whether they wanted
anything or not.
"Wcll, the years went by and he
grew up-working his way from one
position to another, on the road
trusted everywhere. He was my
own boy still, though he was so tall
and strong, with his bright curls
turned chestnut-brown, and "A
silken fringe shading the lips that
kept thciI old, loving kisses for me
alone.
at was not very long that he had
had the place Of engineer, which he
had wanted so long. He had n day
of, and vas doing some little things
for me about the house and garden,
when one Of the depOt-hands came
running Up the path calling for him.
"'Mr. Harding wants you Instant
ly, Jack ? cried the man. The Jer-
sey express should have left the de-
pot five minutes ago, and the engi-
neer has Just fallen down in a fit.
Curtisanl Fitch are both offon leave,
and Mr. Harding says there's nobody
left l'ysou that he'll trust with the
train
az ? cried Jack, in a maze. THE
Jersey express And never drove
anything but a freight-train =
"'Well well ? cried the man, i'm
patiently, don't stop to argue /!
Orders is orders, and here's a minute
and half gone already =
"Jack seemed TO come to himself
at that. He darted one smile at me,
and was off like shot, drawing on
his coat as he ran. In less time than
l take In telling it, heard the signal
Of the outgoing train and l knew
that my boy was trusted with a task
that was used to be given only to the
most intelligent and careful men in
the service.
"They brought him back to me
that night, sir, and laid him on his
fathers bPd; and, by piece-meal,
then and afterwards. Learned what
had happened that day.
"The train started out so late, they
were forced to make up time some
where on the line. So, on thatlong,
straight stretch Of track through the
the valley, they were making sixty
miles an hour. The train fairly few.
Jack could feel the air strike his face
like sharp wind, though it was a
balmy spring day.
"Then an awful thing happened I!
The great connecting-rod Of the
driving-wheel on the right of the
engine broke. Jack seemed to live
all his life over in that one terrible
instant when he saw the end of the
rod swing upward. Itstruck the cab
under him and dashed it into thou
sand pieces, and he knew no more
till Il horrible agony awoke him
where he had fallen senseless on the
engine.
"Burned and almost blind, with
the flesh scalded and torn from his
hands, he remembered his engine,
with its open throttle, leaping on to
certain destruction. He seemed to
see the passengers inside the long
train, as so many times in the old
days when he called the morning
papers through the cars.
"He knew how they looked and
what they were doing-the men
reading, smoking, talking Of the
elections, the price Of grain, or how
stocks went up last week women
with growing, dimpled babies in
their arms little children crowding
to the windows, vainly trying to
count the whizzing telegraph poles (;
young, happy couples going on we'd
ding7jOurneys maybe, and others
coming home who had been long
away.
"He remembered that, as he hur-
ried to his place at the front, that
day, little girl with cloud Of gold
en- hair leaned from a car-window,
to give one more good-by kiss to her
father on the platform. Take good
.....a ,F hn hoI