The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1883-11-24
he never acted like that before.

Its an awful night, Bob, says she,
cant they send some one else? don t
like to have you 60
Nonsense says |, the storm won t
hurt me, and Ill be back again to-mor-
row. The super's promised to do the
square thing, and it'll come out all
right
"She seemed little treasured, and !
got out my great coat and muller, ana
in 'em prepared to start out.
"'Well, Bob says my wife, ii You
must 90, why you must, but, she added
and there was the queer
est look passed over her face, be care
full of that Frankcnstein trestle.
Il scarcely heard what she said, but
bidding her goodbye was soon on my
way to the roundhouse. 1t was wild
night, and no mistake; seems TO me !
have never seen it blow harder or snow
faster. Once or twice had to turn my
back to the blast to keep from BLOWN
over Well, | was soon on board my
machine, and, backing into the station,
hitched on To two ears which were TO
make up the train AS 10 O'Clock ap'
preached the directors began TO arrive,
pompous-looking men, with plenty OF
money and feeling all their import
ance.
"'Them fellers, says | to mySelet,
feel their steam pretty well. / don |
suppose they'd look at an engineer.
dan Smith, my fireman, was on the
watch for the conductor .4gnal ana
when the clock struck 10 we got the
swing of the lantern and oil we started
i've seen some pretty bad nights,
but that one was the worst / ever re-
member. The storm tonight is hard
enough, but it don't begin TO blow as ii
did then, Why, every now and then
we would get blast that would make
the whole machine tremble, and as the
country around Portland is pretty level,
we took the full force Of the wind As
we got further inland it wasn't SO bad
and by the time we were forty miles
out, it had turned to summers gale
and was pouring torrents.
"And now comes the singular part OF
the story. We had the right of way,
and our dispatcher was to keep the
whole up to Fabyan's open for us, my
instructions being to stop only at North
Conway for water. So gave her the
throttle, and we bowled along at a good
rate of speed, making perhaps thirty
or thirty-tive miles an hour. As we
went whirling through Sebago Lake
Station, had kind OF feeling come
over me that there was something
wrong. | didn't notice it at first, but
every now and then 1t would come back
to me that all was not as it should be,
yet couldn't think of anything that
wasn't right. | alters examine my ma
chine before start, give her a good
oilin', look well to the bolts and paral-
lei rods, try the levers and such; and
so | knew when we left Portland old
40 was in perfect workin trim Yet
the feeln' grew on me until it was a
steady thing Tried to shake it off,
but 'twan't no use, felt it in my bones
that Somethin was up.
Now you gentlemen will laugh AT
me for being a fool, and ! don't blame
You, for we was a-goin along all right,
everything from the water-gauge to the
cylinders was workiu' in good time,
and knew that ii was only magma
ton, but, to tell the truth. | began to
feel uneasy. | had been an engineer
for ten wears, and had been through
some pretty tough scrapes without
BLOWN for brakes, and the boys all said
as how had a good deal of pluck. Now
| began TO lose all confidence.
Bob, says | to myself, this wont
do. You're gittin' nervous, and all for
nothin'. You've no business 10 be SUI
perstitious at your time Of life, Brace
up" -,
"Twan't no use, however. | could
have stood up in court and sworn that
there was a kink somewhere. Well,
meanwhile we was sliding along, and
pretty soon reached North Conway,
where we was to give the machine a
drink. Dan, says | to my fireman,
there's something out of the way with
this machine, and | don't know what
it is
What makes you think SOP says
Dan.
81 can't tell | replied; she works
all right, but feel it in my bones.
Guess YOU re thinking of your wife,
returned Dan with a laugh.
But while we were gettin in the
water took a lantern and went all
round the engine Looked at every part
of her, raped the bars, knocked the
wheels, tried her at every point, and
couldn' find nothin'.
And tried to think no more about
it, but the feeling was there all the same,
and do the best | could | WASH able TO
throw it of. Well, we had got pretty
good distance in the mountains, and
with that light load 40 didn't make
nothing OF the up grades.
Perhaps, gentlemen, you have never
been through the hills in winter It's
some different from summer, | can tell
yer. The mountains loom up dark and
solemn, and with their snow-covered
sides they seem kinder like big, ghostly
giants that have been turned TO stone
standing guard over the valley. The
silence and desolation sorter awes one,
and it didn't seem RIGHT to 90 shrieking
and screaming ALONG their sides in the