Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1885-06-05

! boH l "VtiSi Al iooh silei Jou'
"Well," 1 said to myself, "John
makes a good conductor"
In two minutes from that time l was
saying, "John don't make good con-
ductor." That fellow went and sat
down by the side of a young woman,
who chanced to turn her head, and there
was Sass Cullis! Now, it is no part Of
a conductors business to be flirting
with young girls, though Sase was
hardly that, being several years older
than John, and kind of aged bird, |
used TO think.
All of sudden, just then, the engine
gave the danger-signal and whistled
down-brakes. Ny! didn't John drop
Sase like hot potato, ard how lie sprang
for the door OF the car.
"What is the matter?" / thought,
| raising the window near me and look
ing ont. As looked, my blood seemed
to turn to ice and refused 10 flow.
Coming round the curve beyond us,
winking horribly, WAS the headlight of
the locomotive of the evening express !.
! How it camo there, il was of no use TO
| imagine. thought Of hundred dis
NAL, dreadful things all at once, OF a
terrible crash, OF people scalded by tue
hot steam, of people mangled, Of people
shot down the bank into Mud creek
| close by. Above all, there was John.
What if anything should happen to
himi And there lie was, back again.
! He had come 10 the car door and shouted,
BRAKES ~ knew what he meant. He
supposed that brakeman was OH hand,
| but had seen him leave the car and go
forward. John die not know it. He
only shouted, "Brakes :" and then tore
across the platform to the next car,
whose brakes he began to swing round.
Was going to sit still there? Sase
Culls might, but the next moment |
was flying to the rear of the car.
AS went the old lady's things flew
to right and left, even as tree sheds
! its leaves in October, and | stood at the
brake not as an old woman, but as Sue
Plymton, young and lively. AS | seized
the wheel and began TO turn it, trying
| to do so as | had often seen John, how
| thanked God for any strength He had
put in my arms. Didn't |, when turn
! ing the brake wheel, thank Him for all
the times had pulled on the oar out
on the water when the spray wet my
! face and the wind would rush up to
wipe it; for every summer that had
helped father pitch hay into the barn;
for every day when, alongside mother,
had tried my muscles on the old churn-
! handle
| thought of John, and any natural
strength had, seemed to grow into q
giants. And the engines of the two
trains-they stopped.
Mercy, what an escape that was :!
those engines came so near that John
afterward told me that he did not think
you could have laid hair between the
two cowcatchers. There the locomotives
stood, their headlights flaring, and they
glared ut one another on the track like
mad buffaloes,, snorting aud puifng
and eyeinp one another, real demon
like.
| held on to the brake, for didn't
know what those critters might take 1t
| into their heads to do. There John
found me on the platform, as he after
wards said, my arm gripping the blake,
my cloak thrown back, my eyes flash
ing, my teeth set. You see he had
come out OF the car hurriedly to look
after things. Seeing me, he SAID,
"Why, Sus!" and kissed ME. In a
moment he spoke again. "There, dear,
that will do, | want to start the train
back, and we have all been wondering
what made her hitch so. There, dear,
you step into the car, and | will come
and see you soon, darling"
One "darling," two "dears" and
kiss! could have gripped that brake
century just to help John. l went back
to my seat. was all gone, though l
die have strength enough to look round
and see where Sase Cullis was. She
had left the train. Though we were
three and a-half miles from the station
in our town, she declared that she
would rather walk it than be another
minute in that frisky old train. / would
have stayed there with John If the next
minute we had gone over into Mud
Creek. Our train was now backing
down to side track, three miles of, 10
let the express train pass dt was the
express conductors fault that night,
and not Johns, everybody said). john
said he lad two minutes to spare, as ne
came and sat down beside me. ''Heay-
ems" he exclaimed, jumping up as II
he had sat down on a percussion cap.
"Where is that old woman | promised to
look after" could but laugh. "Don't
worry, John; here she !"
"Why, Sue.''
she did not ask for any explanation
but put his arms about me and said he
promised TO look after that old lady, and
he guessed he would on the spot!
Then he spoke Of the time when we
went to school together, and how ht
loved me, that | didn't love him, hC
thought, but now-nOw, how many
foolish things he did say! And IL
was so weak after my tug at the brake
that my will was like a snowflake oil
Johns coat-sleeye, and it melted al
away, snd-and-but there! You can