The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-02-05

you don't hit the lake unless YOU re- inss
IN the right place and go pretty STRAIGHT
We watched the men awhile MAKING I'M
freight train, and first we knew IS hapS
| gun to rain. There was a car on
switch about half full of lumber. and wa
| climbed into it and waited. If rainod
harder and harder-just a regular old
soaker-and seemed as if it never would
stop We had to get pretty well back
away from the door, and Tom said we
might as we'll make the best of 1t. SO he
| began to tell makeup story, about a
man that went out at night and fonnd
stairway leading down to the middle
of the earth.
just IN the most interesting part we
| heard sort Of rumble, and somebody
rolled the car door shut and locked i
| We all jumped and called out. but the
man went away whistling, and never
heard us. We found afterwards he
knew we were in there, and Just meant
to scare us, because the BOYS bothered
him so much playing about the cars.
but then afterwards he forgot all about
US until-but wait till l get to that.
Well we pounded and hollered till we
saw it didn't do any good, and then we
sat down, and JthiR6 Dick pretty near
| cried, but Tom said we must make the
best OF it, and somebody would be sure
to come along when the storm was over.
He tried to go on telling the story, but
| somehow we didn't seem TO care any
more about that man, and when Tom
! said, ''Ihe king turned his glittering
! eyes upon him and said Mortal! 1t is
permitted to thee to choose three
wishes, ," Larry said, 'Oh, dry up with
| your yarn; if | could choose three
wishes I'd like chance to get out of
this car and punch that brakeman's
head and make tracks for Long Lake
before pitch dark -
That was how we all felt; but some
thing worse yet happened, for pretty
soon we heard kind of creaking like
slowing up a train, and our car gave q
bump and jerk, and began to move.
My! don't s'pose I'd felt any worse if
| was just starting down in an earth
| quake! And nobody said a word for
much as a minute. We couldn't, and
the cars made an awful noise; YOU
haven't any idea how it sounds inside
of a freight car, Cousin Helen. We
| guessed they'd stop at the depot, but
they only slowed up once and then
went on, and it was the longest kind Of
train. When they went fast our car
bumped and rocked as if it was just
going over, and all the time roaring was
SO loud didn't seem as if it was a bit Of
use to try to make any one hear us
You wouldn't s'pose anybody could
go to sleep with only hard boards to
lie on, but we did, all but Tom. He
took off his jacket and made Dick take
it to lay his head on; said he was too
hot, but | knew better; Tom is that
kind of a boy; and then he kept awake
to be ready for any chance.
should think it was about week
after they had shut the door when
something woke me up, and there was
man holding up a lantern, and a lot
of men looking in. The man with the
lantern laughed, and Larry was going
to hit him, but he was too big. They
asked US what we-were doing there, and
every body laughed as if it was funny,
only the switchman, and he said it was
a mean trick. There wasn't any tram
until morning, and you couldn't tele-
graph because they wouldn't send it
out to the farm, so we just had to 90
home with the switch-tender and wait.
He didn't have any wife, but he made
us some coffee, and gave Us place to
sleep till the train came He told the
| conductor about us, but Larry paid for
all of US; he said it would be taking
treat from that brakeman to get ride
on his account, and when he grew up
he meant to lick him.
| We got home all right, and-there, l
| don't need TO tell the rest, because you
know yourself what a horrid time they
had, s'posing we were all drowned,
when Clump and his wife got home,
and grandpa came over, and they found
| Hannibal hitched to a tree, and our
fishpoles under the reservoir bridge, |
never did s'pose Aunt Minty cared 50
much about Dick and me; she had
waffies and honey for three months,
and gave us pie for lunch; but she ism t
a bit fair to Tom Sheldon. She blamed
it all on to him, and whenever we go
| fishing, or anything, she says: And
| don't let me hear of any more of Tom
Sheldon's plans. "
| say 1t WASH I Gny000y plan, ana
you can see that yourself, Cousin Helen
now can't you? Oh! and | forgot to
tell you we got acquainted with that
man that locked us in, and we like him
frst-rate He thought we were the
same boys that had been bothering
him, stealing rides, and he meant to
let us out when the train was made up,
but then the yard-master sent for him,
and he forgot US till afterwards. He
gave US railroad knife to make up. 1t
has gimlet, and a screy-driver, and
scissors, besides two blades and a file.
The scissors are broken on one point,
and the screw-driver is kinder wiggly,
but the gimlet bores firSt-rate in soft
wood. He only had one, and he gave
it to Dick, because it was his birthday,
and it turned out bad. Emily Hunting
ton Miller, IN Christian Union.