The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-01-10

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| road; but if you start from the road,
you don't hit the lake unless you re Just
in the right place and 90 pretty straight.
We watched the men awhile making up
a freight train, and first we knew it be-
gun to rain. There was car on a
switch about half full of lumber, and we
climbed into it and waited. 1t rained
| harder and harder-just 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
man that went out at night and found
stairway leading down to the middle
of the earth.
just in the most interesting part we
heard a sort of rumble, and somebody
rolled the car door shut and locked it.
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.
| Wen we pounded and hollered till we
| saw it didn't do any good, and then we
sat down, and IhiR6 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 90 on telling the story, but
somehow we didn't seem to care any
more about that man, and when Tom
said, "The 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 a 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 train, and our car gave a
bump and jerk, and began to move.
My! don't pose I'd felt any worse if
| was just starting down in an earth
| quake! And nobody said a word for
much as minute. We couldn't, and
| the cars made an awful noise; you
haven't any idea how it sounds inside
of 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 lust
| 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
90 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 l 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 a week
after they had shut the door when
something woke me up, and there was
a man holding up lantern, and 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
everybody laughed as if it was funny,
only the switchman, and he said it was
mean trick. There wasn't any train
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 a 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 a
treat from that brakeman to get a ride
on his account, and when he grew up
he meant to lick him.
We got home all right, and-there,
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
hshpoles under tho reservoir bridge. |
never did s'pose Aunt NIinty cared so
much about Dick and me; she had
waffes and honey for three months,
and gave US pie for lunch; but she isn't
a bit fair to Tom Sheldon. She blamed
it all on to him, and whenever we 90
fishing, or anything, she says: "And
don't let me hear OF any more of Tom
Sheldon's plans"
say it wasn't a1yb0dy's plan, and
you can see that yourself, Cousin Helen
now cant you? Oh! and forgot to
tell you we got acquainted with that
man that locked us in. and we like him
first-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 screw-driver, and
scissors, besides two blades and file.
The scissors are broken on one point,
and the screw-driver is kinder wiggly,
but the gimlet bores tirst-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 Hatntj1g-
ton Miller, IN Christian Union.