Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1886-08-18

into the engineers voice, and a dark
flush into his bronze face. "What
young lady was that?"
1t was moment or two before John
Scott answered the question.
81 don't know what she was called. ~
he said slowly. Il never knew. She
was the only one on the train, so we
just called her the young lady. She
was travelling alone, but her folks
had asked the conductor to look after
her. She was going out TO some relative
of hers-her brother, guess, who was
sick down to Sacramento. That was
how she came to be there"
''No. ma'am: she was all alone. as |
told you; but she took them under her
care from the first. They had their
fathers and mothers along-three of
them had, at least, and the other two
had their mother and a nurse girl-but
somehow no one but the young lady
seemed to be able to do anything with
them. The poor little things was half
starved, you see, and there wasn't any,
thing TO amuse 'em in the dark car, and
one OF them, who was sickly, fretted
all day and most all night, and the
mother didn't seem to have no faculty
or no backbone to her; but whenever
the young lady came around, that sick
one and all the rest would stop crying,
and seem just as clipper as If it was
summer time outdoors and the whole
train full of candy.
81 don't see how she did 1t, he went
on, mediUatively, throwing a shovelful
of coal in at the furnace door. "Some
women is made that way, | suppose.
As soon as we seen how things were
going, and how bad they was likely to
be, that girl kind OF set herself to keep
along. She had mighty gentle way
with her, too. You'd never have
guessed she was so plucky. Pluckyl
BY George, l never saw anything like
her pluck"
"Was she pretty?" asked Miss
Vaughn, urgcl by truly feminine
curiosity.
"Wel, 1 don't know if you'd a
called her 50 or not. We didn't think
much how she looked after the first.
She was slender-built girl, and her
face looked sort of kind and bright
bOln ~ hlC- 44CA NOGNt was as
well. as soft as a voice can be, and 1t
kind of sang when she felt happy. She
looked you straight in the eyes when
she spoke. 1 don't believe the worst
man that ever lived could have told the
girl lie if it had been to save his lite.
Her hair was brown. She was differ
ent from girls in general. somehow
81 think we may say that she was
pretty" observed Miss Vaughn, with a
little smile.
81 AMT so sure of that. There's
plenty of ladies come over the road
since that l suppose folks would say
was better looking than she was. But
L never see any face quite like hers.
1t was still, like lake, and you seemed
to feel as if there was depths in it. And
the farther you went down, the sweeter
it got. She never made any rustling
when she walked, She wasn't thar
kind-n
Another pause. which Miss Vaughn
was careful not tu break.
81 don't know what them children
would "a Done without her," went on
the engineer, as if talking to himself.
LClt VIVA ClACASSs OOh
know What any of us would "a done
without her. The only trouble was
that she couldn't be everywhere at
once. There was a sick lady in the
drawing room at the end of one OF the
Pullmans. She had weak lungs and
was going out to California for her
health. Well, the cold and the snow
brought on hemorrhage. That was the
second day after we was blockaded.
There wasn't no doctor on board, and
her husband he was mighty scared.
He came through to the front car TO
find the conductor, looking as pale's
ghost. My wife's dying said he.
Amt there no medical man on the
tramp And when we said no, he just
gave a grOan. Then she must die he
said. Great heavensl why did bring
her on this fatal journey?'
"Perhaps the young lady'll have some
remedies" suggested one of the por-
tiers, for we'd all got into the way al
ready of turning to the young lady
whenever things were wrong.
"Well, went for her, and you never
seen anyone so level-headed as she
seemed to be. She knew just what to
do; and she had the right medicine IN
her bag; and in less than an hour the
poor lady was quite comfortable, and
her husband the most relieved man that
ever was. Then the young lady came
along to where l was standing--there
wasn't nothing for me to do, but was
waiting, for / didn't know but there
might be-and said she: Mr.. Scott, l
am growing anxious about the fuel.
Do YOU think there is plenty to last?
Suppose we were to be Kept here a
week?'
Now lust think of i'll not one of us
dumb fools had thought Of that. You
see we were expecting to be relieved
from hour to hour, for we had tele-
graphed both ways, and the snow had
stopped by that time, and none Oh US
had any notion it was going to be the
lob 1t was to dig rs out. Only the
voung lady had the sense to remember
that it might take longer than we was
calculating on.
"Says l. If we are kept here a
week. there won't be shovelful OF
Goals left for any of the fires, let alone
the engine.
Then don't you thlnK,' says she.
in her soft voice, that it would be a
wise plan to get all the passengers to-
getner in one car, and keep good fire
m there, and let the other stoves go
ont. It's no matter if we are little
crowded. says she.
"Well, of course, it was the only
thing to do, as we seen at once when 1t
was put into our heads. We took the
car the sick lady was in, SOS she'd not
have to be disturbed, and we made up
beds for the children, and somehow all
the passengers managed to pack IN.
train hands and all. 1t was tght
soueeze. but that didn't matter SO
much. because the weather was SO
awfully cold.
ssThat was the way came to see SO
much of the young lady. hadn't any
thing to keep me about the engine, 50
I kind of detailed myself off to walt On
her. She was busy all day long doing
things for the rest. Its queer now