The Press., 1886-06-24
Issued Every Thursday Evening.
THE ENGINEERS STORY.

engineer, as the train slowly crested a long, gradual grade. You're atop of the Rocky mountains now, ma'am.'
 This must look very differently in win ter, said Miss Vaughn, noting the treeless distances, and the snows still glinting on the higher peaks to the left.
 You may believe it does That first year, when the snow-sheds wasn't built, it was terrible. I was running that train that stuck in the snow seven days-per- haps you'll remember about it ]; it was in all the papers. l shan't ever forget that, !, not if live to be as old as my grandfather, and he didn't die till he was ninety odd
 Tell me about it., said Miss Vaughn, persuasively, seating herself on the high side bench of the Cab, with that air of at- tention which is so enticing to the story teller; amusements are few and far be- tween in the long monotony of the over land journey to California !; besides which, Miss Vaughn dearly loved story.
 There ain't much to tell, said John Scott, with something of the feeling which prompts the young vocalist to complain of hoarseness. I amt any hand at telling things, either. Then, won by Miss Vaughn's appealing eyes, he continued: | We ran all fair and on time till we was about 200 miles beyond Omaha. Then the snow began. It didn't seem much at first The women-folk in the train rather liked 1t. They all crowded to the windows to see, and the children hurrahed. Anything seemed pleasant change after the sage brush, l suppose. But as it went on com ing, and the drifts grew deep, and the cars had to run slow, the older ones began to look serious, and can tell you that we who had the charge of the train felt so.
 We was just between two of the feeding stations, and we put on all the steam we could, hoping to push through to where | provisions could be got at in case we had to stop. But it want no use. The snow kept coming. l never See it come so. The flakes looked as big as saucers, and the drifts piled so quick that, when we finally stuck, in about ten minutes no one could see out of the windows The train would have been clear buried If the brakemen and the porters hadn't gone the whole length over the roofs every half-hour, aud swept it off with brooms and shovels. We had lot of shovels aboard, by good luck, or else nothing could have saved us from being banked up outright. But it was terrible hard work, can tell you. There want no more laughing among the pas sengers by the time it come to that, an6 the children stopped hurrahing.'
 'Oh, the poor little things What dld they do? Were there many on board Was there plenty for them to eat
 That was the worst of it. There wasn' plenty for any one to eat. We had stucl just midway of the feeding stations, anC there wasn't great deal of anything ol board besides what the passengers had il their lunch baskets. One lady, she had tin of condensed milk, and they mixeC that up for the babies-there was ten O 'em-and so they got on pretty well. Blu there was about five other children, no babies, but quite little, and don't knov what they would have done if it hadn' been for the young lady,
 'The young lady r said Miss Vaughn looking up with some surprise, for witt the words curious tremble had come int his bronzed face. What young lady wa that ?
 It was 8 moment or two before Johl Scott answered the question.
 T don't know what she was called, h said, slowly. I never knew. She was tn only one on the train, so we just called he the young lady. She was travelling alone but her folks had asked the conductor t look after her. She was going out to som relative of hers-her brother, I guess, wh was sick down to Sacramento. That wa how she come to be there.'
 Were the children under her care P
 No, ma'am she was all alone, as tol you; but she took them under her car from the very first. They had their father and mothers along-three of them had, e least, and the other two had their mothe and nurse girl-but somehow no one bU the young lady seemed to be able to d anything with them. The poor littl things was half starved, you see, and ther , wasn't anything to amuse 'em ill the dar car, and one of them, who was sickly, fire ted all day and most all night, and th mother didn't seem to have no faculty 0 no backbone to her but whenever th young lady came round that sick one all all the rest would stop crying and seer just as chipper as if 1t was summer-un outdoors and the whole train full of cand,
 I don't see how she did 1t, he went or medltatively, throwing shovelful of coi in at the furnace door. Some women made that way, I suppose. As soon as W see how things were going, and how ba ! they were likely to be, that girl kind of s, ~ herself to keep along. She had a might }, gentle way with her, too. You'd nev, have guessed that she was so pluck, P,ucky By George, never saw anythin like her pluck a
 Was she pretty P asked Miss Vaughn urged by a truly feminine curiosity.
 Well, I don't know If you'd 'a call h. so or not. We didn't think much how sl looked after the first She was slende built girl, and her face looked sort of kiI and bright both to me. Her voice was soft-well, as soft as voice can be, and kind of sang when she felt happy. Sl looked you straight in the eyes when sl 1spoke. don't believe the worst man tn d ever lived could have told that girl lie it had been to save his life. Her halr w brown. She was different from girls
 general, somehow
 T think we may say that she was prett, observed Miss Vaughn, with little smil
 II ain't so sure of that. There's plen of ladies come over the road since that suppose folks would say was better loo ing than she was But I never saw ar face quite like hers. It was still, like lake, and you seemed to feel as if the was depth to it. And the farther v went down the sweeter 1t got. She nev made any rustling when she walked. S wasn't that kind
 Another pause, which Miss Vaughn W careful not to break.
 T don't know what them children wou a done without her, went on the enginee as if talking to himself. Then with su D! den energy I don't know what any of | would "a done without her. The on trouble was that she couldn't be ever S where at once. There was sick lady