The Grenada gazette., 1888-04-21

would have taken chances, l believe,
aud steered ashore. just to wipe tho
earth with his traducer.
But the boat went calmly down the
stream, fretted line of light proceed,
ing from its lower deck, and a long.
tumultuous retinue of pillows flying
away from the noisy wheel and swerv.
ing left ard right till they slapped the
veiy shores. Watching the receding
steamer l forgot all about the
stranger
Suddenly l felt hand grasp my
coat collar and give it rough
twist. The same hollow and very low
pitched bass voice l had heard before
said: Now, young man. I've got you.
/ want you to tell me right of, Do
you or do you not think that mans
crazy?"
l was thoroughly scared now and
practically powerless in the hands of
this extraordinary man. answered
at once, though l know not why an
swered at all: What do you think
about him?"
Mad as a milkman; stark. staring
crazy-rd put him in strait-jacket
if l had him here" was the reply, de.
livered with many shakes of my col
lar.
II think so, too"
Then we Il 90 and bring him back
right away" rejoined my captor. and
to my horror. he began to lead me
up the east-bound track. He took
great strides and before | could get
away from him we were fifty yards
away from the platform. had no
definite ideas at all. except the knowl-
edge that | was in the hands OF a
madman.
We had walked about one hundred
yards farther. still on the ballast and
between the rails of the east-bound
track, when out of the gloom Z head
Of us | saw the premonitory g low of
locomotive headlight touching the rails
and dabbing the mist with film ofyel-
low. The track curved rather suddenly
about two hundred yards from the
place to which The maniac had
dragged me.
There was no time to be lost. In
thirty seconds the up train for which
| had been waiting would whirl
around the bend, and no power on
earth could stop it before it reached
us. With my right hand, which was
free, unbottoned my overcoat and
the cutaway beneath it. | had hardly
finished when the screams of q
whistle woke the echoes, and the
round, ardent face of the headlight
burst out in splendor along the track.
! brAced myself for the etfort-it
must be made at the last moment
The train came on; it was not fifty
yards away. and the whistle opened,
which announced the engineer had
seen lis He could do nothing. tore
my right arm free from both coats,
and the other Slipped out in a second.
l sprang to the right clear of the
track.
The train swept by. ! stopped to
see nothing. With all the speed ]
could command ! raced back to the
station. The conductor and the brake.
man met me- All | could find breath
to say WAS one word; Maniac"
AT this word two tail men stepped
out Of the crowd and one of them
said to me:
"Where is hep
ID WIN the track; dead, suppose. D."
He escaped from Dixmont to-day;
you had a narrow escape. "
But the body was not on the track.
II had jumped in time. The keepers
found him down On the river bank,
still prosecuting his pursuit of the
crazy pilot, l got my coats back.
They were on the track. One arm was
severed from the ovcrcoat. The train
cut it off.
l kept the severed sleeve as 4 me-
mento of my only interview with (
mauiac. albany (N ~ Times.