The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1888-03-28
..moId Nun.ber Fwelye.,,

AACAeA n eAAA4 DSE y t7ttSAESs
sOh, you heard about that, did
you2 Who told your
Charley Branseome, the conduc-
tor. He said he was running the
train at the time. .
SO he was. What did he say
about it2',
@He said it was the most daring
thing he ever knew afellow to do.
You see, We were all in his room
talking about railroad escapes and
that sort of thing. and then he told
how you saved the train.
Jess So, replied the telegrapher,
without seeming to be very well
pleased that his heroism had been
the subject of conversation. "Now,
honor bright, didn't he add any
thing by way of explanation to the
story9"
aNo. What explanation could
there be2 You did save tho train,
didn't yeu2
"oh, I saved the train all right
enough. Charley is good sort of
ia fellow, I tell you. Yes; he was
conductor on No. IL at that time,
still be might have added some
thing to the story of heroism that
would have been true enough, yet
it shows what a good hearted fellow
he is not to have told it.
aWhy, were you to blame any
about the dispatch? understood
him to say that it was no fault on
your part"
mo, it was the train dispatcher's
fault. He should have let me know
sooner. 1 don't brag much about
that episode, but I'll tell you the
whole story"
The operator paused a moment,
and seemed to look back on the
most exciting period of his life.
The telegraph machine chartered
away on the table, but the messages
We're for some other place.
"You see, he began, No. IL was
due here at 1:45 a. m. She stopped
here for water, and for orders. She
was the fastest train on the line at
the time, and Branscome did the
ticket scalping on board. That
night it was raining cats and dogs,
whom Charley came in with his Ian
tern hung on his arm, and stood at
the desk till Pete backed the engine
from the water tank. Then he said
nothing for me, eh?' and said
there was nothing, and he says,
well, SO long, them and out he
went. At that moment there was a
call for me at the instrument, and l
answered it. 1 only waited to hear
three words of that message, but L
tell you those three words just made
my hair stand on end. They were:
"tHold No. IL + y
81 gave one glance out the win
dow and saw the last Pullman
sleeper slowly passing. The re-
mainder of that instant was taken
up in springing clear over that
counter and bolting out on the plat
form. Luckily we had long plat
form at that station and / guess I
made the quickest time up that set
of planks that was ever made along
that road. You see on a day train
it would not be SO bad, for the con-
ductor always swings himself on
the last coach, but on the night
trains, especially at that hour, ev-
erybody in the sleepers are sleepers
themselves, and SO he gets on the
last regular car, which is about the
middle of the train. No II gener-
ally had three sleepers. She had
four on that night.
"well, l swung on the platform
of the last sleeper just as it was
passing the end of the station, and
/ was never SO thankful for any
thing in my life for the train was
beginning to go pretty fast, and it
was that or nothing.
81 knew that even then there was
not a second to be lost, and l must
confess that l was pretty badly rat
tied. Although 1 had only heard
the first three words of the dispatch
I knew that something was on the
line, near or close. there was another
train coming that expected to pass
No. IL at our siding.
81 tried the door of the sleeper
and was Mortified to find it locked.
1 kicked and beat at the door, but
the porter was at the end of the
car, probably polishing up someone's
boots or very likely asleep. Then 1
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