Huntsville gazette., 1888-07-07
ELECTRIC DEATH.
Thrilling Adventure of a Telegraph
Operator.

often think Of the strange charac-
ters one meets in this world, and in
my position of night telegraph opera
tor and ticket agent at one of the large
stations upon the line of - - r.
r. Co., it has been my lot, happy or
otherwise, to observe many.
Preemlnent among my encounters
with large number of eccentric indi-
viduals, there stands fresh in my mem
ory, almost as an occurrence of yester-
day, my adventure with DANNY the
tramp
1t was wild, stormy night in early
spring when | first saw him. The
rain descended in torrents, making
outdoor experiences the reverse OF
pleasant. Inside our little station
with a pleasant fire roaring in the
largest of stoves, we, the watchman
and myself, were taking things very
comfortably, despite the storm raging
outside.
We two constituted the night force
at the station, our duties being light
but important. Mine that of tele-
graph operator, to receive or transmit
any message which might be submit
ted, and to be on hand at all times to
assist in crossing trains at the direc-
tiOn of the train dispatcher, who,
seated in his far away city office, noted
upon his train sheet the passing trains
as we reported them upon our instru-
ments. My companion on the ''all-
night trick was watchman and bag
gage-master combined.
Between midnight and four O'Clock
each morning no trains passed our sta
tion, yet sleep was out of the ques-
tion, even had we wished to be so re-
miss in duty. For there was the half
hourly roll call from the dispatcher's
office, to which each operator must re-
ply, or give satisfactory explanation
of his absence.
So, shortly after midnight of the
night in question, we were seated in
my office, listening to the bowling
wind as it drove the fast-falling rain sc
fiercely against the windows, causing
the frail old wooden structure to trem-
BILE and groan with its fury, when sud.
denly from out the darkness, closely
pressed against the glass of the win.
dow, there looked in upon us one o.
the most hideOus human faces it was
ever my lot to behold.
| had been sitting directly facing
this window, and upon seeing the face
started to my feet with a cry of horror
Quickly turning to where my trem.
bling finger pointed, the watchmar
was just able to catch glimpse of the
face before it vanished into the sur
rounding darkness.
We were both outside in an instant
and my companion had recognized il
that short glimpse the face of poor
wandering wreck of humanity, a so
called ''harmless lunatic." In answer
to the watchman's calls, DANNY
Danny, come in and get warm" there
entered a nondescript Individual O
perhaps fifty years. l remember hin
now as he sat by the large stove in the
waiting-room adjoining my Office, into
which stove the kind-hearted watch
man had had hastily thrown fresh
scuttle of coal and opened wide the
drafts in order to give him all the heat
available, and sadly did he need it, fol
the water. continually dropped from
his saturated clothing, forming little
pools upon the floor.
Divesting himself of coat and boots
he accepted a chair in front of the
stove, and sat down to enjoy the CRATE
full heat, mumbling the while to him
self some unintelligible gibberish, ant
resisting all efforts of ours to draw
him into conversation. But that the
watchman assured me that our visitor
was perfectly harmless, should have
been fearful OF danger from this man
who stood at least six feet high, an6
was Of large, powerful frame. His
eyes, which were small, dark anC
piercing, shaded by thick, bushy brows
necessarily winked, blinked or snapped
while he hugged himself in an ecstasy
of insane glee quite horrible to wit
ness.
He sat with us until morning, and
when the first gray streaks of daw
betokened the birth of another day,
despite our repeated invitation to stay
longer, he resumed his coat and boots,
and started out again into the storm,
: