St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-01-07
HOLD NUMBER TWELVE"
The Part of the Story That Charley
Did Not Tell.

"Oh, you heard about that did youi
Who told youP'
Charley Branscome, the conductor.
He said he was running the train at the
time.
$50 he was What did he say about
it?''
HE said it was the most daring
thing he ever knew fellow 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 we'll
pleased that his heroism had been the
subject of conversation. s.Now, honor
bright, didn't he add any thing by the
way of explanation to the story?"
mo. What explanation could
there bep You did save the train, didn'
your"
"Oh, I saved the train all right
enough. Charley is good sort Of fell
low tell you. Yes; he was conductor
on No. IL at that time, still he might
have added something to the story of
heroism that would have been true
enough, yet it shows what good
hearted fellow he is not to have told
it,
; why, were you to blame any about
the dispatchp understood him to say
that 1t was mo fault on your part.
mo, it was the train dispatcher's
fault. He should have let me know
sooner. don't brag much about that
episode, but I'll tell you the whole
story
The operator paused moment, and
seemed to look back on that most ex-
citing period of his life. The telegraph
machine chartered away on the table.
but the messages were 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 that
time, and Branscome did the ticket
scalping on board. That night it was
raining cats and dogs, when Charley
came in with his lantern hung on his
arm, and stood at the desk till Pete
backed the engine from the water tank.
Then he said, nothing for me, ehp,
and ! said there was nothing, and he
says, well; SO long, then, and out he
W6.at. At that moment there was q
cali for me ut the instrument, and I
answered it. I only waited to hear
three words Of that message, but I tell
you those three words just made my
heir stand on end. They were: Il
Hold No. II. ~ =
Il gave one glance out Of the win
dew and saw the last Pullman sleeper
slowly passing. The remainder of that
instant was taken up in springing clear
over that counter and boiling out Oh
tic platform. Luckily we had long
platform at that station and I guess /
made the quickest time up that set of
p.anks that was ever made along that
road. You see on a day train 1t would
not be SO bad, for the conductor always
swings himself on the last coach, but
o. the night trains, especially at That
Lour, everybody in the sleepers5 are
sleepers themselves, and SO he gets on
fine last regular car, which is about the
middle of the train. No. II generally
Fad three sleepers. She bad four ON
that night.
We'll, | swung on the platform OF
che last sleeper just as it was passing
the end of the station, and / was never
% thankful foff any thing in all my life,
sor the train was beginning to 60 pretty
inst, and it was that or nothing.
Il knew that even then there was not
= second to be lost, and I must confess
that I was pretty badly ratified. AL
though / had only heard the first three
words Of the dispatch, I knew that
some where on the line, near or close.
lhere was another train coming, that
expected to pass No. IL at our siding.
II tried the door of the sleeper and
Was Mortified to find ii locked. r
kieked and beat at the door, hut the
/ oFter was at the other end OF the car,