Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-05-04
TRAPPED BY TELEGRAPH.

| TRAPPED BY TELEGRAPH
While in a small town in Wyo
ming Territory, l learned that
lady living there had been the he
roine of a thrilling adventure will
train robbers, and curiosity anC
, love for the brave induced me tC
call on her to tell me the story
When l went to her house l was
welcomed by a handsome lady Of
about thirty, and in response to my
earnest request for this one chapter
of her life, she related the follow
ing:
In 1873, when but a girl Of Is,
left my home in Omaha aud came
out to fill the lonesome position OF
night operator of a small station on
the Pacific Railway, in this terri
tory. 1t was a dreary, desolatt
spot, in the midst of a desert. The
only buildings at the station, aside
from the depot, were o section
house, occupied by track foreman
and a few Chinese labOrers, wa
ter tank and a coal shed. The day
operator and agent, a mere boy,
slept at the section house, 200 yards
distant, so that during the long
and dreary nights l was alone in
the depot. No. 4 express tram,
bound east, was due at 2:15 in the
morning, but it never stopped un'
less signaled, and as this was the
only train during the latter portion
of the night you can imagine my
lonely situation upon the desert
wild. l had my books and guitar
for companions, and passed much
of the time in reading, and when
the doleful howllDgs of the wolves
were borne to my ears from the
distant sand hills, l would pick up
NV guitar and endeavor to drown
their cries with music and song.
The superintendent of the dlvis-
ion, buoyant, light spirited young
gentleman, came over the road at
frequent intervals, and cheered me
up with promises of better posi-
tion when a vacancy should occur.
He often found me on the very
brink of despair, almost on the
point of reslgning my position and
returning to my humble home and
the mother who depended upon my
salary for the necessaries of life ;
but his promises, his general con-
versation and words of encourage
ment drove away the gloom, and l
came to look for his visits with a
sense of the keenest pleasure. l
began to regard him with a sisterly
affection, he was so kind and ten
der, and so sOlicitOus for my wei.
fare and comfort.
" hen the baggageman of a pass.
ing train would throw off a new
book or roll OF music, | knew it
came from my kiDd-bearted supe-
riOr, and many dTeary hours were
made less irksome through his
ihoughtfulness for the lonely girl
operator.
One night shortly after midnight,
as | sat at my table reading a late
novel, | thought heard a shuffliDg
foOtstep on the depot platform, but
as it was not repeated / concluded
it was but a wolf more daring than
his cOwardly fellows, and resumed
my book. A few moments later |
heard a low knocking at the door,
which | always kept locked, aud
strange feeling came oyer me. Dur
ing my several weeks stay at the
station had meyer had a visitor,
and the sudden knock, so low, yet
so startingly clear in the stiffness
of the night, caused my form to
tremble and my cheek to blancb.
My first thought was OF Indians,
and then reasoned that 1t might be
some tramp desiring shelter. While
| sat there in alright, the knock
was repeated, louder than before,
and mastering all my courage 1 ap-
preached the door and asked:
"WhO's there ~
A gruff voice replied;
ga traveller who desires to take
the east. bound train"
1t was my plain and unmistaka-
BILE duty to admit him, and with
trembling fingers l drew the bolt.
Instantly the door was pushed
violently open, and sprang back
to the table and sank into my chair
in terror, when seven burly men,
wearing cloth masks on their faces
and armed to the teeth, entered
the office. One of them, evidently
the leader, walked up to me, and,
pointing a large revolver at my
head, said in a low, firm voice:
"Gal, we don't want to hurt you,
but if you make a suspicious move,
or give any alarm, or scream so
that any o. the men in the section
house kin hear you, I'll splle the
looks O. that purity face with a bul.
let. Be quiet and sensible and be-