Nevada County picayune., 1888-05-23

chances. believe and steered ashore just to wipe the earth with his tra- ducer.
 But the boat went calmly down the stream, a frettcd line of light 1 proceeding from it's lower deck. and a long tumultous retinuc of pillows living away from the noisy wheel and swerving right and left till they slapped the very shores. Watching the receeding 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 pitch ed bass voice l had heard before said: Now. Young man. I've got You. l want you to tell me right off. Do you or do you not think that mans crazy 7" l was thorouglv scared now, and ! practically powerless in the hands of this extraordinary man. 1 answered at once. though know not why 1 an swered at all: What do you think about him ?''
 Mad as a mill1-man stark staring crazv-fd put him in a strait -jacke ct if had him here" was the reply, delivered with many shakes of my collar.
 Il think so too
 Then we'll go and bring him back right away" reioined my capt brand to my horror, he began to lead me up the east bound track. He took great strides and before 1 could get away from him we were fifty yards away from the platform. had no definite ideas at all, except the knowledge that was in the hands of a madman.
 We had walked about one hundred yards farther, still on the ballast and of a madman.
 We had walked about one hundred yards frrther. still on the ballast and  between the rails of the east bound track, when out of gloom ahead of Us saw the premonitory glow of q locomotive headlight touching the rails and dabbing the mist with a firm of yellow. The track curved rather suddenly about two hundred yards from the place to which the maniac had dragged me.
 There was no time to he lost. In thirty seconds the up train for which l 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. l unbuttoncd my over coat and the cutaway beneath it. 1 had hardly finished when the screams of q whistle woke the echoes. and the round, ardent face of the headlight burst out in splendor all along the track.
 l braced myself for the effort-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 us. He could do nothing. ] tore my right arm free from both coats, and the other slipped out in 2 second, sprang to the right clear of the track.
 The train swept by. l stopped to sec nothing. With all the speed could command raced back to the station, The conductor and brake, men met me. All l could find breath to say, was one word: Ma, nac"
 At this word two tall men stepped out of the crowd and one of them said to me.
 Where is hc?"
 "Down the track: dead, sup pose.
 "IIe escaped from DiXmont to-day you had a narrow escape,
 But the body was not on the track He had jumped in tune. The keep CTS found him down on the river bank, still prosecuting his pursuit of the crazy pilot. got my coats back, They were on the track. One arm was severed from the over coat. The train cut it off.
 l kept the severed sleeve as a me mento of my only interview with I maniac. Albany (N. l) Times.
 
 A Mausachusettes man became SC