West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-05-24

the rails, and let 'em finish him"
"Ies, that's SOL" echoed tho party.
dead men tell no tales, and he may
have seen our faces"
II won't listen to such n plan,n said
one who seemed TO exercise some infiu-
ence over them. ''We shall have enough
to answer for before this Job Is finished
without killing him. How this nail
sticksh he added. with an oath. 1.-The
man who drove these spikes must have
meant 'em 10 stay. Come, matesl He
is safe enough, and il we mean business.
we must be lively. The train will be
here in twenty minutes, and We hsve no
time TO lose" and at the rail they all
sprang with a will.
Twenty minutes What could hone
to do to save the train in my condition,
with so short a timer
The thought OF the terrible wreck
which must result If the derailed train
struck the bridge made me desperate.
Straining at the cords which bound nv
wrists, lfanoied they gave way little.
l remembered the trick OF the necroman-
GERS who free themselves from their
bonds by rnately.contracting and ex-
panding their muscles, and Law i'm si.
lence, working in perfect frenzy of ex-
citement until / was able to free nv
hands. In an instant my knife was out
OF my pocket, and my feet free.
without waiting to free myself from
the gag, sprang TO my feet, and, at the
top OF my speed, started down the track
In the direction of the approaching
train. With yell which told me was
discovered, the whole gang started in
pursuit; but had some little start of
them, and bounded along the ties, bent
upon stopping the train at any cost.
In the inky blackness of the night pur-
suit was difficult. Soon pop popl popi
from the rcvOlvers of the gang They
were firing down the track, in the hope
OF stopping me with a bullet.
As the gag, which had not removed,
hindered my breathing, was forced TO
stop for moment TO cut il away. While
so engaged, there came a second volley,
this time more successful ! was struck
IN the left arm midway between wrist
and elbow. / should have tainted from
the shock, together with the rough usage
had previously undergone, but for my
determination TO keep up
brace upw called, as il addressing
a companion. ''No time for such foolish.
ness now, Tom. Remember the train %
This l said aloud to myself, for the
solitary work of my nightly rounds had
given me the habit of talking TO myself,
for want Of another companion.
Setting my teeth hard, ] overcame the
iaintness, staggered TO my feet and ran
on. l soon noticed that the pursuit had
ceased. Either the train robbers thought
J was done for, or they had returned to
their unfinished work, trusting ! should
be unable 20 stop the train.
And now it flashed upon my mind for
the first time. How could accomplish
ny Light had none-my lantern was
with { wreckers.
While i was thus deliberatiug. still
running on as fast as nv condition would
permit, instinct vely felt in nv pocket
for matches. All. the oil why had
not thought of that before7 OF course !
"Of course the oil will ston them,
Tom. Spread it on the rails Their old
seventy-ton locomotive can get 10 grip
on that iron. Smear il thick, cover il
well, rub it on with your palm, so-both
rails, don't neglect an inch OF either.
For life, Tom! for life. Think Of the
men, women and little children upon the
train"
] worked with the desperation OF n
downing man. I'pon my knees, the
bottle under my disabled arm, pouring
the oil, by an inclination of my body, into
my right hand, aud spreading it upon
the rails
In ten minutes the quart Of oil was ey-
hausted, and as a result had both rails
for quite a distance very we'll covered
with it.
] had worked backward from the ap-
proaching train, aud now rose TO my feet
at the end of my labor aud at the ter
minus Of the creased rails.
The train was coming.
Already the rails were singing with
vibration as the heavy train approached
Here they come. How awful the sight
Of big locomotive, coming straight
toward one upon a dark midnight The
great, round eve Of the head light stream
ing out into the darkness, the roar Of the
exhaust, the hiss Of the steam through
the cylinders, together with the rush aud
roar OF the train, make up n terrifying
though magnificent sight
/ stood upon the track, waving my
hands, far enough away to spring from h
before the train could reach me. but so
that the head light would shine upon me.
and ! could be seen by the engineer.
"Now for IL" ] thought. She strikes
the Oii--the big, seven-foot driving
wheels spin round as though the engine
had been lifted in the arr
Friction, the propelling influence is
gone now. She slackens speed. could
sec the engineer plainly.
In my excitement ! screamed ne loud
as possible, in vain protest to the onpi.
nccr, who was pulling the lever which
sands the rails.
Shouting is Of no avail, they could not
hear me-
Had there been sufficient upgrade
thero the oil would have stopped them
quite As IL was. the inertia Of the cars
composing the train was able TO push the
engine over. sliding tho wheels
But ono resource was left. and thought
Of 81 just in time. ] stepped as close
to the rails as dared, and with an nv
strength hurled tho empty bottle at the
head light. 10 struck the glass and
shattered il TO splinters, and The light i'm.
stantly went out.
Then came the welcome signal from
the whistle for brakes, and sank down
unconscious.
Whom / recovered a moment mniced
TO tell The story, and proceeding slowly.
we soon came TO the scene Of the trouble.
The rail had been removed and was
lying beside tho track bat, OF course.
the would be wrcckcrs had seen bv orr