The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-01-05
BY WILLIAM PITTENGER,
MEnBER or TIE EXHIBITION.
copyrighted, 1887, by War Publishing Co., N. Y,
and published by arrangement with them.l
CHAPTER VIII.
An APPALLING STRUGGLE.

An APPALLING STRUGGLE.
Once more we were on board and awayi
We would soon know whether we were to
hAve'a clear track Mt Adairsville or to re-
peat the vexRtious and dangerous expert
ence OF Kingston. Once more the engine
was given full force; we in the box car
were thrown from side to side, sometimes
a little roughly; but this did not diminish
onr JOY over the rapid motion which was
idevouring" the distance between US and
our friends in TENNESSEE AS we came in
sight Of the station, there to our great
satisfaction lay the freight train, which,
indeed, had long been waiting for us,
as we were now q half hour behind
the time of Fuller's passenger train, and
also waiting for the morning passenger
train from Chattanooga, which should
have oyertaken the freight at this point,
but which was also late Indeed, the
panic inChattanooga and the extra trains
on the road had disordered the whole
schedule and enormously increased our
difficulties. AS we came near the sta
ton, speed was slackened and we stopped
on tho main track beside the through
freight. Andrews at once answered the
usual storm of questions and asked others
In turn. He heard still more of Aditchel's
operations, how he seemed to have
captured all their trains on the western
road, so that for twenty-four hours not
car had got through, and that the tele-
grams were being interrupted further and
further up the road, so that, from every
indication, he was coming to Chattanooga.
But Andrews was still more interested In
skiing news OF the down passenger train,
hich was now half an hour late. No in
fmation was received, but the freight
nductor had determined to run on south
the arrival of Fuller's train, in hAr-
bny with their rule OF railroadin1 at
nat time, by which following train was
be waited for only certain length Of
lime, after which the waiting train had
lhe right to proceed. Andrews approved
81 that intention, saying that Fuller with
he regular train would probably wait for
Inn at Kingston. Andrews might have
ED this train here by giving message
from Fuller, but he preferred to get rid
II, so that II compelled to back before
belated passenger, it might not be in
be way; and IL compelled to fight, the
swer OF the enemy the better; otherwise
. running down to the place Of the bro
ken rail was undesirable. The conductor
aid to Andrews:
"You OF course will remain here until
my passenger train comes, and tell them
% overhaul me at kingstonp'
mo-" returned Andrews, az must &C
IT oncei the fate OF the army hangs on my
getting promptly through with those car
Dads OF ammunition. Suppose the Yam
ees attack Beauregardi He has not pow
er enough for three hours fight"
orgetting all about Mitchell being in the
Yay, the conductor (the men on both sides
ad heard the conversation, but had not
oined in it periodically said:
"Get through by all means; but you
will have to run very slow and put y flag
nan ont on every curve, or you will have
collision"
Andrews answered quickly: 'I will
ttend TO that stepped on his own engine
md motIoned to Knight, who was still at
10 throttle. The latter, hearing the words
bout running slowly, had put ON the
eam In a gradual manner, and the engine
lided away at n moderate rate OF speed.
But this was rot to last; neither was
ny fagmnn TO be sent ahead; there had
BEEN delays enough. The time had como
when IL was wise to take a terrible risk.
We dared not wait for the passenger train
ecause OF the pursuers we had heard, and
the freight which had started toward
Ae break; and we must reach the station
bove before the passenger started outl
rom Adairsville to Calhoun, the next
alton that had . side track, is little
lore than nine miles. The road runs d.
ectly north, Is almost straight, and but
stle removed from level; this IL the most
favorable stretch for running Gu the whole
Line. Andrews said to his comrades: "Make
her show how fast she can go; every sec
nd saved in getting to Calhoun counts"
whose nerves had all morning been thrill
az with suppressed fire may be imaginedi
II'he engine was in the finest running con-
iition. Knight had oiled 1t carefully dur
ng the long waiting at Kingston, and
gain, in part, at AdairsVille, and q heavy
rressur. of steam had accumulated during
The pause at the latter station. Now the
full force OF the mighty power was turned
bn at once, while oil was poured on sticks
and these fed into the furnace. The three
cars and twenty men were no load for the
powerful engine, and 1t sprung to its work
with a shock that nearly took every man
from his feetl The race against time which
followed was grand and terrible. The en-
CINE seemed to be not so much running as
oursing with great lionlike bounds along
ae track, and the spectacle from the loco
Motive as 1t rose and fell in its ceaseless
apid motion, while houses, fields and woods
ushed by, was wonderful and glorious,
lmost worth the risk to enjoy! In the box
ar we were thrown from side to side and
erked about in a manner that battles
cscription. The car was so close to the
ngine that IL felt every impulse of power
nd there was no following train to steady
Many times we were startled with the
lomentary conviction that we were OF
he track; but there was no cessation OF
ar rapid flight We hardly knew what
meant, and though we pushed our door
artly open, the risk of being thrown out
as too great to permit us to open 1t wide;
md gazing at the panorama that fitted
~, with lightning like rapidity, we could
ain no clew to this frantic and perilous
hase, for there was no indication of fol-
lowing train that we could perceive.
There was no danger of being seen in the
opening OF our door, for the rapid fight of
the train would have attracted all the at
IGNITION that anything upon the car could.
Andrews scarcely looked ahead while
making this run. Brown and knight,
however, did keep n sharp lookout, sim
MY Tor the purpose OF seeing when We
Pine near the station that they might
iut Of steam and be able TO stop there.
They had no hope OF reversing or stop
ping, IL they saw the belated passenger
train approaching As well try to reverse
. cannon ball in its flight II the train had
started out from Calhoun before we came
IN sight IL was simply and inevitably
death for every one of us; and the people
OF the other train would not have Jared
much better.
Our fireman, j. A. Wilson, very graph
ically describes this fearful effort to con-
Quer time:
sour locomotive was under a full head
OF steam The engineer stood with his
hand on the lever, with the valve wide
open It was frightfnl to see how the