The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-04-25
FOILED BY A GIRL.

Fl $4,000
While in a small town in Wyoming
Territory / learned that a lady living
| there had been the heroine Of a thrill
ing adventure with train robbers, and
curiosity and love for the brave in
duced me to call on her to tell me the
story. When I went to her house |
was welcomed by a handsome lady
about thirty, and in response to my
earnest request for this one chapter of
her life, she related the following
"In 1878, when but a girl of eighteen,
l left my home in Omaha and came
out here to fill the lonesome position
of night operator at a small station on
the Pacific railway in this Territory.
| 1t was a dreary, desolate spot in the
midst of a desert. The only buildings
at the station, apart from the depot,
We're a section house Occupied by a
track foreman and a few Chinese la
borers. a water tank and a coal shed.
The day operator and agent, a mere
| boy, slept at the section house, about
two hundred yards distant, so that
during the long, dreary night / was
alone in the depot.
mo. 4 express train, bound east, was
due at 2:15 in the morning, but it never
stopped unless signaled, and as this
was the only train during the latter
part of the night you can imagine my
lonely situation upon the desert wild.
l had my books and guitar for COM
panions and passed much of my time
reading, and when the doleful howl
ings of the wolves were borne to my
ears from the distant sand hills / would
pick up my guitar and endeavor to
drown their cries with music and song.
Zone night, shortly after midnight,
as l sat at my table reading a late
novel, | thought l heard a shutting
footstep on the station 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 l
always kept locked, and a strange feel
ing came over me. During my several
weeks stay at the station | had never
had a visitor, and the sudden knock,
the stiffness of the night, caused my
| lOIlA W GlCllO1C aAl0 LILY OlACCh w
blanch.
my first thought was of Indians,
and then [ reasoned that it might be
some tramps desiring shelter. While
l sat there in alright, the knock was
repeated louder than before and mus
tering all my courage l approached
the door and Asked
"'Who's there?
ga OpuH voice rnnliq1.-
"A traveller who desires to take
the east bound train
ut was my plain and unmistakable
duty to admit him, and with trelnb-
ling fingers | drew the bolt.
'Instantly the door was pushed vio-
lently open, and l 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 to
me and, pointing a large revolver to
my head, said in q low, firm voice.
Zeal, we don't want to hurt you,
but if you make q suspicious move or
scream, or give any alarm SO that any
o. the men in the section house kin
hear you, I'll Spite the looks o. that
pretty face with a bullet. Be quiet
and sanSihla and behave Yourself and
var sban,t he hurt, WARS YER red
signal lamp?'
What would you doy'I gasped.
want to hear any unnecessarv hack
talk and no imnerrinent Questions
Wbar;s the red lamng
"a thrill Of horror swent ovar mo
when the truth burst unon me thar !
was in tbe hands of a band Of desner-
ate train robbers whose evident infen-
tion was to signal the train and rob
the aynress ear at nv station What
could + do2 II was VET three hours
mill the train was due hut I could
not e,ude NV canfors t. arouse tha
%saction mon and I knew nv the noiv
oIeam in the leaders ewes throuoh fhe
Snlas in his mask thaf If I made tbe
least outcrv he would not hesitate to