Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-05-02
IN THE NICK OF TINE

/ OptAtOr az the tiOOQWOUu Sthuon, sat
before her table, on which the telegraph
/ instrument clicked busily a thong htful
expression upon her face.
/ A face whOse expression was it's charm,
| that never could be called pretty, but
/ that, nevertheless, suggested possibility
only possibility-of being handsome.
/ For there is a vast difference between
pretty and handsome. Pretty people
seldom know very much; but to be hand
some, a person must have brains; an
/ inner as well as au outer beauty.
! Floodwood was a forlornly desolate
spot, and one where any woman, except
| Lily, would have been afraid to come,
much less TO stay alone all night with
nothing but the wiud sadly signing
! through the wires overhead and the
shrill shrieks of the wild cats away up on
the mountain side 10 keep her CONF any
through her nightly vigils. But TO her
/ there was something fascinating in the
very desolaticn of the place, From earl 5
! childhood she bad been accustomed TO
commune with nature in her widest
scenes, and played and wandered at will
| in the mountain glens and canons. With
no foolish old womaa or silly nurse girl
to brighten her childish senses with
stories of hideous ghost and monstrOus
! COLLINS, she had grown 20 womaHhood
| naturally brave and fearless, In truth
she did rot yet understand the meaning
/ of the word fear.
Her Office was nothing more than }
roughly built shanty seven or eight feet
/ square, with a small window in each end,
and one in the door which faced the rail
road track. II had been hurriedly put
| together with green lumber while the
| road Was in course of construction, with
| tbs intention OF only using it temporarily
until a better one could be built, bat as
usual in such cases, 1t done duty for its
original purposes ever since.
| The rough implanted boards we're now
| badly warped and shrunkeh by long ex-
poepre to the elements, and in many
| place large knots had fallen completely
out
No doubt, in the Winter time, the bleak
mountain wind cheerily whistied thorugt
| these many apertures, and while one side
of the unhappy operator was being nicely
Drowned like piece of toast by the red
| hot stove, the other side would be refug-
/ Grated like frozsd rabbit.
! Il wac about l O'Clock IN the morning
when Lily received an order from The
/ train dispatcher which read as follows:
"To Operator, FloodwoOd; Hold No.
| q until No. % arrives. +. X. c."
On receipt OF this order she immedi.
ately displayed the red signal light, which
! ia furnished all telegraph stations for
! this purpose, in a conspicuous place, in
plain sight of passing trains, and alsO
! where It could be seen from the Office
window:
The necessity for jhis order and posi-
tion of the two trains, briefly stated, We're
as follows;
| No % had arrived at Silver Greek ten
miles west OF FloodwoOd, a few minnter
! after No. 81 had passed Redwood, which
was thirteen miles east of FlOodwood.
| As No. % was late and could go no
| further on the schedule, according 20 the
| rules Of the road, they would be compel.
| I'd to lay at Silver Greek until No. II
| arrived there, unless they could get orders
| oy telegraph to meet them at some other
I station. FloodwOod being the only IN
| tervening Office between the two trains,
/ the dispatcher gave the above order to
/ station, and "a soon as II was properly
acknowledged by Lily be sent another
order to No. % as Silver Creek which
read in this manner:
"To Conductor and Engineer No, %:
| Meet No. y at Floodwood. Approach
carefully, L. X. c."
| The intelligent reader will readily IN
derstand that by means Of these orders
/ the two trains would meet each other az
| Flood wood in perfect safety notwith-
standing that one Of them know nothing
of the arrangement
To explain: If No. q should arrive
/ first, they would be stopped by the red
! light, which showed that there were orders
/ for them at this station. The conductor
and engineer would Immediately procee d
| TO the telegraph office, where the opera
| tor would deliver them a copy Of the
order to hold them for No. % This
would be sufficient, and they woulc wait
until No. p arrived. II No. % should
arrive FIRST the execution of the order
would he ye. more simple. No p would
/ take siding, and as soon as they were
| clear Lily would be at liberty to take
down the red signal lsntren, and allow
/ No. q to pass without stopping. No. p
/ having arrived the object OF the order
was already fulfilled. If both trains
! should happen to arrive at the same time,
| the red signal light would stop No. q,
/ and 81 No % rad instructions 70 zap
| prOach carefully" they would do 80, ex-
! pecting 10 find Nc. % occupying the
main track.
LILY perfectly Enderstood the import
ance Of the order she he'd just received
and during the long hour, which wore
slowly away, she kept careful watch Of
the signal light, which, however, continu-
I'd TO burn a. brightly a. ever. At las
she heard the rumbling noise away n the
west, which gradually became louaeE and
louder and more distinct By this she
knew that No. % was coming, and would
/ probably get in on the siding before No.
4 II should arrive.
The rumbing became louder and loud
er each moment the earth began to