The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-04-27
IN THE NICK OF TINE.
Clever Action Of an Operator Dur
ing Imminent Danger.

Miss Lily Somers. night telegraph
operator at the Floodwood station, sat
before her table, on which the tele-
graph instrument clicked busily, d
thoughtful expression upon her face.
A face whose expression was its
charm, that never could be called pref
~, but that, nevertheless, suggested a
possibility-only possibility-of be-
ing handsome. For there is a vast diff
ference between pretty and handsome.
Pretty people seldom know very much;
but to be handsome, a person must
have brains; an inner as well as an
outer beauty.
FloOdwoOd was forlOrnly dcsolate
spot, and one where any woman, ex-
cept Lily, would have been afraid to
come, much less to stay alone all night
with nothing but the wind, sadly sigh
ing through the wires overhead and
the shrill shrieks of the wild cats away
up on the mountain side to keep her
company through her nightly vigils.
But to her there was something fasci-
mating in the very desolation of the
place. From early childhood she had
been accustomed TO commune with ma
turc in her widest scenes, and PLAYED
and wandered at will in the mountain
glens and canyons. With no foolish old
woman or silly nurse girl to brighten her
childish senses with stories of hideous
ghosts and monstrous COLLINS, she had
grown to womanhood naturally brave
and fearless. In truth she did not vet
understand the meaning of the word
fear
Her Office was nothing more than a
roughly built shanty, seven or eight
feet square, with small window in
each end. and one in the door which
faced the railroad track. 1t had been
hurriedly put together with green lum-
Der while the road was in course of
construction, with the intention of only
using it temporarily until letter
one could be built, but as usual in such
eases, it lad done duty for its original
purpose ever since.
The rough, implanted boards were
now badly warped and shrunken by
long exposure to the elements, and in
many places large knots had fallen
completely out.
No doubt, in the winter time, the
bleak mountain wind cheerily whistled
through these many apertures. and
while one side of the unhappy operator
was being nicely Drowned like a piece
of toast by the rcd-hot stove, the other
side would be refrigerated like frozen
rabbit.
Ii was about enc o'clock in the morn
ing when Lily received an order from
the train dispatcher which read as fol-
lows:
''To OPERATOR, FLooDwCoD Hold No. 81
until No. - arrives. Z, X. c."
On receipt of this order she immedi-
.atcly displayed the red signal light,
which is furnished all telegraph sta
lions 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 this order and posi-
ton of the two trains. briefly stated,
gwere as follows:
No. % had arrived at Silver Creek
ten miles west of FloodwOod, a few
minutes after No. q had passed Red
wood, which was thirteen miles east of
Floodwood. As No. % was late and
.r,n,,l6 f,,t hat tha unhol,,lo
according to the rules of the road, they
would be compelled to lay at Silver
Greek until No. 81 arrived there, unless
they could get orders by telegraph to
meet them at some other station. Flood
wood. being the only intervening tele-
graph Office between the two trains.
sac dispatcher gave the above order to
that station, and as soon as it was
properly acknowledged by Lily he sent
another order to No. % at Silver Creek,
which read in this manner:
''To CONDUCTOR AND ESGINEER No. %:
Meet No. 81 at Floodwood. Approach carefully
+. X c.
The intelligent reader will readily
understand that by means of these or
.ders the two trains would meet each
Other ut Floodwood in perfect safety,
Notwithstanding that one of them knew
nothing Of the arrangement.
To explain: If No. 81 should arrive
'First. they would be stopped by the red
digit, which showed that there were
orders for them at the station. The