Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1890-10-26

Il must speak to her alone before any
thing is said"
sYou SHALL" replied Charles, and he
moved forward little and waited for
the passengers to alight. felt that anv
chance of escape which lay in GLIDING
those keen light eyes would be small in
deed
Then ensued scene of confusion. a
babel of tongues, as the passengers
poured out upon the platform. 'What
was the meaning of it alp" hotly de-
handed an Infatuated little man before
he was well out of his carriage. Why
had train been allowed to start If it
was to be overturned by snow drift?
What had the company been about not
to make itself aware of the state of the
line? What did the railway officials
mean by"-etc., etc.
But he was not going to put up with
such ScandalOuS treatment. He should
cause an inquiry to be made: he should
write to the Times; he Should-in short,
he behaved like a true EngliShman in
adverse circumstances, and poured forth
abuse like water. Others followed
some angry, some silent, all cold and
miserable. A stout woman in black who
had been sent for TO dying child was
weeping aloud; daZed man with bound
up head and terrified wife were pounced
upon Immediately by eXpectant friends
and borne off with vOluble sympathy.
One or two people slightly hurt were
helped out after the others. The train
was emptied at last. Aurelia was not
there. Charles went down the length of
the train, looking in each carriage, and
then came back. Answering Ralph'S
glance with a shake of his head. The
man in black, who seemed To have been
watching him, came up,
"Have all come back by this train?"
Charles asked.
"All, sir, eXcept"-and he heSitated-
except a few. The doctor who went
has not returned. and the guard says
there were some of the passengers badly
hurt-that he would not allow TO be
moved from the farm house when the
train came for them. The engine driver
and one or two others were'--
Charles made sign TO him TO be 81
lent.
"How far is it?" he asked.
Twenty miles, sir
Are the roads practicable?'
NO, sir. At least they would be very
uncertain once you got into the lanes
1--WE can walk along the line" said
Ralph. THAT must be clear. Let US
start at once"
Gould not the station master send MS
down on an engine?" asked Charles.
1--WE would pay well for it,
The police inspector shook his head.
/ but Charles went off TO inquire never
theleSS. and he followed him. | thought
him a very pushing, inquiSitiye kind of
person. have always had great dis
| like TO the idle curiouSity which is con-
tinually prying into the concerns Of
others. Ralph aud | walked up and
down. up and down the now deserted
platform. spoke to him once or twice
but he hardly answered, and after Il
time we gave it up and we paced in 81
lence.
At last Charles returned. His request
for an engine had been refused, but Il
| further relay of workmen was being sent
down the line in a couple of hours time,
and he had obtained leave for himself
and us TO 90 with them. After two
/ long. interminable hours of that ever
/ lasting pacing we found ourselves in an
open truck, full of workmen, Steamng
slowly ont of the station. At the last
moment the man in black jumped in and
accompanied US.
The pace may have been great, bnt to
/ us 10 seemed eXaSperatingly slow. and in
the open truck the cold was piercing.
| The wOrkmen, who laughed and talked
among themselves, appeared 10 take no
notice of il: but | saw that Charles was
Shiyerlng. and presently he made his
brother light his pipe and began to
smoke hard himself.
/ Ralph'S pipe, however, went out UNI
needed in his fingers. He sat quite still,
with his back against the side of the
truck. his eyes fixed upon the gray hori-
ION. Once he turned suddenly to his
/ brother and said. as if unable to keep
silence on what was in his mind.
'What was her obiect?"
Charles shook his head.
They were here already" he wenton.
she would have had them all. II she
/ had had debts l would have paid them.
What could her object have been? And
seemingly, without expecting reply, he
relapSed into silence.
We had left the suburbs now, and
were passing through a lonely country.
Here and there village of Struggling
cottages met the eye. clustering round
their little church. In places the hedge
rows alone marked the line OF the hidden
lanes; in others men were digging out
the roads through drifts OF snow. and
carts and horses were struggling pain
fully along.
In one place little walking funeral
was laborng across the fields from a
/ lonely cottage i'm the direction of the
church, high on the hill, the bell Of
which was tOlling through the Quietalr.
/ The sound reached Us as we passed. and
seemed to accompany us on our way. |
heard the men talking among them
selves that there had been no snow
storm like TO this for thirty years, and
as they spoke some of them began
shading their eyes and trying 10 look in
the direction in which We were going.
We had now reached low waste OF
unincloSed land, with Sedge and gorSe
pricking up everywhere through the
snow. and with long lines Of pollards
marking the beds of a frozen stream.
Near the line was deserted brick kiln,
surrounded by long, uneven mounds and
ridges of ice, with three poplarS mount
ing guard over it. Flights of rocks
hung over the barren ground and
wheeled in the air with diScordant
clamor as we paSSed-the only living,
moving things in the utter deSolation of
the scene. As looked there was aneX-
clamation from one of the wOrkmen and
the engine began to slacken. We were
there at last.
CHAPTER NH.
The engine and trucks stopped. the