Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1890-09-20
In THE NICK OF TIME.

Miss Lily Somers, night telegraph
operator at the Floodwood station, sat
before her table on which the telegraph
instrument clicked busily. thoughtful
expression upon her face
A face whose expression was It's charm.
that never could be called pretty, but
that, nevertheless. suggested a possibility
only a possibility-of being handsome.
For there Is n vast difference between
pretty and handsome. Pretty people
handsome. n person must have brains;
an inner as well rs an outer beauty.
Fioodwood was a forlorniy 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 wind sadly signing
through the wires overhead and theshrill
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 fascinating In the
very desolatiln of the place. From early
childhood sia had been accustomed to
commune with nature In her widest
scenes. and played and wandered at viii
In the mountain glens and canyons. With
no foolish old woman or silly nurse girl
to frighten her childish senses with sto-
ries Of hideous ghosts and monstrous COB
lins, she had grown TO womanhood nat
urally brave and fearless. In truth she
did not vet understand the meaning Of
the word fear.
Her Office was nothing more than q
roughly built shanty, seven or eight feet
square. with small window In each
end and one in the door which faced the
railroad track. II had been hurriedly
put together with green luhber while
the road was In course OF construction,
with the intention of only using Il tenn
porarily until better one could be built,
but, AZ usual In such cases. IL had done
duty for its original purpose ever since.
The rough. unpainted boards were now
badly warped and shrunken by long ex-
posure TO the elements, and In many
places large knots had fallen completely
out.
No doubt In the winter time the bleak
mountain wind cheeriiy whistled through
these many spertures. and while one side
of the unhappy operator was being nice
ly Drowned like piece Of toast by the
red hot stove the other side would be re-
frigerated like frozen rabbit.
It was about ! o'clock In the morning
when Lily received an order from the
train dispatcher which read as follows:
"ToOperator. Floodwood: Hold No. 81
until No. 90 arrives. E.K. c."
On receipt of this order she immedi.
ately displayed the red signal light.
which is furnished all telegraph stations
for this purpose, in conspicuous place.
In plain sight Of passing trains, and also
where IL could be seen from the office
window.
The necessity for this order and posi-.
tion Of the two trains. briefly stated. were
an follows;
No. 90 had arrived at Silver Greek. ten
miles west of Floodwood. few minutes
after No. 81 had passed Redwood, = hich
was thirteen miles east Of Floodwood.
As No. % was late and could 20 no
further on the schedule, according TO the
rules Of the road. they would be COM
PEELED to lay at Silver Creek until No. 81
arrived there, unless they could &c,
orders by telegraph to meet them at
some other station. Floodwood being
the only intervening telegraph Office be-
tween the two trains. the dispatcher gave
the above order TO that station. and al
soon as 1t was properly acknowledged by
Lily he sent another order TO No. % nj
Silver Greek. which read In this manner
ITO Conductor and Engineer No. 90
Meet No. 81 at Floodwood. Approach
carefully. E. K. G."
The intelligent reader will readily ln
derstand that by means OF these ORDER
the two trains would meet each other Al
Floodwood in perfect safety. notwith
standing that one of them knew nothing
of the arrangement
To explain; II No. 81 should arriv,
first, they would be stopped by the rec
light, which showed that there were or
ders for them ut this station. The con
dnctor and engineer would Immediately
proceed 10 the telegraph Office. wher'
the operator would deliver them . cop,
Of the order TO hold them for No. %
This would he sufficient, and they woul,
wait until No. 90 arrived. n No. Q
nDuulu MTANo HfSt, Attt t4cCuttuu VI VI
order would be yet more simple. No. Q
would take siding. and as soon as the.
were clear Lily would be at liberty Q
take down the red signal lsntefn, an
allow No 81 TO pass without stopping
No % ving arrived, the object of th
order was already fulfilled. II bot
trains should happen TO arrive at tn
same time. the red signal would stop Nc
2i, and as No. % had instructions :
approach carefully" they would do SC
expecting 10 find No. 81 occupying tn
main track.
Lily perfectly understood the import
ance of the order she had just received
and during the long hour which woE
slowly away she kept careful watch {
the signal light which, however, col
tinued to burn as brightly as ever. A
last she heard rumbling noise away !
the west which gradually became louds
and louder and more distinct. BY Ia
she knew that No. % was coming an
would probably get in on the siding b
tore No. 81 should arrive.
The rumbling became louder and louds
each moment; the earth began % tren
bic and the peculiar vibration In the .