Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-03-01
ERMSTROEG'S REVENGE.

4
battered wooden building, the surround
ings of which at once proclaimed it to be
smithy, although through the chinks in 1t
weather-beaten walls no forge-6re CLEANED
or cherry hammer rang The plowman
astonished to see the place shut at an houl
long after that at which the blacksmith
usually started work, retired pace or two
and gazed up at the chimney; and, not
seeing even the faintest trace Of smoke
issuing thence, he turned and looked about
him with puzzled expression on his fee
A man breaking stones on the other side
of the road, noticing the farm-seryant's
bewilderment approached, and, after the
usual, morning salutation, proceeded to ex-
plain what had become Of the blacksmith.
We will give that explanation in our own
words:
Hamilton Armstrong was the name OF
the blacksmith in question His shop was
situated close to a wayside station on the
main line of one of the great Scotch rail-
ways, but at considerable distance from any
town or village. Being, however, kept
pretty busy at work for the neighboring
farmers. and being consequently well-to-do,
and having, moreover, as his nearest female
neighbor a pretty girl, the daughter of the
porter at the railroad station, it was the
most natural thing in the world that he
should wish to make her his wife. I'm
fortunately this was more easily determined
on than done, for he had a rival. This
rival was the driver of goods train which
was almost daily shunted into the siding
near Sarah's house, to allow of passenger
express passing, and he took advantage of
this momentary respite to chat with the
porter's daughter. Whether it was because
he was a far-away bird that his feath-
ers seemed fairer than Armstrong; in Sa-
rah's sight or whether he was intrinsically
q man Of more worth, the gossips-for
there were gossips even in those solitudes
were not agreed. Rightly or wrongly,
however, Sarah gave him the preference.
Having made up his mind to ask Sarah
to be his wife, Armstrong was not long in
doing so. Though he knew he had rival,
he was hardly prepared to hear from Sarah
that she had already promised to marry
Duffy, the engine-driver. But Armstrong
was not going to yield without making
special effort to win her. He pleaded
long and fervently with her to retract her
promise to his rival, whom he was per-
suaded she had only accepted because he
had been the first to ask her. But Sarah
was quite sincere, Duffy being really the
man of her choice, and Armstrong pleaded
in vain.
For the next week or two, the black
smith moped about and did scarcely any
work. On the day on which Sarah's
marriage was to take place he left the
smithy in the evening, and went wandering
into the country, returning late at night.
Next morning he went away again, now
walking with uneasy step along the quiet
country lanes, and now sitting dejectedly
by the roadside, muttering to himself
The neighbors soon came to hear of his
strange behavior, and it was whispered
that he must have gone out of his senses,
as an uncle of his had done under
similar affection.
"That was yesterday" the stone-breaker
wound up, "and he's away along the road
by the railway this morning. They
should look after him or he'll be lying
down in front of some train, or jumping
down into the deep rock-cutting and
breaking his neck"
If Hamilton Armstrong had not gone
mad, as people supposed, he certainly acted
like a mailman. Stung to the quick by
his rejection, he had no heart for his work.
He shut up his smithy, and went out to
try to walk off the fever that burned with
in him. Proceeding along the path by
the side OF the railway, his heart filed
with bitter hatred, the idea of taking
terrible revenge upon Duffy gradually
shaped itself in his mind. At first he
tried to shut his ears to the suggestion of
the tempter; but little by little he grew
famiHarized with the idea, until he got so
demoralized that ne began to think in
speculative way how he could best avenge
himself upon the engine-driver. Duffy's
train always passed the station, going east,
about half-past in the evening. Shortly
before it came the twenty-seven minutes
past passenger train. The device of
placing an obstruction on the line sug-
gested itself, only to be Immediately set
aside. At this point in his meditations,
the sound ola signal going down suggested
to him the idea of tampering with the
signals.
He returned home and retired to rest.
Tossing restlessly on his bed, be was re-
volving ia his mind his various schemes Of
revenge, when a diabolical idea struck him
of plan whereby he would be able to
accomplish his object without leaving any
trace Of foul play, so that the whole blame
of the catastrophe would fall upon Duffy,
who would not survive to tell his side of
the story, or even if he did, and asserted
his Innocence, would not be believed.
Armstrong noticed that if the counter
weight at the bottom of the signal-post
were lifted up, it would allow the signal
arm TO 90 down, Just as if it had cen low
cred bv means Of the lever in the signal
cabin. the wire between the cabin and the
counter-weight remaining motionless all
the time: while as soon as the counter
weight was lowered again, no trace would
remain of the signal having been touched.
By adopting this mode of lowering the
signal, the objection to this aforementioned
plan would be done away with. The only
danger would be that the poiutsman might
notice that the signal was down; but that
was not likely, as the lifting of the coun-
ter-weight would not affect the lever in
the signal-box, and it was improbable that
the signal-man's ewes would be drawn to-
wards the signal when he was not either
lowering IL or pulInS II UP. Luis pan
would enable Armstrong to get some dis
lance away, and 50 prevent suspicion fas-
tenine upon him; and the fact Of the sig
nal being found all right afterwards would
preclude all possibility of a suspicion of
the signal having been tempered with.
Armstrong had begun his speeulations
with the view only OF discovering how he
could be avenged on Duffy, if he wished
to avenge himself. The successful issue Of
them in a plan securing at once the death
OF his rival and immunity from detection
to himself was the cause Of his resolving
10 20 further. Thus by imperceptihle de-
erees he had been drawn into plotting
murder.
In an almost gleesome mood he rose in
the morning and fastened along the EN-.
! hnnl-n,ert n the sicnal which he proposed