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

in his hand, he climbed rapidly up IN
signal-post, and was overjoyed TO find tn
passenger train stopping just on the sta
ton side of the distance-slgnal. Trent
ling with excitement, he turned in tn
direction whence the goods train woul
come and anxiously waited the sound c
its approach. Several seconds, which t
him seemed hours, elapsed before ther
was any sign of the approach of the good
train. The passenger train, however, still
long oblique lines Of light in the mist
air. At length, with futtering heart, h
caught the faint sound of Duffy's trail
approaching, and soon the headlight:
overshadowed by cloud of steam, colder
with the furnace light, began to twinkl
dimly, like the stars at twilight in tn
| distance.
"Now or never" thought Armstrong
taking two or three turns of the core
around his hand. He then tugged lustil,
at the cord, but the counter-weight woul(
not rise. With an oath, he twisted hi
legs around the signal post, passed tn,
cord through the lattice-work littl,
above him, so as to obtain a better pur
chase, seized the cord with both hands anC
pulled with all his might. The weigh
yielded to this violent effort; the signal
arm descended Armstrong; wild laugh
of Joy at the accomplishment of his nefari
Gus purpose was almost Immediately stifec
by cry of terror and pain. In his excite
ment he had forgotten that his head was
Immediately below the signal-arm, and hi:
savage tug at the counter-weight had
brought the signal-arm down upon hi:
head with terrible and fatal force. Hi;
nerveless limbs loosened from the signal
and falling with thud upon the slopine
embankment he was shot over the edge o.
the sheer precipice that formed one side o.
the rock cutting and landed upon he OPP.
posite line.
Meatime the goods train had entered
the rock-cutting. The signal-arm having
been lowered until it was in line with the
signal-post, and having been checked by
the ENHANCEMENT of the cord in the lattice.
work when it had only returned half way,
stood at clear. But for this accident,
Armstrong; fendish scheme would have
been frustrated; for the supports being
taken away from the counter-weight, it
would have descended, and so elevated the
signal again. And now, to crafty one
mans jealousy and hatred and punish one
man, hundred innocent men and women
in the passenger train were to be sacrificed.
As the goods train came on, rafting and
roaring through the cutting, the driver
and stoker, all unconscious of the i'm
minent peril in which they were, stood on
the foot-plate watching the signals and the
line in front of them. A glance at the
signal, as he caught sight of it, showed
Duffy that it stood at clear. His eye then
wandered downward towards the rails,
when suddenly it was arrested by dark
object lying on the other line.
''Thats surely a man lying on the up
line, Tom," he remarked to his fireman,
laying his hand upon the regulator.
"Good God, so it isr cried Tom in great
excitement.
Without another word the steam was
shut of, the link-gear reversed, and the
brake applied, for the two men knew that
the up express was due in three minutes,
and that if the man who was lying on the
line-who might be unconscious through
drink or through having fallen over-was
left there, he must inevitably meet with
horrible death.
As the train stopped with shock and
humping of buffers and clsnking of coup
ling-chains along its whole length, Duffy
jumped down into the six-foot way with
the engine-lamp in his hand. Bending
over the huddled-up form. he held the
light above the blood-covered face and
peered into it. A few seconds elapsed be-
fore Duffy moved; and Tom, wondering
why he knelt so long looking into the I'M
conscious mans face, jumped down beside
them and asked: as he dead, Duffy"
EYES," answered Duffy, raising his head
as if he had Just awakened out Of a dream.
"Who is hep continued Tom.
armstrong, the smith"
At this moment the brakemen of the
train came along to see what was wrong;
and after Tom had explained the matter
to him they lifted the dead man and car
ried him to the van. Duffy and Tom then
returned to the engine, and were just about
to start the train to advance to the station
and see what could be done with Arm
strong, when Tom caught sight of some one
running along the line with lamp in his
hand.
"Whats up?7 cried Duffy.
"Who can this be, and what can he be
wanting?" asked Tom.
At this point the man with the lamp
approached the engine; and when he had
come within the light of the furnace the
two men recognized him as the signal
man. SITS blessing you noticed it p he
cried, painting with the exertion of run
ming so fast.
"Noticed WHAT" both men on the en-
CINE exclaimed simultaneously.
Something's wrong with the signal.
It's standing at clear Just now, and yet
the levers right for danger | heard you
passing it without slowing up, and then
noticed the signal was wrong. I'm glad
you saw the train in front in time to pull
up"
as there a train IN front ~ Duffy asked
@There is. The 7:27 passengers blocked
there by truck that went off the rails
All at once the whole matter became
clear to Duffy. Armstrong had been try
ing to wreck the train, and had apparently
fallen down into the cutting when putting
the finishing touches to this trap for his
enemy. Although Duffy thought this per-
fectly plain, he did not breathe word of
his thoughts to those around him. Was
not his enemy lying dead in the van
He would let bygones be bygones.
'sNo; we didn't notice that" he said to
the signal-man. I'VE stopped because we
saw a man lying on the up line"
Here the signal-man climbed on to the
engine, and the up express went thunder
ing past, creating miniature and mo-
mentary hurricane as it went.
Its Armstrong the smith, added Duffy.
@He's dead
as that so - the signal-man exclaimed,
and then lapsed into silence, feeling unable
to say anything appropriate to the circum-
stances.
arn 60 up with you and see what's
wrong with the signal Duffy said to the
pointsman after pause,
Reaching the signal they found the
cord loosened 1t from the trellis-work OF
the signal-post and let the couDter-weight
fall again. 1t had not suggested itself to
the sienal-man that any connection existed