St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-10
FROM A COFFIN;
Caught in a Corner.

sThe highest corner ever got into"
said the express messenger. twas when
Twas travelling on the Southern Pacific
road. / had just awoke up out of nap
in the express room. when ] saw some
thing that froze the blood in my veins.
There was coffin in one end
OF the room, and / could just catch
a glimpse of a cruel face turned
toward me. It belonged to train rob-
Der, was sure. and my rifles were on
the other side of the car. If / made a
step he would shoot me dead, and then
notify his associates, who were prob
ably in the passenger car.
We had enough gold on board to make
man rich. l felt the responsibility,
and knew must act at once. l pre-
tended to awaken by making two or
three movements with my hands, and to
my intense relief the cover Of the pine
box quickly and quietly dropped to it's
place. Without making any hurried
motion, rubbed my eyes, gaped once
or twice and slowly rose to my feet.
"Well, WE'LL" ! said aloud. 1--WE
been asleep"
Then proceeded to rummage around
the car as if nothing had happened. but
my nerves were not relaxed an instant.
Before the train had gone five miles
farther had some nails in my pocket.
A quick, careless glance showed me a
hole in the side of the box through
which the robber was undoubtedly
watching every movement made.
l did not go near the revolvers or
rifles. 1t would have taken but
second for him to have raised the lid and
shot me, and knew he would do so if l
approached them. Instead of that /
carelessly assorted a pile of express
matter near the box, with view to
what was to do.
was terribly excited, though tried
to appear cool. When | was all ready,
l threw several heavy packages on the
nailed down the lid. [ heard noise
within, and felt pressure as my priS-
Dner endeavOred to raise the lid. The
weight was too great, and L soon had
all the nails driven in to hold him fast.
He was secured, but to make sure of
him surrounded the box with heavy
bundles, and piled upon it the heaviest
boxes the car contained.
sat down for a minute to recover
myself; then, taking down a rifle. I
cooked it loud enough for him to hear.
How many more are there aboard
the train?" l asked, placing my mouth
to a crack between the boards.
In reply / heard a muffied sound re-
sembling a curse, and as all the holes
through which he might shoot were COW
cred with gold and SILVER, l put my
mouth nearer and asked the question
again.
received no reply, and, going to the
0thar and 0f thn oar | nujAt1V OnpOnl
the door leading to the platform. The
night air rushed In and the noise of the
train with it, making din in my ears.
We were running at high rate of
speed around the hills that abound in
that region.
stepped to the platform of the next
car. 1t was a smoking car. The train
robbers were already at work. Two men
in the forward end, within five feet of
me, commanded view of every pas
senger with their leveled revOverS,
two more were going down the aisle for
the valuables.
1t was terrible moment to me. /
felt a keen sympathy for the passen-
gers, whose terrOr-Stricken faces | could
see in the dim light from the lamps, but
| was helpless; doubtless a similar
scene was being enacted in the other
passenger and sleeping cars.
was hot and cold by turns. l
watched the villains going coolly on
with their work until l began to think
of my own safety. Charley Slate.
brakeman, was bound hand and foot to
the forward seat; in few minutes they
would finish their daring work and
come to my car. l did not doubt that
the fellow l had imprisoned in the pine
box was an accomplce, and if they
should ind the door of the express Car
locked they would break it open to see
what had become of him and kill me if
! resisted.
This would enable them to take pos
session of the money, bullion and valu-
able packages and escape. l knew they
would not kill any one if he did not re-
sist, and inside of five minutes they
would demand an entrance to my car.
Already the two robbers had nearly
reached the farther end of the smoking
car. Thousands of dollars were in my
care: | must save it.
Without any more hesitation
stepped to the platform of my car,
grasped the lever that operated the
Miller coupling. and with quick,
strong pull separated the two draw
heads. was not a moment too soon.
Before the engine and express car had
shot 200 feet ahead OF the train the door
of the smoking car opened and the rob-
bers stepped out. heard their cry of
rage, saw the flashes of their revolvers,
and the bullets struck the woodwork
behind me. Hurrying forward, told
the engineer what | had done.
He heartily approved of my action,
and his words treasured me. l had
taken desperate course, but l had
saved a great deal of valuable property.
We hurried on through the darkness,
and soon reached the next station, from
which the news was telegraphed to the
company's offices in San Francisco and
Tucson. The robber in the pine box
was then secured, but refused to say
word, and with gang of trackmen,
armed, we returned to where we had
left the train. The robbers had de-
parted, taking everything valuable
with them. and the passengers hailed