Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1890-04-05
The Obstructed Track.

Above the fair girl who looked on
of a small dormitory window shon
countless stars; she might have seel
Bootes and Orion had she looked up
but that night the worlds Of HEAVIER
had no attraction for her.
She was listening to a strange sounC
borne from the west by the nocturnal
breeze that chilled her cheek. 81 be
lieve it is Gwynne's Cut" she said a
last, to herself. perhaps some villain
is obstructing the track for devilisl
purposes. The Red Bird will soon b.
due, and this is Eds trip down."
The moonbeams stealing in at the
window, fell on the face of the dia
and told Viola that it was II o'clock.
Twelve" she murmured. "What
- o'clock, and he whistles to me al
half pastl My heavens What if the
track is INSTRUCTED in the cut p
With the last words on her lips, she
turned and soon left the house.
At the gate she paused a moment
and listened. The stars looked
down upon a little object that glittered
like silver in Viola's hand.
She was the belle of the county she
inhabited. Her father was dead, and
with her widowed mother, and little
brother of twelve, she dwelt in the
humble house won by the sweat Of hel
fathers brow. A railway station
called Beaumont, was the only settle
ment near, and it was six miles from
her home.
The brace of shrieks, loud and
shrill, which sounded every night, told
her who drove that engine toward thai
great city on the Mississippi's banks
They recalled the day, one year since
when the first engine she had ever seer
had stopped at Beaumont, scarcely {
station then. The engineer was young
and handsome as he saw her examin
ing the great driving wheels, and look
ing with wonderment upon the mighty
beauties of his iron pet, he leaped tt
the ground.
"a pretty piece of machinery" sale
he to her, "and she goes like bird"
She blushed when she caught hi
eye, and the sound of his voice thrilled
her. A week later she found hersel
at the station talking to him again
By and by Ed Gordon, the engineer
carried a picture over his heart, ant
on Vola's bureau lay the photograph
semblance of his face.
But to return to the night wheI
Viola left her home to investigate tn
sounds that seemed to come from
Gwynne's Cut. Viola at last reached
the cut, into which the mellow moon
beams fell, and paused. Something
high and dark INSTRUCTED the tract
before her, at the very spot where tn
cattle guard seemed to be, and sh
held her breath. 1t was II o'clocl
when she left the house, and her wall
had occupied number Of preciou
minutes. The shrieks of the Re,
Bird would soon be heard, and
moment thereafter its headlight woul
flash into the cut or gorge. She say
more than pile of strong ties on tn
track. She saw the dark figure of ;
man moving about among the pyra
mids, as if contemplating his night
work, and specializing upon the deaf
and ruin it would cause. She watch
ed until she believed that one ma
had accomplished the diabolical deco
and then she crept forward throug
the shadow of the bushes that line
the side of the cut, until she stoo
within ten feet Of him.
"Pll go back to the station, now,
she heard him say to himself. 81 ca
get there before the accident, an
when it occurs, why | can run u
there and see him under the ruins {
his engine, so crushed that the dol
faced girl will not recognize him.
The last words, full of devil
triumph, still quivered on his lip
when Viola stepped from the shadow
and thrust the muzzle of her revolvt
into his face.
"This is your revenge, Morga
Dnke," she said, looking sternly int
his eyes. "Now, obey my command
or there will be lifeless body ON tn
track, to be mingled among the ruin
of the night express. To work
once, off with your coat, and remov
every obstruction your wicked han'
have placed there
"The train can't be saved now" !
said, and there was joy in his tone
at took me one long hour to obstru
the guard. In twenty minutes or les
perhaps, you'll see the Red Bird
headlight up the cut
"Villainl' she cried, eff this trat
is not clear when | see her headligt
I'll drive bullet through your brai
You know what to do. I'll talk !
longer"
Ha vyorkad for dear life for