The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1890-05-23
3 WoMpestul oAf.

An Ugly, 6nrsgey sCrcatnre oasoo 3 49,
r01d Train from D~estENoEaooS
As the train was about 20 Spullea4ee
tho Broad street station, says . Vfteets
in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I toooe.
nized an old friend In the engineer. He
nodded to me and I jumped into theeab.
Dick and I shook hands and ha intro
duced me to his fireman. q younR fol-
low with large, truthful, honest eyes.
and tho most innoccnt-looking face I
ever saw. Perched on the seat vas
huge black cat, ugly, scraggy, and With
q ground plan Of fur that looked like =
railroad map, IL vas 30 ptowed and
cut up.
Naturally I noticed the cat and asked
what II was doing there.
That's q wonderful cat" said the
youthful tircman, land thereby hsnesSa
tale. Do you want it??n
"Of courso."
"Well, about . week ago we-Nick
and me-were making the run between
Philadclphia and Trenton. 1t was :
dirty, black night-oold and . driv-
ing rain, and we werc-that IL,
Dick was-bchind time, and We
were-that Is, Dick was-making
her hum for all she was worth.
We-that Is, Dick-had . clear track and
the right Of way. A few feet ahead Of
the pilot 1t was as black as nothing.
We q driving into chaos 1t the ratio
OF sixty miles an hour. I could not hclp
thinking that IL we ran into any thing
we'd know mor about the other world
than was ever written in books, and I
said a little prayer that I had learned
in Sunaay-scnool. Tho prayer didn't
seem 10 do me much good, and I asked
Dick 1t 1t was necessary to run 30 fast.
Dick gave me q look Of mild contempt,
and then ! got on my dignity and felt ~
1t I'D rat Their like to strike somcshtne
just to Change that look of Disk's to ono
of surI rise. This was wicked, I knew,
but l couldn't help it.
directly in front of me-, . spltntering OF
glass in tho cab window, and this cat
came tumbling in. My heart got right
up in my throat and I thought ia
choke. saw Dick turn pale, and, ter
riaed as I was, l remembered being glad
at 1t. He didn't lose his head though
Dick never does-but reversed the ma
chine, and when the train stopped we
that is. Dick-got out to INVESTIGATES.
And what do you think? There was .
rail misplaced within o dozen feet Of the
place where we had stopped. Tho flag
man at tho switch had seen It and had
stationed himself up the track to signal
us. He had q pet cat which followed
him wherever he went. Tho cat was
with him as usual. When he hoard US
laundering down upon him his lantern
VENT out. He laid it down to relight it.
Agust Of wind caught it and it rolled
down the embankmcnt. Here was q
state of things. The fiagman wal quick
to act, however, and grabbing his faith
full cat by the tail no hurled it at the
cab as we ratified by. Here is the cat
that saved our train. Didn't you, Dan
gcr??"
Tho cat bumped its back in recogni-
ton, and l looked ut the frank, limo
cent face of the boy. He returned the
look with wide-open, truthful evcs.
"Shadcs OF Mount Vernon! What .
liar that fellow Isl" said Dick to me in .
whisper. s'lle has the reputation Of be-
ing the biggest liar On the road. He'd
finish first in q race with Tom Ochiltrce.
That cat story is tho latest 'saved-the-
train business. I saw him fish that cat
out of the ditch o few days ago."