The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-09-15

4 Shall UC angry! OOinC nChO1
'Oh, you say that because you can't
catch meF
"Come backi will give you cake"
'"That isn't true; you haven't one. You
want to make me come back"
eyes, l don't want you to stay there
The express train is comingi"
"Oh, shan't let you catch mel The
train has gone by"
"There is another"
Instead of replying, the child said, "Run
after me, papa, runP'
Laurence saw there was nothing to De
done but to run after her and take her out
of danger. He rushed toward the place
where he heard her voice. 1t was dark and
Alice escaped him still. His alarm in
creased. At any instant the whistle of the
oncoming train might be heard. and Lau-
renee redoubled his appeals.
His voice was hoarse with fright; the
fatal moment approached, and still the
child laughed and repeated, "You can't
catch mel'
| Now the whistle sounded. The lugubri-
Gus call paralyzed the poor man, and he
lost his head completely. The train would
have two victims if he did not regain his
composure. Two victimsl 1t would be a
catastrophe with incalculable conse-
! quences; for train was stopping at the
station little way ahead, and if the ex-
press was not turned off there must invari-
ably be collision.
| Laurence shook off his torpor.
"Alicel" he cried, in laundering tones.
"Here, papa" And the child continued
to give sharp little calls, which mingled in
the roar of the approaching engine
The instinct of duty, rather than will,
urged Laurence toward the points. He
seized the instrument which ought to turn
the train.
NO. he exclaimed, ''I must save her!
Alice-Alice, where are your" and his eyes
sought to pierce the darkness.
The man, with hair on end, thought of
throwing himself before the huge iron
monster.
But one chance remained-that Alice
was not on the track over which the train
must pass. He looked again-he saw her.
She was there, standing on the very track
the train must take if he altered the points.
If the iron tempest did not take it's true
course, the child was saved. The train
would go on to crash against the one at
the station. What matterl Alice would
be alive! All this went through his mind
like lightning. They would be killed and
wounded-twenty families in despair-but
Alice would be safe and sound. There
would be an inquest. He would be con-
demned to prison, dishonored ruinedl But
his daughter, his little Alice, would live
and be happy. All, how quickly one can
think in such terrible momentsl
The train came laundering on, but it
could not be seen on account of a sharp
curve in the road. There was still time to
save Alice, but the child would not stir.
1t seemed to her father that she waited for
the train with an air of defiance.
'Alice," he repeated, in voice stran-
gled by fear-"Alice, come herel You will
kill mel"
Suddenly the advancing lights of the en-
CINE appeared. The train was upon him
it was here. The man felt his whole being
shake Hcwas bewildered-could see moth
ing.
Thought did not stop, however, but trav-
eled faster than the train. He recalled in
a second his honorable life; he had always
sacrificed everything to duty. He saw in
the station the frightful accident he would
have caused, and heard the cries of the
wounded, the last gasps of the dying. The
problem was before him-his daughter or
others? There was no alternative without
a miracle
With astonishing promptitude the senti-
ment of duty became most powerful, and
he seized mechanically the hands of the
iron bar. T. stoical pointsman at this
moment was uppermost, and effaced the
father. He pushed, hardly knowing what
he did, and the express train crossed the
points.
On, on it went, and he could see it pas
sing before the station, going by as if it
were happy to escape a danger, and disap-
pearing in the darkness.
Duty had been strongest. Stupefied, |
staggered, speechless, Laurence was rooted |
to the spot, holding still the cursed handle !
which had helped him to kill his child.
'Now," he said, 'it is my turn to die"
The other train was about to pass. He |
stepped forward, crossed his arms and |
awaited it. The whistle sounded, the |
heaving engine pulled. Bewildered, think
ing of nothing, there he stood. But that !
instant burst of laughter sounded be- |
hind him. He turned, wild with hope.
"Oh. naughty papa! he won't play with |
AliceW said the most beloved of voices.
The child was ciinging to him. Lau- |
renee did not seek to know how the child |
came there alive He seized her and fed |
with his treasure into his little cabin. !
Then he put her on the ground before the |
lamp and looked at her. He could not |
bear so much JOY, and fell fainting beside
his daughter, who in her turn screamed
with terror.
At this moment Celine arrived. She
heard her childis voice aud fastened her
steps. Then, becoming impatient, she
called, "AliceP'
The child ran to meet her, crying, "Mam-
ma, mamma, I am frightenedl'
"What is the matter2"
"Papa has fallen down"
Celine rushed toward the box and found
her husband completely insensible, stretch
ed on the ground She sent for help, and
the doctor, who had not left the village,
came and restored the poor man to con-
seriousness. The next day when Laurence
rose his wife looked at him with terror
Instead of his former bright color he ex-
hibited corpselike pallor, which never
left him to the end of his days. Laurence
was forced to tell his wife ali. When he
had finished, the poor father turned to
Alice and said, "But, darling, why weren't
you killed."
why" said the child, 81 did what Simon
did. TRUE Flag.
II