Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1891-07-09

first he tried to shut his ears to the sug.
gestion of the tempter; but little by lit.
tie he grew familiarized with the idea,
until he got so demoralized that he be.
gan to think in speculative way how
he could best avenge himself upon the
engine driver. Duffy's train always
passed the station, going east, about
half-past seven in the evening. Shortly
before it came the ~ minutes past seven
passenger train. The device of placing
an obstruction on the line suggested it.
self, only to be Immediately set aside. AT
this point in his meditations, the sound
of a signal going down suggested to him
the idea of tampering with the signals.
He returned home and retired to rest.
Tossing restlessly on his bed, he was re-
volving in his mind his various schemes
of revenge, when diabolical idea struck
him of plan whereby he would be able
to accomplish his object without leaving
any trace of foul play, so that the whole
blame of the catastrophe would fall upon
Duffy, who would not survive to tell his
side of the story, or even If he did and
asserted his innocence, would not he be-
lieved. Armstrong noticed that if the
CONFERENCE.-THE at the bottom of the sig
nal post were lifted up, it would allow
the signal arm to go down, just as if it
had been lowered by means of the lever
in the signal cabin, the wire between the
cabin and the counter weight remaining
motionless all the time; while as soon as
the counter weight was lowered again,
no trace would remain of the signal hav-
ing been touched. BY adopting this
mode of lowering the signal, the objec-
ton to his last mentioned plan would be
done away with. The only danger
would be that the switchman might no
tice that the signal was down; but that
was not likely, as the lifting of the coun-
ter weight would not affect the lever in
the signal box, and it was improbable
that the signal mans eyes would be
drawn toward the signal when he was
not eithering lowering it or pulling it up.
This plan would enable Armstrong to
get some distance away, and so prevent
suspicion fastening upon him; and the
fact of the signal being found all right
afterward would preclude all possibility
of suspicion of the signal having been
tempered with.
Armstrong had begun his speculations
with the view only of discovering how
he could be avenged on Duffy if he wished
to avenge himself. The successful issue
of them in plan securing at once death
to his rival and immunity from detection
to himself was the cause of his resolving
to 60 further. Thus by imperceptible
degrees he had been drawn into plotting
murder.
In an almost gleesome mood he rose in
the morning and FASTENED along the
embankment to the signal which he pro-
posed to use for his dreadful purpose.
The signal stood at about the deepest
part of long rock cutting, and was
planted on the slope of small embank-
ment above the cutting. An examine
ton of the place satisfied Armstrong that
the best plan to adopt would be to at
tach long cord to the counter-weight
and, taking the cord in his hand, to climb
the signalpost, so as to command long
stretch of the line and be able to lower
the signal-arm at the right moment; for
to be moment too soon or too late would
be fatal to his plan.
His plan was now matured; but long
period of waiting elapsed before an OPP
portunity for carrying it into effect pre-
sented itself. With the patience and per-
severance of wild animal waiting for
it's prey, he betook himself evening after
evening to the signal by various rounda-
bout routes, so as to insure that no one
would know that he went to the same
place every day, affixed his cord to the
counter-weight, and waited-only to see
the passenger train dash past without
slackening speed and pass the distance
signal without stopping.
At length, when the days had shorten
ed considerably, and thus rendered the
evenings more suitable for the carrying
out of his plan, as one evening he lis
tened anxiously in the dusk to the sound
of the approaching passenger train, a
thrill of pleasure shot through him, for
he noticed that it was slackening speed.
Taking the cord in his hand, he climbed
rapidly up the signal-post. and was over
joyed to find the passenger train stop
ping just on the station side of the dis
tance-signal. Trembling with excite
ment, he turned in the direction whence
the freight train would come and anx-
iously waited the sound of its approach.
Several seconds, which to him seemed
hours, elapsed before there was any sign
of its approach. The passenger train,
however, still stood at the distance-sig-
nal, throwing up long oblique lines OF
light in the misty air. At length. with
futtering heart, he caught the faint
souuO VI DuIy duC
soon the headlights, overshadowed by a
cloud of steam, golden with the furnace
light, began to twinkle dimly, like stars
at twilight, in the distance.
"Now or never" thought Armstrong
taking two or three turns of the cord
round his hand. He then tugged Justify
at the cord; but the counter-weight
would not rise. With an oath he twisted
his legs round the signal-post, passed the
cord through the lattice-work a little
above him, so as to obtain better pur
chase, seized the cord with both hands
and pulled with all his might. TIL,
weight yielded to this violent effort; the
signal-arm descended. Armstrong; wilt
laugh of joy at the accomplishment o
his nefarious purpose was almost i'm
mediately stified by cry of terror anc
pain. In his excitement he had forgot
ten that his head was Immediately below
the signal arm, and his savage tug at thu
counter weight had brought the signal
arm down upon his head with terrible
and fatal force. His nerveless limb
loosened from the signal, and falling
with a thud upon the sloping embank
ment, he was shot over the edge of tn
sheer precipice that formed one side OF
the rock cutting and landed upon the OPP