The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1891-12-10

wise of the train and seemed 10 melt
out into the night
Get back. Charlier yelled. for I
thought he was about TO look out for
the cause Of our stopping
Open your head again and III
blow Il off, said q voice beside me-
Turning. I saw . man ut each of the
cabs front windows They had jumped
up on the pilot and crept back along
side of the boiler.
There seemed TO be a dozen Of the
robbers Not more than two had como
on the train. ] am sure. The whole
thing had been planned Those near
the engine, with the exception Of the
two at the cab windows, made a rush
for the express car. As they ran into the
stream Of light coming through the
open door a shot fred from the dark.
ness TO the left of the train tumblcd
one of them 10 the ground The others
fusilladed the spot from which the
shot appeared to como, and then two
shots fired under the train from the
other side, and another shot from away
out in the dark, laid one of the thieves
out cold and caused another one to
howl
"The trainmen were beginning to
fight My blood got warm had a
good six-shooter under the seat, and IL
that fellow at the cab window had
only taken his eye of me for q moment
I'd been out there helping the boys
Those at the rear of the train then
joined those In front, and all made .
dash at the open door of the express
They were all in q bunch in the light
"fhc first man to enter the door
stood a moment and then fell back out
side in the crowd The shot came
from the darkness away out TO the
left Another man tried it. As he fell
on his face in the car. the others, who
had been watching. fired a volley at
the flash away of in the dark. The
next man who tried to enter the car
succeeded.
1.-THE others kept watch until he re-
appeared at the door. Som ething was
wrong. Two others got in TO help him
Then one of them whistled. and my
man at the window jumped of and ran
back to the train.
That was my chance Out came
the gun from under the seat, and got
a snap shot at Toms man. but missed
him As he turned on me Tom struck
his arm with a wrench, knocking the
pistol from his hand He jumped of
into the darkness We backed her
slowly up toward the train, firing as
we went
Suddenly dark form rose up on
Toms side of the track and threw
something into the tender. Tom and !
both fred At the man. He staggered
up against the cab steps and groanec.
Then by n superhumsn effort he caught
the hand-rail, and just as we were pre-
pairing to give him another shot he
dragged his face into the light
1T was Charliei We both had hit
him!
"'Pull out, Jim, and save the boxr
THAT was all he said II was the
box he had thrown into the tender.
No mater how much there was in it,
the stuff wasn't worth the life OF the
boy who saved it TO the company.
While lifted Charlie up into the seat
Tom threw the old engine wide open
and we ran away from the train rob
bers and all
1T was forty miles to the nearest
station, a small government post Tom
fed and worked the engine. sat Oh
the seat beside Charlie and held him
up The rattle and rumble of the
wheels accused me at every revolution
They seemed to be repeating the
words: You've killed him. You've
killed him! Tom made those forty
miles in an hour; good time over that
road at that day. but IL seemed to me
an age. AS we were running in Tom
gave the bell and whistle both, and
then when she came to 4 stand he fred
two shots. The bluecoats were out in
jiffy.
Everything was told in a few
words. Charlie was carried into the
quarters and turned over TO the SUI
geon. a fine old fellow named Hamu-
ton. With an escort of twenty men
we ran back to the train. The robbers
had left it Finding the express empty
of treasure they had tried to go
through the train. There were too
many revolvers among the passengers
and they drew off
when we reached the post again
Surgeon Hamilton walked up to the
cab Are you Jim Cook?' said he.
nodded Take these to Mr.. Whites
wife, and he handed me Charles
watch, n hank book and a bunch of
keys He told me to tell you,' the
surgeon went on, not 10 feel bad about
that shot The road agents found him
with that last volley, and he would
have gone under anyhow from his
other wounds His body will go back
with you on your return, and / will
give you a letter to the express COM
pany.'
Tom cried like q child couldn':
cry; my brain seemed to be on fire; !
| was thinking one minute Of how re-
proachfully Charlie had looked at me
when he swung into the cab with 9
dying effort, and the next of a frail
little woman in Frisco who was pa
tiently waiting Charities return.
"The company gave her pension,
! but she didn't need il long"
"What was in the box?" asked