The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-02-27
JACKS QUEER GHOST.

The train was made up and standing in
the depot. The " Old Seventy nine was
coupled on, Johnnie had "oiled round"
and was now killing time with soft ham
mer and monkey wrench, looking over
links, pins, guides, crossheads and eccen-
tries.
Tom had put in good fire, lit his cab
light, and, as she now stood blowing oil
st 120, her bright headlight piercing the
gloom outside, was busily engaged in Civ
ing finishing touch to jacket and hand
rails.
The conductor was fuming in and out
the telegraph Office, muttering anathe-
mas against the connection, which was
invariably late on his out trips.
The brakemen had their lamps filled
and lighted, the bull's-eye cleaning redly
rearward, the fires booming (Which made
the coaches too hot for some and not hot
enough for others), and were now grouped
around the stove in the baggage car, lis
tening to that veteran " smasher," jolly
Jack Miller, who was making " running
switch of story about brother brake
man, who some years previous ran on
! "The Central" and never allowed a
trunk to pass through his hands without
thoroughly testing the quality and dura-
bility of the material of which ii was
composed, and the excellence with which
1t had been put together by its maker.
"An' / tell ye, boys" said Jack, ait
would have done your hearts good to see
Bob handle them Saratogys an travelin'
agents IRON bound store houses, as would
take two men to roll into his car He'd
up-end an send 'em spinnin' clean
across the car, an many's the sample an
sich he'd afterward pick up and stuff back
under the busted lid.
"Some says as how Bob went clean
crazy cause he got hold o. New York
agents Rooster which he couldn't han
die or bust, but i know better. Ye see,
he alters was melancholy cuss, was Bob,
an during the war, when there was few
| trunks an lots o. collins goin' over the
road, he got worse than ever; an after
that smash up at Rocky Pint, when the
! lightnin' express was ditched, an they
had to pull him out from 'mong the
corpses as had been knocked out o. their
! collins, he swore he was a crooked link if
| he ever checked another run.
at was bad 'nough TO be smashed up
'mong the livin,' but when it come TO
layin' four hours under wreck an feelin'
the cold arms o. them corpses round him,
| he lowed it was leetle too rough fur
him. So he did quit an died material
death few years after at the Angola
wreck as he was deadheadin' his way to
! Cleveland.
81 kinder think" continued Jack,
"that Bob was little skittish ANYHOW,
| bein' shut up all the lonely hours o. the
night In close car with corpses; but
! q a >,
mind il bit.
"All them old yarns bout ghosts, an
the dead comm to life an walkin', is
most decidedly played out with me. When
Dispatcher Death gives us time order,
we've just got TO make it, an no broken
links, nor pins, nor rails, will stop us.
We can't put on no air brakes, or reverse
an back out. Not muchl An when we
reach the end o. the run, wen be run in
on a side to lay until the General Superin-
tendent issues orders TO have US switched
out for general overhaulin' for service
on the road to everlasting happiness, or
the road TO perdition.
al knowed tool o. baggage master
once" resumed Jack, after this exposition
of his crude idea OF the inevitable, "who
had a corpse put on TO the platform next
the tender, an tied the handles o. the box
TO the hand-rails TO keep il from slippin'
off. II was the night express, as made
runs o. thirty an forty miles without
stoppin' The very first place they
stopped they found the cinders from the
engine had set fire TO the box an burnt IL
and the cofiin-lid half of, leavin' the
ghsstly corpse, with flesh all sizzlin' in
plain sight.
1t was a horrid spectacle Ye see the
night being cold, the windows and doors
TO the train was shut up, an IL anything
was smelled IL was thought to be from
the engine. In course the fool got his
! time and the company had 20 fork over
| TO quiet the thing. Served the blamed
/ fool right, too, fur bein' so scary bout
/ corpses.
But tumble out, boysl Here comes
that small connection at last, an we're a
/ good hour late"
Sure enough IL was coming, and i'm a
moment was brought up standing in the
depot.
Passengers were transferred and the
through baggage hurriedly checked into
Jacks car, the last piece being a long box.
which needed no second glance TO dis
cover that IL contained corpse.
The car was quite full. and
Jack pushed II TO the far end
of the dark aisle between the rows Of
A.