The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-04-29
Love APPLIED TO SCIENCE.

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John Mills, the hero of this sketch; was
railroad engineer, and had been for a. bong
time in the company's employ. >. When. the
new engine. Fifty-one, was completed and
placed on the road. John was given charge:
of it, and he evinced natural:pride in his
preferment At one Of the stations there
was young girl,>a telegraph OPERATOR. be-
tween whom and the engineer there had
sprung up warm attachment: and when
ever Fifty-one came along Kate managed to
be at the door to exchange signals with her
lover -:
One day the train was detained at the
station and the locomotive detached and
sent up the road to do: some" additional
work, and Kate. went along fors a ride. As
she listened to the sharp notes of tie
whistle, it occurred o.har that she might
teach John. ito sound her name in the Morse
.telegraphic characters. so that she could
distinguish his engine from the Others when
the train approached The plan worked
well and far aud near the. whistle shrieked
Kate, :until one day., as the operator
stepped upon the platform. ishe overheard
conversation between 1.-TWO young men, ana
learned that they Understood the signal and
were laughingiye wondering who Kate could
be-
e. Their means. of: Communication having
been discovered. they were obliged TO dis
. continue IT,. In. the meantime Kate had, BY
means Of the telegraph. made the acqualns-
ance.of young lady IN a distant city, and
to her She had made known the fact that
the .secEet had been discovered. Then her
friend suggested a plan as brilliant as 1t
was Ingenious. 1t was Simply 10 arrange n
means of telegTaphIe COMMUNICATION De-2
tween the approaching train and tie station?
so as to ring a bell; hidden away Ia the
closet in Kates Office, No 81 being the Only
:. engine provided with means OF completing
= the circuit, which was done by.laylng' the
poker upon tire en- CINE. brake SO as to touch
the wire in passing Kate told John OF the
plan, and in the meantime had found an
abandoned wire which FAN for. a long dis
tanee close to: the track, and which she
= meant TO use for carrying out her 'purpose.
Christmas day came .soeh after, anu Jona
having holiday, he and Kate went bravery
to work, and before the day had ended the
e task was a success. So
60 It was singular how ,ahsent-mtnded and
ipattentiye the operator wason tire day that
g the great enterprisewas finished, No ron
der she was uneasy. Would the new line
actP.. Would the little battery he strong
enough for such great clbcait?a Would
John be able to close II? The peeple began
TO assemble for the train. Tie CLOCK pointed
= TO the hour for its arrival.
Suddenly, with startling distinctness. the
bell rang clear and loud in the eehoing
room. With cry OF delight Kate put on
her dainty hat and ran in haste out upon
The platform. The whistle broke i6ud and
clear on the cool air. and Fifty-One
appeared round the curve in the woods.
The splendid monster slid swiftly up
to her feet and came to a. halt.
ga perfect success, John, you see. It
works to a charm"
. With spring she reached the cab and sat
down on the ireman's seat.
BLESS If | could tell what he was going
To do" said the fireman. "He told me about
il. Awful bright idea. He laid the POKER
on the brake there anda il struck tbs
tree slam. / saw the wire touch. Ii was
prime" -
But the happy moments sped on. and Fifty
one greaned and slowly departed; wtfiie Kate
stood on the platform. her face wfeathed IN
smiles and;white steam
o So the lovers met. each day. aud none
knew how she was made aware of his ap-
pToachwitti such absolute certainty Science
applied TO oi0ve. or rather love applied TO
= science, can move the world
: .Two!Meeks passed and then there sud-
denly arrived at the station late. one evening
a special With the directors car attached
The honorable directors were hungry-theyt
always are-ard would stop and take a cup
OF tea and. a. bit OF supper. The: honorabies
and their wives aud children filed the sta-
ton and the place. put on quite gala
aspect. As .fcr Kate she demueely sat In
= her den, book in hand, and over its unread
pages admired the gay party:fn the waiting.
Toomt - .sss g.
Suddenly. with a furious rattle. her cleo
trio. bell sounded: The; color left her face
and her book fell with a bang. What did it
meant? Whorang ft2 With affrfghted face
:. she burst from her Office and rushed out ons
the platform. There stood the directors
train on the track of the incoming train:
s.'The couductorl: Where is he? Oh sir,
start, start! Get to the sidiug! The Elk
press is nearly .dUel =:
She srfatched a lantern from brakeman's
hand and0in d fash was gone They saw
her light pitching and dancing through the
darkness, and they were lost in wender. :.
1.-THE girl is crazyl No train is due nowi
All, that horrible whistle! The men
sprang to the train, and tie women and
children fed in every direction.
Kun for your lives! There's smash
up eomingI" cried the conductor.
The headlight. cleaned en- the snow
covered rails, and there was mad rush of
sliding wheels, and the great Fifty-o one drew
near AID stopped in the woods. "A hundred
heads looked out and a stalwart figure
leaped from the engine and ran into the
bright glare Of the headlight. =
'Kate!"
"Johnw 49,.
She fell into his arms senseless and the
lantern fell from her hand.
Tenderly they bore her into the station
and laid her on the sofa. The people
gathered round 70 offer ala an comfort.
Who was she? How did she save the train?
How did she know it was near?
She is my daughter" said the old
stat!on-master. "She tends the telegraph"
The president of the road drew near, and
lady in silk and satin piilowed Hates head
on her breast. They all gathered near to
see if she revived She opened her eyes and
gazed dreamily about her, rs II in search of
something.
DO you want anything, my .dearp" said
the DrpsQeut. Mating her hand.
Some water. IL you please, sir, and l
want want" ..
"Are you looking for any one, miss?''
Yes-no-it Is no matter. Thank you,
madam, 4 feel better. / sprained my foot
on the sleepers when ran down the track
1t is not severe and I'll sit up"
They were greatly pleased TO see her re-
cover, and quite buzz OF conversation filed
the room.
"Haw could she tell the special was chas-
ing us? Good heavensl If she had not
known it what an awful loss of life there
would have been.' 1t was very careless OF
the superintendent to follow our train in
such reckless manner"
Il hope you feel much better, my dear 2"
said the president.
Eyes, sir, thank you, Pm sure. I'm thank
fal L knew John-I mean the engineer
was coming"
.'You cannot be. more grateful than we
are TO You for averting such a disastrous
collision as we came near having"
Tn sure I'm pleased, sir. lnever thought
the telegraph"
She paused abruptly.
What telegraph"
I'D rather not tell, sir"
But you will telf US how you knew the
engine was coming p"
Must you Rnow?v 3;
we ought to know in order TO be able to
reward You properly
She made a gesture of refusal.
Inc president and directors consulted TO-