The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-11-01
THE WIRES STORY.

|
~No. on Time"-And She Waited Happy
For the Train to Bring Her LOver.
It was a little railway station far
back in the country, but less than two
hundred miles from New York, where
two roads crossed each other Barring
the click of the telegraph instrument in
the little coop of an office not sound
| could be heard to break the unusual
| quietness of the summer day, which
was just dying into dusk. The three
passengers who had changed cars and
were waiting for their respective trains
whiled away the time as best they
could. Two of them had their thoughts
buried in novels. The third found
recreation in what the Gathering lips
of the electric thunder-sounder had to
say. 1t had been long time since he
had listened to the tattle of the tele-
graph wire, and the familiar sound fas-
cinated him. He heard distant stations
report the passing of trains and en-
ployes and officials communicate with
each other. The pretty young woman
who occupied the little coop was busily
at work writing. She paid no attention
to the instrument On the third finger
of her left hand she wore a modest lit
tie gold ring, set with small diamond.
Finally the sounder stopped its ever
lasting clatter. The quietness was be-
ginning to get oppressive when the old
time operators rusty ears heard the
sounder click out the letters "Pf' twice
and MN" once. He saw smile creep
over the face of the young woman and
then heard the click back 81" 1t was
the operator at M calling her and
she was answering him.
Ground minute" was flashed back
over the wire.
The oldtimer pricl1ed up his ears in
stantly. He knew that the operator at
Nj had something to say which he
did not want his chief at the other end
of the wire beyond P to hear So
he had asked the young woman to
ground the wire and send his secret In
to the earth after it had reached her
ears.
''rll be over on No. T." Joe clattered
on the sounder
'Tll expect you." she licked back.
''Good-by; don't forget to take ground
off," 10 answered.
eli" the young woman replied, which
signifed that she would not forget.
Then the sounder began to rattle
with the business of the road again,
while the young woman busted herself
with putting away her work and pre-.
pairing for the reception of favored
visitor. She glanced at the clock fire.
quently and anxiously
''Os, os, os'' finally rapidly ratified the
sounder to attract the attention of the
chief. No. on time, Nm
The young woman smiled and settled
herself beside her instrument to repeat
INNS" report for him, if the chief
should accidentally have let it slip by.
She always did this for the young man
who had given the ring to her, as he re-
ported the train just as it pulled out of
his station and then caught it on the fly.
Promptly on time the engineer of No
Z whistled for the crossing at P.
The three passengers gathered up their
traps and went out upon the platform.
The young woman stood just within
the doorway. The train pulled slowly
into the station. The conductor jumped
off quickly. He had sad expression
upon his face. He led the young woman
into her Office, while the train hands |
lifted a covered stretcher out of the |
baggage car and carried it into the |
of the little station. The |
conductor hurried cut and gave the |
signal to the engineer, and the train
pulled away, leaving two train hands |
behind with the stretcher
''They were to have been married |
next month";" the conductor said to the |
old-timer. "He waited to report us
out and in attempting to board the
train slipped under the wheels, poor
fellow"
A year later the old-timer had occas-
ion to stop at the little station again.
There was strange face in the little
telegraph coop. The young woman
had died of consumption, the new oper-
ator said. The conductor of No. at
tributed her death to broken heart
SIM