Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1892-10-15
THE STATION MASTER.

I had been travelling all the after
noon Reclining amid the soft cush
ions of the vestibule car, 1 was lazily
dreaming Of once more seeing my
home and friends And therefore, i,
was with feeling of disgust that
was obliged to alight at the little
station Of D., where 1had to wait
i've dreary hours, before the arrival
of the regular train which would take
me to the city.
Grumbling about the inconvenience
Of 'stop-overs." l got of. Hardly
had overcome my drowsineSs when
the train started, and was alone on
the platform. 1t was quite dark.
Around me / could see the dim forms
of bold and craggy mountains, rising
straight up into the misty darkness
A single light shone from the window
of the little station, barely illumin-
ating the gloom without As / stood
for moment or two, looking about
me, heard the ever decreasing rum
BILE of the departing train, and finally
the sound ceased, as it went rolling
away among the ravines and hills
/ turned and went inside. Not a
soul was there, except the station
master. He came out of his little
Office and greeted me cordially. Go
ing to the stove in the middle of the
waitipg-room. he poked the FIRE,
slammed the door, and turning to me.
said
s.Dark, amt it,"
"Yes, quite So" replied.
sGoin' far"
'aQuite a ways-to Boston"
"Well. well, You've got quite a
stay here-fiye hours-I'm 'fraid
you'll find it somewhat tiresome
waitin'. Its mighty inconvenient,
but we'll make the best of it. Come
into my room here, and have a bite
of somethin' to eat-I'm just havin'
supper"
This conversation made rs friends
for the time being. and entered with
him into the little apartment which
was set aside for his duties as station
master.
My new acquaintance,-and l can
assure you that under the circum-
stances he was a most agreeable one,
was a man of about 80 wears of age,
of good size, rather slim. and with
long, narrow face. His movements
were impulsiye, and he was rather of
a nervous disposition. 1t struck me
at first that this was not the man for
a station-master, position which
often demands a person Of steady
nerves, and quick yet deliberate &C
ton. But as the evening wore on,
and our talk became more familiar,
my opinion of him changed. Although
his actions were decidedly impulsive,
Jet his brain was very clear, and
characteristic of one who could meet
crisis in proper condition
As We partook of the luncheon
which he had spread before me, I
learned much OF his duties and life in
the midst OF that lonely valley. He
told me many Of his experiences as a
railway official, and for two hours or
more he closely held my attention to
his stories
As the evening wore on, occupied
myself in examining the railway
maps, and in finishing a novel which
i purchased that afternoon ON the
train At about IL o'clock l heard
the dull and laborious puff Of freight
engine approaching in the distance.
Louder and louder the noise became,
until suddenly, with glare from the
headlight, the great locomotive thun-
dered by the little window, and in a
moment the heavy train rolled away
in the direction from which / had
come few hours before.
Silence again fell upon Us. We con-
tinued our talk, interspersed now and
then with moments of quietnesS
broken only BY the frequent clicking
of the telegraph instrument on the
table under the window. At last /
finished my novel, and once more sat
idly tossing about my watch charm
The station master was sitting oppO-
site me, with his feet on the edge OF
the telegraph table, while he care
lessly ran over the columns Of news
paper. was on the point of making
some remark, when suddenly there
came a sharp clicking Of the instru-
ment Ny companion sprang to the
table and answered the call. In
stantly / saw that something unusual
had happened. As the little brass
key clicked OF the message. / saw the
station-master's face grow white, then
ivid. He rose quickly from the chair
placed his hands over his eyes. and
almost shouted. my God, Ny God,
What have / done.n
sprang to his side. asking him
what was the trouble He rudely
pushed me awav, and with a look
which / shall meyer forget fairly
yelled, '.Don't speak to me.-dOn't
sneak to mel" Then he sank into
the chair with his hands convulsively
grasping the arms But it was only
for moment Quickly gathering
himself, he drew up to the table, and
then followed some of the most ex-
citang moments that I ever exper-
t.ncea