The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-06-28

composed himself to make the best Of a
long and tiresome railway journey.
The guard blew his whistle, the great
engine reproduced it in loud. deep
tone, and the train steamed slowly out
of the station, twenty minutes late in
starting.
Left to his own reflections, which
were none of the liveliest. and lulled by
the motion Of the train, our traveller
soon fell into a ftful sleep. wherein he
was haunted by dreams that wrought
upon his brain until he was almost as
nervous as he had been in his own room
some hours before.
He awoke suddenly, with vague
sense that the train was travelling at a
most unusual and unaccountables speed;
and as he leaped to his feet in half
dazed fright, they shot through Tun-
bridge-a place at which they were
timed to make ten minutes stop
and he was conscious of seeing. as il a
fash, a crowd of frightened and awe
| struck faces looking at the train from
| the platform. He sank back on the
| cushioned seat, seized with nameless
| terror. Time and space seemed TO his
overwrought nerves to be filled with
tokens of some approaching calamity
which he was powerlesS to prevent; the
terrific speed and violent swaying of
the train, the shrill howl of the cease
less whistle, the terrible darkness and
silence of everything outside his imme-
i - I
of that crowd of terrified faces, all
seemed to thrill HIM with a sense of inn
pending horror and the wretched man
sat terror-striclen on his seat, a mere
mass of highly strung and delicate
nerves
Suddenly, as he looked into the black
night, q face passed the window, as of
some ore walking along the footboard
to the engine; 4 stern-set face, as of one
going to certain danger and needing all
the pluck he possessed to carry him
through; and at the apparition the trav-
eler fairly shrieked aloud, but the face
passed on and was gone.
In another moment there was a sud-
cen shout--a terrific crash-a wild
chaos of sight and southland our trav-
eler knew no more.
When next he found his senses he was
lying among cushions and rugs in the
waiting-room at Tunbridge Wells sta
ton. He awoke with faint shfver and
tried to raise himself, but found to his
establishment that he could not SO much
as lift Il finger. As a matter of fact. he
was among those whom the busy sur
geons had given up as desperate case;
and, after doing ali in their power to
ease him, abandoned in favor of more
hopeful subjects; but this be did not
know.
Several Of the passengers whose in
juries were only very slight were dis |
cussing the accident in an animated |
manner, and, as usual in such cases, /
many wild and fanciful conjectures !
were passed about as truth. At last !
one said:
Does anyone know the rights of the
matter?'
Yes, l do" volunteered young man |
with an arm IN sling; and Margraf /
lay silently listening, unable to move
or speak.
w Ell, w nat Is IL!
just after we passed Grove Park, |
the fireman was on the front of the en-
CINE oiling, when he felt the locomotive
increasing in speed till it became so ap-
palling that he grew terrified and could
not get back. He is young fellow,
and this is his trial trip. At length he
managed to crawl back to the cab,
where be found the driver lying, as he
supposed, dead This so increased his
the whistle and pull the cord communi-
eating with the rear guard, and then
fell in a swoon across the tender.
The rear guard. q pluclzy young fell
low of about six and twenty, twigging
the situation, came, as we all know,
along the footboard 20 the engine
Margraf listened with all his remaining
strength-''in order to stop the train
before it ran into the Ramsgate express.
but apparently was too late"
But what was up with the driver,
and where was the front guard in the
meanwhile?"
We'll, it appears from what the front
guard says-marvelous how he escaped
with hardly scatch-both these men
had been drugged. and. as they were
both Of them TO have run the mail train
to the continent tonight, things looked
very fishy."
Margraf nearly tainted in his efforts
to listen more intensely.
They were changed on 70 this train
at the last moment. and hence this &C
cident The rear guard. poor fellow,
was shockingly mangled. Stone dead,
Of course: and leaves, l understand
wife and child There viii no doubt be
& collection made for him. He was a
plucky fellow
Does anyone know his name?4 asked
Yes: dis name was Charlie os-
borne - Z
There was heartrending groan from s
the cushicps ard rugs {
Here" cried young medical sta !
dent amoag the party 20 passing sur
yeon, You'd better come and have a {
ook at this poor chap. He isn't as dead q
Is you th"ught he was"
The surgeon came and looked al Mar
rraf. .
Isn't hap he said. N his cool pro-
essio-al way. He IS a good deal far
her gone inan thought He eOnldn'i
oe gone MUCH farther. The London
strand.
Columbus Ia spain
There was never TSoTe perfect ex-
Of the saying: i prophet
: not yyit .out honor save Ia his OWN