The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-07-14
ar before this hycr incident hsp.

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pcncd.
"'There he is,' says Matt and he's
done it once too often With that he
pulls her wide open and stands to his
post. The express engine gave big
jump and fairly sprang on to No. 81
that is, of course, unless I'm mistaken
in thinking that 1t was ~, and / don't
believe am. Still, man can't al
ways trust his memory. and | know
that mine amt what IL once was.
We'll, the two engines came to-
gether, and Matt he shut his eyes for
minute for in such circumstances
man can't very well help winlsing. To
his tremendous astonishnent there
wasn't as much as jar, let alone
crash. No. 34--yes, remember now
that that was her number-just sort of
opened out as you might say. and
seemed to fall in pieces on each side OF
Matts engine. There wasn't any train
of any sort behind "a. and the express
went on her way rejoicing.
Matt turns to the fireman with
face as white us a consumptive par
sons, and says:
Jim, did you see that engine?
"'Never saw anything palmer in my
life,' says Jim, but it wasn't no
engine. That was ghost If ever
there was one
1--WE ran through it, says Matt, 'as
ever get this train to Tiberius Cen
ter somebody else will have to take
her back.
They do say that when the express
came into Tiberius Center that night
Matt had to be helped off the engine,
and helped to his home and Il doctor
sent for. The doctor said tie man was
suffering from severe nervous shock
and must keep perfectly quiet. Matt
he sent in his resignation the very next
day. and never drove an engine on our
road afterward. He hung round drink
ing middling hard and keeping quiet,
according to the DOCTORS orders, for
about month. and then he got berth
on the Montana Southern road. But
he wasn't of the slightest use. His
nerves were clean gone. He'd think
he saw things on the track when there
was nothing but mebbe moonbeam,
and he'd call for brakes and stop his
train and have the biggest kind of job
in trying to tell the conductor what he
had stopped the train for. The COM
pany dismissed him after about six
months and Matt gave up railroading.
and is now driving truck in Chicago.
Il don't know whether he knows the
trick Hank played on him or not. But
this was the way of it. Hank spent
a lot of money in Chicago for paste
board engine. made to look exactly
like No. 34, and provided with a gen.
uine headlight all complete. Then
he had this hyer Quaker engine set
up on the track just round curve, at a
time when he knew that the only
train which could possibly come along
would be the express. Of course, he
had several fellows engaged in the
thing with him. but Hank was
mighty popular chap with the boys,
and he could always find help enough
for any game that he might want to
carry out. OF course the express en-
gine went through the paste board con-
Germ without ever feeling it, and I
don't blame Matt for believing that it
was a ghost, especially as he had the
hTelildu w udCh lllIli III uIldV opinion.
Il don't justify Hank. for always
considered that he played il altogether
too low down on Matt, and Hank al
lows that he did. now that he is older,
and has come to look at things ra-
tionally. don't think it's the sort of
thing he'd do now, though of course
the heart is deceitful and desperately
wicked. as the good book says.
"What's that you say? Never heard
that a locomotive could have ghost?
Well. All | can say is that if you We're
d railroad man you would know that
ghosts of engines and ghosts of whole
trains. sleeping cars and all. have been
seen time and again by railroad men.
If / had time now I'd tell you Of
ghost train that used to run on this
very road and that I've seen with my
own identical individual eyes. You
go railroading for twenty or thirty
years, and you'll know a sight OF
things that you'll never know in any
other way."-W l.. Alden, In Atlanta
Constitution.