St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1894-04-07
THE MESSENGERS TALE:

THE MESSENGERS TALE:
John Goodhue and / were the ex-
press messengers On the train be-
tween Cincinnati and st. Louis.
One evening that I well remem-
Der Goodhue Was ten minutes late
at the train, but he took hold with
unusul spirit, and when the stun
was all in We had the car pretty
we'll filed. l was ut my safe when
the train pulled out, and l heard
Goodhue moving about and going
through the usual routine. We
had nothing to put OF until We
reached q farm thirty miles away
and then it was something in the
line Of freight. I therefore took
things easy, and was smoking rs I
did my work.
had on that night, in addition to
my own safe and $62, 600, . pay
masters safe, which contained aear-
ly a quarter Of . million. l was
setting on this and bending over
my own when I received . blow on
the head from behind. It fell upon
the left side Of my head and glanced
to the shoulder, but it knocked me
over sideways in . heap on the
floor. / was not stunned, but il
came to me in . second to 'splaY
'possum. Even while falling /
realized that IL was . plan to rob
the Car, and I wondered who Good
hue had behind him. I rolled
over on my back. groaned two or
three times and then Strengthened
out. and after . minute / heard =
voice say:
"Come out, Jim-he's settled !"
It was the voice OF the man who
had struck me, but not the voice Of
Goodhue. I heard \ second man
come forward, and the plot was
exposed. Neither was Goodhue,
and both were strangers.
"Guess you've done for him, Tom,"
said the last conner ~ he stood
over me.
"Couldn't help it, Jim-he'd
have given US = fight il l hadn't.
Now, then, we've got things cop
pered. In five minutes We shall
be at Blankvllle. There's nothing
to 60 OF, but I'll open the door.
Sit here on the safe
The whistle blew, the train pulled
up, and pretty soon We were 1t . |
standstilll. The robber opened the
sliding door and stood - cool as
you please for two or three minutes
and heard him reply to the agent
that there was nothing to 60 OH.
As soon as the train pulled out he |
shut the door and said:
''Open the other door. Five
miles from here is q stretch Of
woods, and we must be ready to
dump the safes at the word"
My revolver was under me, in its
holster, and l was helpless. The
FIRST move l made would have
brought them upon me, and they
would have been certain to make
sure work of il this time. / had to
let them carry out their plan, bat
l was forming another. The stretch
Of woods was two miles long, and
between Blankville and the next
stop was the distance Of eighteen
miles. The two small stations be-
tween were not ON our timecard.
The train sped along at = rate Of
forty miles an hour, and pretty soon
out went the safes. Then the men
ran out at the end OF the car, set
The brake, and pulled the bell cord
vigorously.
That was what they did, but l
did not wait to see or hear it. They
we're no sooner clear Of the car than
[ rose up and took . flying leap
straight out into the darkness after I
he money. There was = long pile
II gravel on that side, and I struck
INTO this. turned over and over half
/ dozen times, and finally brought
Up in a potato patch ON the railroad
"trip, badly shaken up, but not =
,one broken. The engine was /
for brakes . mile away, /
md as soon - l could free my mouth Z
md eyes Of dirt ! started down the .
rack. I found the first safe On
he edge of the ditch, and the Sec
md hundred feet away beside .
tump. I dragged mine down to
he paymaster's. then got out my
evolver and hid behind . stump,
md pretty soon l heard the fellows !
coming down the track. They /
lad brought the train almost to .
tandstill, and then signalled it to !
o ahead and jumped. They were
uniting along the ditch - they d
anne, and l waited until they were .
'ithin five rods before l opened fire
nd jumped up and shouted:
''Here they are, boys; shoot
hem down."
They didn't stand for . second,
nut went OF - fast ~ they could. /
by my bullets, and half hour 2
ater had the safes on board . :
reight train. An investigation :
roved that Goodhue was intoxicat- I
d on that night. He had accepted