The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1894-03-16
HELD UP.

This is not my story. and I have really
NO business to write it. It belongs to the
railway manager. He ought to tell it,
but he won't. A railway manager win
not admit in print that trains are ever
held up" on his road, whatever may
happen on the opposition line. Thus it
comes that / have to set down the story,
who should not. Besldes I cannot write
it down in such a way as to indicate the
snap and go of the narrative told us by
the railway manager, for he was drunk
at the time, and no sober man, with q
pen in his hand, can emulate the elo-
quence of a railway manager when the
champagne flows.
OF course q sober railway manager
would not tell an incident that might
frighten traffic away from his road, SO
you have to learn these thingsfrom them
when they are half seas over. The story
Is strictly true, because I related it to
the manager next day Che was suffering
from a headache), and he admitted its
accuracy and said with a groan:
Il had no idea ! drank so much as
that"
He implored me not to tell the story,
and ] will not. merely writeit. Hang
a man who won't keep his pledged word
with even a railway managerl
The railway runs through a wild part
of North Carolina, and Tompkins had
been manager Of it for some years. It is
q picturesque line and gets itself tangled
up among the mountains in the most be-
wildering way. The train puffs and
staggers up awful grades, winds and
twists and doubles on itself in the most
confusing fashion, goes round and round
cuplike depressions and seems in general
not to know where it is going. But,
like the person in the song, it "gets there
just the same" The road passes through
some pretty rough settlements, but there
is civilization and wealth at each end of
the line. and this enables the railway to
pay a good salary to the manager, al
though never heard that it SO far forgot
itself as to pay any dividends to the share
holders.
Well, one day there was a lot of ma
bobs going east, and al the manager was
also travelling in that direction he Or
dered his private Car hitched to the noon
express, and away they went.
A private car, the manager tells me
differs from an ordinary coach and is
superior in some respects even to the
aristocratic Pullman. A good deal of
course depends on the manager. If the
manager is a prohibition man-but, then,
what is the use Of discussing the improb-
able9 Tompkins knows them all, and he
says a railway manager is content if the
engine drivers and trainmen are teeto-
talers. without carrying the temperance
fad to extremes. By extremes Tomp-
kns mean the rear end of the train,
where the managers private car is cou-
Piled. Anyhow I am given to under
stand that the interior decorations of a
managers a are very fine and expen-
sive, including artistic effects in Bur-
gundy, dry champagne, fine delicate
brands Of old Kentucky, cigars from
Havana and things Of that sort.
The time of this memorable trip was a
few days before Christmas, and people
were going east to see their folks, many
Of the travellers having considerable
amounts Of money on them. Besides
this, there were 100000 in the safe of
the express a going through to New
York. This fact made the manager a
tri1e anxious, and it was one Of the
causes that was bringing him east. How
ever, the train would be out of tho noun
tains while it was still daylight, SO the
manager felt no real anxiety.
All the nabobs who amounted to any
thing were in his private car, and they
were enjoying themselves as people
should during that festive season, but
not, if ! understand Tompkins Alright,
entirely by admiring the scenery, al
though doubtless that added to their
pleasure.
just as they were in the toughest part
Of the mountains there was a wild shrek
Of the whistle, q sudden clamp Of the
airbrakes, and the train, with an alb
ruptness that was just short Of an acci-
dent, stopped.
whats up?' cried everybody.
II don't know" said the manager, get
ting q little pale around the gills. "You
all stay here, and I'll go out and see."
It need hardly be said that none of the
passengers knew of the money in the ex-
press car.
The manager stepped down from his
private coach at the rear, and the mo
ment he looked toward the front of the
train he saw that his worst fears were
realized. just ahead of the locomotive
on the rails wa . huge pile of logs and
railway ties. Standing around the n
gine and the express car was q group of
the most villainous looking mountaineers
the manager had ever seen-determined
and desperate men, who could put q bull
let in man half 3 mile away. All were
armed with their long rifles, and two had
their weapons 1t their shoulders, while
the trembling express messenger and the
engineer stood with their hands above
their heads
whats wrongr cried . nabob who
had followed the manager out.
"Everything1s wrong. We're held upi