The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1894-07-11

Ns
~. :TV elm tree in the
front yard of her
pretty little home, and all this had
been caused by the big, broad-shoul-
dered young fellow who was now max
ing his way across the open prairie to
the go" round house, dinner basket
in hand and with the usual roll of
overclothes under his arm.
The Brotherhood of Railroad Fire
men we're to give the first dance of the
season that night, and Joe Quinn, the
bright young engineer, with whom
Polly had been keeping company for
over year, had promised to take
her, and now, just rs the evening
shades were falling, and it was nearly
time to don the pretty dress mado
with such loving care for the event,
he had come to the house and told her
that it would be impossible for him to
keep his engagement. He had been
called to go out on No. 8, the 'Lim-
ited," and could not get of. II was
enough to vex a saint, thought Polly.
John Ward, Polly's father, had been
in the employ of the 80" company
for many years and had risen from a
position as laborer to that of fore
man of the round house. On the
night OF which we write he had been
home to his supper and had been
obliged to retuEn TO the shops again to
complete some repairs to locomotive
that could not wait. Polly was alone,
x.st nlg 30 IL
der the big tree and grieved over her
lovers detection.
Across the level prairie she could
dimly see in the growing dusk the out
lines OF the monster shops and engine
house. On the turntable track, down
near the water tank, she saw the
bright rays of an electric headlight
that she well knew was on the big
''ten-wheeler" that her lover was to
run that night. She could see the
faring ''torches" of Quinn and his
fireman as they worked around the
ponderous machine, getting her ready
for the mad rush OF the fast limited
express.
The mellow tones of the engine bell,
softened by the intervening distance,
hoatao across the plain, rousing Polly
from her reverie, and telling her that
her lover had started for the passen-
ger station in the city, two miles
away. She watched the headlight un-
Gil it disappeared around the curves,
and was about to start for the house,
when her attention was attracted by
voices on the other side of the tight
board fence that inclosed one side of
the lot scarcely ten feet from where
she sat.
'Tell you it's dead sure go if we
only hustle. That's Quinn backing
down now on the 81. He'll run the
life of 'em out of here, and couple
of good oak ties stuck in that trestle
will do the job slick enough. Nobody
will be watching very close, and we
can sneak the safe into the woods
easy enough"
'tBill," said a second voice, 81 don't
just fancy killing such lot of people
as that'll do. Can't we flag 'em at the
trestle n go through the car same as
the other gangs do? There's six of
us, n we ought to bluff that express
man easy enough"
''No use to talk about it now,
Hank" responded the first speaker.
<'The boys have got the thing all fixed
N we can't change it now. Come on,
we'll have to run if we get to Rock
Greek before Quinn does"
As they finished their low-toned,
hurried talk two men came from be-
hind the fence and started on run
down the road toward the railroad
track.
Polly was bright, quick-witted
girl and generally very seli-reliant.
but now she stood in the black shad-
ows of the big tree, completely para
lyzed by the atrocity of the awful plan
these men had revealed.
They were going to wreck No. to
rob the express safe.
How could she give the alarm in
time to avert this terrible sacrifice of
human life? 1t was over half mile
from her house across the prairie to
the shops, and from them it was nearly
rs far to the main track, to reach which
one would have to cross the intricate
tracks of the great switching yards,
which at this time in the year were
crowded with grain cars. Gould she
get to the shops, find some one trust
worthy. tell her story to them, and
still leave time enough for her messen-
ger to reach the main track to stop the
train?
While these questions were fla shing
through her bsain the little clock in
the hall chimed the half hour. 1t was
half-past and the train left the city
at 0. She had only thirty minutes
left. Suddenly she started toward the
house on run, crying.
al can do it know / can.
On Joe's last trip in she had given a
little lawn party, and Quinn, with the
characteristic love of a railroad man
for light and color, had brought over
from the shops a lot of railroad Ian.
terms, white, blue, red and green, to
hang in the trees, and now they were
stacked in tho hall awaiting their re-
furn tn the xtore room. In a second