Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-10-20

Iy. as Charlotte had said.
THAT'S her" my cousin VIII :pnrcd.
And felt my blood begin to boil.
| couldn't say word. just looked
and looked. At last | heard Charlotte
whisper. "There he is"
AMI there he was, indeed. | saw
im-iI was no one elSe-go up the
steps of that little house and ring the
,ell. The woman ran out to meet
aim: SO did the child; and he kissed
hrm both. thought for while that
| would de.
Bnt | lived and went home with my
cousin.
And | begged Charlotte to tell no one
yet. but to ask mother to say that l
was too i'll to see any one who came.
I awoke next day as people do
awake when trouble is new to them.
First ii was l. Mamie Hunt. to whom
life was so bright and so full of hope.
Then ii was someone else whom l
hardly knew. who seemed to be |: and
sat up and put back my hair. and
wondered how | could bear the change.
One thing must be done. and it
could not be done too soon. l must
part from Seth Brush. And | took all
his little gifts. his letters and my little
ring and made package of them,
and then I wrote this note:
.'Seth Brush.-I send you back the
gifts took. rs Thought. from a true
man.
You know why. and I shall not say
anything more than that have been
to ST. Louis, at my Cousins house in
street.
7 hnv
promised to be your wife: but | hate
you now, and with that hate | bid YOU
goodbye forever.
"Nannie Hunt"
Then l sealed the note and directed
it and resolved that when the Rip
came in that day at l would send it
to hin.
! sat at the window at the usual
time. waiting for that ''ch:p. chip.
chip" down the road-waiting as pris-
onerS sentenced to death may wait the
hour of doom.
But by and by people began to come
out and look up the road. l saw men
look at their watches. I looked ut
mine. The Rip was overdue by ten
minutes: soon by fifteen. by twenty.
by half an ho.r. by threcquarters.
Then little engine. with some men
on board went off to look for her. and
the crowd grew larger and the faces
more serious.
As for me. | had forgotten all my
wrath. | only knew that the Rip Van
Wrinkle was nearly an hour behind
hand. and that Seth was her engi-
ncer.
"Ch'p. chip. chip" the engine was
coming back. Two hours and Il half
were gone. "Chip. chip. chip" slowly.
horribly. She turned the corner of the
road-not the rip. no one hoped that
only the little engine that had gone af
ter her. Two cars she brought along.
-Four We're due and the red flag tlut.
tered from the engine. and the end Of
one car was battered in and broken.
| was out of the room and with the
crowd of men AMI women in the
street now. I saw a few people alight.
| saw others helped out. with ban
dagcd arms and heads. There had
been collision: we knew that al
ready: but. They We're bring ing
something out on board-somcthing
wrapped IN a sheet. sopped and drip
ping with blood. -Four men carried it
toward the depot
A tall man. blackened with smoke
and dust followed it,
whats that? Who Is that
asked. He stopped and looked at me-
Good Lord!" said he. 'Livr along
side of Western railroad and not
know! That-why. of course. that's
he engineer
Some one caught my hand just then.
1t was Lofty.
Come home" she said 81 needn't
have told you. poor child needn't
have told you"
He was dead. dead. dead. and had
written words of hate to him as he lay
breathing his last. He was dead
Good or bad | thought of nothing else
now.
''Don't tell the folks said to Lofty.
Hes gone. and why should they
know
And she promised.
The day went on and ended: tho
night came: another awful day broke
and dragged away. l had neither slept
~ wrpt. The doctor. who had been
called in. looked grave as he touched
my pulse. | knew I was in danger
of going mad. The clock. ticking in
the hall. seemed to say. seth is dead
Seth is dead over and over again.
until they stopped it: and still another
day brought me only pain.
1t was noon. and the sun seemed red
hot to mo. and my mother put heavy
blanket over the white window curtain
TO shut its Fight out; hut it did not
shut the Sounds from me. At 3 heard
1.-THE scream far away. and faint at
first: then Shrlll and near. Then chi.
chip. chip" again. OF course the :,
o'clock train would come in. if the
Rip was smashed to atoms and her
engineer dead: but how could bear
Il! put my hands on my ears To
dcafen them. but I heard it still-long
after the iron horse stood Eu;nt VI ,.ie
depot And at last | heard another
Sound-a woman's Scrcam-my mother
screaming and her voice crying out
seth. o Seth. we thought You We're
,lcadr' and in Il minute more he was
there beside me.
When | saw him by some miracle
alive. the other terrible truth came
back. | covered my face with the
counterpane. and hid his from my
eyes.
at has nearly killed her. said my
mother. "HOw was it? Don't fret.
Seth. She'll speak to you as soon as
she takes it all in"
"Another man ran the Rip in on that
fatal trip" said Seth. 81 stad in ST.
Louis. My sister-the cnly sister
ever had. poor girl!-dropped dead of
heart disease that morning and
begged off. I forgot everything but
nv sister. and we buried 'h"r out Of
town. at the old place wh""' we were