Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1894-07-05
TOLD ON THE RAIL.
''Are you all right, ma'am?"
"All right, thank you."

my side that l watched with awful
suspicious Of oil and heartrendinp
tears regarding my new peacock blue
| silk dress.
The grimy faced fireman pulled
open the door of the furnace ant
with much clatter poked at the fir,
within, then shoveled in some coal
clashed the door shut, and we wer,
of.
And all this happened in a mer,
trifle of the time that it has taker
to tell it.
l looked at my watch.
"a 1t was O'Clock and broad daylight
for the time was summer
Seven O'Clock and the wedding wa.
at $ and we had fifty miles to go,
| suppose my face had an anxious
look when turned it toward the en-
glneer, meeting his full gaze
| ''Oh, I'll get you there in t me
ma'am; Pm bound to- Well make
the fifty miles in fifty minutes, anG
weddin's mostly never are on time.
And the Superintendent telegraphed
| you'd be there"
'Did he. That was very good OF
Cousin John. | was so Hurried that
l never thought of that"
And l felt relieved, as ! judiciously
gave another tuck to my silken 70 bes.
AS did so, received dreadful
jar, that caused me to drop them
again, and materially decreased my
mental temperature.
A realization was forced upon me
of the frightful way in which we
were dashing over the rails; while at
the same time, the atmosphere
within the engine grew hotter and
hotter.
With desperate efforts, I learned
to mainta n my center of gravity,
though, as ! gathered together again
my breath and my robes, l clasped
despairingly the window ledge beside
my high seat.
Presently, as one will grow accus-
toned to any situation, | became
quite used to the frantic bounds of
our madly-Speeding conveyance, and
even commenced to take some inter-
est in my surroundings.
But to me, all unused to this novel
and frightful way of travelling, the
fieeting landscapes and flying villages
were only productive of decidedly
unpleasant, dizzy sensation.
"We are travelling at terrible
rate" said to the engineer.
He saw that had spoken, but as
| had not pitched nv voice nearly
loud enough for him to distinguish
the words he called out:
what is it, maam?"
Were travelling with terrible ra-
pidity," | almost screamed. ,Are
you sure there is no danger?"
'Oh, no. none whatever, ma'am:
this is a perfect engin'. f"
II suppose you are accustomed to
It," l ventured. cousin John sa,
you were one of the Oldest engineers
on he road"
Eyes" he said, Frightening up.
II was an engineer here when the
Superintendent was only little boy.
the son of conductor; but you see
we don't often have a call to travel
like this, and Pm not likely to for
get the first time l did it =.
saw by his looks that the remin-
lscence was a pleasant one, and, TO
encourage him to converse, asked:
why? Did something happen?n
well, l reckon something did
happen" he SAID, emphatically, get
ting as near to me as the consistent
performance of his duties would al
low
4 would like to hear about it." I
shouted, alphabetically.
swell, ma'am, you see l was a
young Teller then, only just promoted
to be an engineer; an there came an
awful storm that lasted about three
days.
Everything went right along the
road until the third day, when late
in the Afternoon they commenced
to get worried in the office, because
something was the matter with the
wires
''They couldn't git no messages; |
and an Eastern train that had been |
due for half an hour had not been
heard from along our part of the line.
1T stormed awful! just as If it
never meant to stop!
''The rain came down in bucket
'uls, and the wind was hlowin'
'oarin' hurricane, to say nothin' of
the thunder and lightnin' that COM
menced about dark.
We'll, didn't run no regular
brain yet was kent about the
yard shifting cars and the like and
goin' out on specials; and as | was
loadn' in my engin', thinkiu' that l /
blessed my stars / hadn't to be on
the road such night who should
Jump up in my box but the old
superintendent himself, and a dread
ful grave face he had. too.
Abe, says he, do you think Won
could take engin' number 4, the
Lightning, and carry ME down to
Ioon's Creek faster than you ever
vent before in your life?'
!" ! reckon could, SIR says I.
"'Very well; call Morris, Morris
vas the fireman and I'll be with
on in two minutes.
We'll, sir" said my companion !
citing so excited that ne quite for.
u bis passenger was OF the female 8