The herald., 1895-10-04
A NIGHTS ADVENTURE
A Telegraph Operator Has a
Thrilling Experience
A MASKED MAN AT THE KEY
II Might Have Been a HoId.Up and Robbery
I'D 1t Not Been for Stroke
of Lightning
BY r. R. BOWERS

| As sit in my Office this evening lis
tening TO the rain pattering on the roof,
recall to mind an adventure that &C.
Cured to me when 1 was young knight
OF the mystic key, several years ago.
l had not been an operator very long
when l was sent to Volcano Springs, one
OF the loneliest places human being could
! live IN. on the line of the Southern Pa
ciic railroad. During the hot summer
months in that country I'VE have what
are called cloud bursts. One minute the
| sky will be perfectly clear, and in the
next forked lightning will be playing
across the sky, rain falling in perfect
sheets, and in an hour or two the sky
will be as clear as a wedding bell. We
were having these cloud bursts daily, and
even then as 1 sat in the office one could
be seen coming over the mountains sew
eral miles away to the west.
Just ther. l heard footstep. as though
some one was trying to see how easy
he could walk, near my door, and in
stinctively l put my hand to my belt for
my revolver, which always carried. 1t
was not there, and then / rememb ered |
had not replaced my belt after taking a
nap that afternoon, and was rising to go
to my bedroom for it, when Altman,
dressed in blue overals and red shirt.
stepped through the doorway and cover
throw up my hands. He was powerful
built man, and had his face hidden by a
mask made out of red handkerchief.
[ did as he commanded and he tied me
very securely to one of the braces OF my
little office.
Perhaps you don't think was fright
ened; but | was, and it took me several
minutes before l could recover my usual
composure.
l was wondering what on earth he was
holding me up for. when his next actions
showed me his whole plot.
Stepping over to my switchboard, he
grounded the wires west, thus cutting off
the train dispatchers at Les Angeles.
That he was an operator there was no
doubt, and the question was settled in my
mind when he sat down and began call
ing Yuma for 49," which means on
answered he gave him the following
ordei: "To c. and E. No. 20: No. 20
will meet extra enigne 1918 east at Old
Beach, )" and signed the uperintendent's
initials to it. After completing this order
he began calling Mammoth Tank, where
a large helper engine was kept to assist
heavy trains over Pilot Knob, large
hill near Ogilby. This is the order Nam
moth Tank received: "To engineer. ex-
ira east: Engine 1918 will run extra
Mammoth Tank to Ogilby and meet No.
20 at Bartram.'
AS heard this my blood ran cold with
horror There that villain sat making
lap order with those two trains as uncon-
cernedly as possible. Each train would try
and make its respective meets. which
would result in their colliding half
way between the two sidings. 1 closed
my eyes and shuddered. Even then |
| imas lined l could hear the passengers
wild shrleks as they were hurled into
| eternity. Little did those passengers re-
alize then as they sat in their coaches
how near they would be to their maker.
| NV hands burned to get at the villain 3
| throat, but he had made a good Job of
securing me.
Suddenly the cloud burst broke upon us.
| Rain descended in torrents. the thunder
rolled across the sky like charges of heavy
artillery and lightning flashed inces-
sanity. Darkness soon came upon us, but
! there was no sign of the cloudburst stop
ping. When the lightning flashed l could
see the robber still at the key, and l
| knew he was waiting for the helper engine
at Mammoth Tank to sign its order and
rush to its doom.
For nearly five minutes there was
| lull in the Storm then it recommended
| with still greater violence. Suddenly 1
heard a cracking sound; saw great
! flash, and then | was thrown violently
across the room. | was stunned for
| few seconds, and upon rising found that
| my hands were free. An instant later an
| other flash came. and it lit up the lnte-
rior of the Office like day.
In that short space of time l saw the
robber still at the desk. He mad not
noticed my escape, thought, as threw
myself upon him, and clasped him by the
| threat. but the instant my hands touched
his flesh / recoied in horror. He was
stone dead. HIS face was burned black,
part of bis red shirt was torn Off and the
hand that held the key was black and
shriveled. Now 1 saw what had &C.
Cured.
| Lightning had struck the wires out
side, and running through the instru-
ments had killed the robper instantly.
The brace that I was tied to held the
ground wire, and that was how it had
! freed me.
! fastening to light lamp, remem-