The Opelousas courier., 1895-12-21

eluuuTSu anu HIty pouluS Ol HcSH, must
suffer from the heat even more severely
than myself, l hoped to derive some
consolation from his misery, and SO
strolled up to the railway station to
meet him.
l found him sitting in q chair on the
platform of the station, moist, but
cheerful. q
"This is What you might call right
smart of a hot day" he remarked. "You
Englishmen, livingsin your everlasting
fog, don't know much about II Mon
tana weather. l tell you, when we start
beat all creation"
SIS this sort of thing usual in this
part of the country" | asked.
"Well, mol" he replied" II can't exactly
say as 1t is. I've sceh the thermometer
considerable higher than it is to-day, but
/ never saw a sky like that before, and
L never wilted under the heat as I've
been whiting since morning. Come
along inside. Ill telegraph up TO
Athcnsville and ask where No. II is,
then we'll sit down and have a cigar"
The stationmaster went into the tel.
cgraph office and sat down at the desk
Suddenly / heard q sharp, cracking
noise, and my friend ran out of the Of
flee with n startled expression of face.
There's an electric storm in the air."
he exclaimed, "and / don't want to
be too near that instrument if I can
help it. Besides, there's no use in try
ing to telegraph. The wires won't
work, and now / think of it I haven't
heard a message go through the Office
for the last two hours. Mighty curious
weather this. I can't account for it no
how"
He dropped into a chair; and almost
at the same moment his dog, a big col
lie, anne whining into the room, and
cooled himself up in tie extreme cor
ner, trembling and moaning as il in
pain.
'"That there animal knows that some
things wrong" said the stationmaster,
'but he amt going to tell what it is.
Well! this weather can't a stmuchlong-
er, and we'll probably have a thunder
storm by sunset"
"Tell me something to pass away the
time," said I. MY nerves are ell up
set, and I want to forget myself for
awhile il l can"
Let's see" said the stationmaster re-
fiectively; did l ever tell you about
Jim Cutter, and the way he was
surprised? 1t amt SO very much of a
story, but perhaps it'll do all the better
Tor that reason. A story that has got
much to it is u mighty thirsty sort Of
thing, and there amt anything to drink
here just low except warm water. Well!
heres the story, such as it is, and if
you get tired of listening, just say SO,
and I'll put on the brakes.
"Jim Cutter was the conductor Of a
freight train on the West Huron rail-
road, and he was one of those chaps
who think that they know 1t all, and
you can't surprise 'em do what you
will. One night, about ten years ago,
we had n of the most tremendous
storms that ever blew in the lake re-
gion, and the West Huron track, which
runs for thirty miles or so alongside of
the lake, was six or ten feet under water.
The day after the storm let up, Jim
started out with his train, and went
feeling his way along the line, looking
out for washouts, and drift wood, and
such, and finding rather more of them
than he wanted. just hold on a minute
till | light the lamp. It's grown as
dark as a winter evening, and it's only
five o'clock. This weather clean beats
mel"
A sudden darkness had fallen over
Jericho, and while the stationmaster
was lighting his lamp I went out on the
platform for a look at the sky. The
coppery tint had nearly disappeared,
and q vast cloud of inky black had over
spread nearly the whole heavens.
"Jim was nearly all day running from
Chicago to Ithaca Center; and just a
little after shutdown, as he came
sround a curve, he saw a big schooner
lying directly across the track. He
stopped his train and walked up to the
schooner and hailed her. There was a
man on the quarterback a-leaning over
the rail, and says Jim to him:
"tWho are you?
"sTm the schooner Matilda G. Smith,
Days the man. Who might you beg
"T'm the express freight replies
Jim, and Id like to know what you're
adding on my track
Looks as IL I was anchored here,
don't it?' says the man. The schooaer
dragged her anchor last night, and
tame ashore here where there was
about six feet of water at the time. If
you'll give a look around you'll see that
my anchors down, and that I've got a
riding light in my forerigging, all reg
ular and shipshape. I'm the anchor
watch just at present, my men having
allowed that they'd had enough fun
last night to last them for some time,
and having gone on to the next town
In hopes Of finding something to drink.
I've got a little old Jamaica in my cabin.
md II you'll come aboard well sample
IT,
~ don't want none of your Jamaica
nor yet non of your lip says Jim, put
ting on Q or less airs, as was his
general style. What want is to know
when you cal'late to get Off my track
md let me take my train up the road
81 did tell one OF the men, replied
she captain of the schooner, to tele-
graph 10 Chicago for 4 wrecking tug.
A. h didn't forget to do ii before he
found any whisky. that there tug VIII
N Dlon9 n about two days, and then I