Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-08-16

gain more time by arguing the
case, but the pistol came into play
again, and he had to 60, without
so much as a word to Phoebe, who,
was pale with Indignation and
fright.
When Norman surrendered, the
man spoke again: Now then, git
move on that ingine driver, an
we'll co.
PhOebe's first impulse was to
rush out after them to plead for
her fathers life; then she suddenly
remembered that the special train
was coming from the east. Sup
posing her father yielded; or, what
was more likely, supposing they
put him on the engine and made
him responsible for his lite and
theirs, while one of their number
ran il? Phoebe threw herself
down at the table and began to
call the first station east Of Onval
with frantic eagerness. If she
could only raise the operator at
Little Butte in time to have them
warn the sheri1's special
Again and again she wrote lu'
'Iu' slugIug 'ol' at every fourth rep.
etitlOn, bat there was no answer.
ing bre,k, and the angry voice on
the platform grew louder and more
threatening. At last, knowing
that death-nessages take prece-
dence of all others, she wrote 'deth'
'deth' 'deth' between the sigma.
lures, and then the operator at
Little Butte broke in and answer
ed. Phoebe began to tremble
nervously through her message,
but he broke in again:
'West bound special passed here
five minutes ago. was what came
clicking back; and then she knew
that If POI left OrlYdI there would
be a collision.
The mere thought Of 1t made her
sick and faint, and the lights in
ofliee seemed to be going out. Then
she gasped and came to herself
with a little jerk when the crowd
began to move down the platform,
and she heard the leader say: 'All
right, my cOve,; we'll put you on
the ingine an 90 anyway
Before the crowd was tally in
motion, Phoebe had snstched the
switchkey from its nail on the wall,
and, darting out of the back door,
snc skirted the mob aud flew
through the darkness toward the
forward end of the long freight
tram. AS she ran she prayed that
the engine might not be beyond the
siding, and she nearly cried with
the thankfulness when she could
see the red eye of the signal lamp
peering around the front end of
the big mOgul. In ten seconds
more she was at the switch stand,
the red eye flashed to the east, and
the two lines of rails gIisteniug un
der the mogu's headlight swerved
to the side track. Knowing that
there was chance for failure if
she tried to start the heavy tram,
Phoebe darted back and pulled the
coupllng.pin between the tender
and the first car, running forward
again to cling into the engine just
as the first stragglers OF the crowd
began to come up. They gave her
but a moment, but that was
enough. Engine 800 had an easy
throttle, and Phoebe had opened
it more than once. The vanguard
OF the tramp army saw a futter OF
skirts on the footbOard, heard a
Kissing of steam IN the cylinders
aud two or three sharp coughs from
the exhaust, and then the big
mogul dropped from the end of the
open switch and plowed into the
ties, blocking the track as effect
uallY as fifty tons of iron and steel
could do it.
Phoebe did not walt to see what
would happen afterward. She had
done her part; there would be no
collision; and they could not blame
her father for something that lie
had no hand in. She was safe in
Mrs. Han nah's kitchen by the time
the special whistled for the station
aud when the train ratified up aud
the sounds of the fray tloated
ACROSS the tracks to her r,fuge,
she hid her face in Mrs. Hannah'o
apron and cried as any other girl
might whose father and uncle
were in the thick of battle.
'Tbere, there, Phoebe, girl; don't
cry, dear, they'll be all right com
for.ed Mrs. Hannah, and she was
still trying to console Phoebe
when Tom Norman ran in.
.WbaYn Ia shef Whareis the 1T