The Arizona sentinel., 1895-10-12
A NIGHTS ADVENTURE ON THE
 COLORADO DESERT.
| Telegraph Operator Has Thrill ling Experiences Masked
 Man at the Key.
By R. R. BOwERs.

Dy Aes AGs OOhEIESs
 As 1 sit in my office this evenins
 listening to the rain pattering or the roof, recall to mind an ad-
 venture that occurred to me when
 l was a young knight of the mystic key, several years ago.
 l had not been an operator very long when I was sent to Volcano Springs, one of the loneliest places a human being could live in, on the line of the Southern Pacific rail- road. During the hot summer months in that country we have what are called cloud bursts. One minute the sky will be perfectly clear, and in the next forked light ming will be playing across the sky, rain falling in perfect sheets, and in an hour or two the sky will be as clear as wedding bell. We were having these cloud bursts daily, and even then as I sat in the office one could be seen coming over the mountains several miles away to the west.
 Just then l heard a footstep, as though some one was trying to see how easy he could walk, near my door, and instinctively I put my hand to my belt for my revolver, which I always carried. It was not there, and then I remembered 1 had not rep laced my belt after taking a rap that afternoon, and was rising to go to my bedroom for 1t, when a man, dressed in blue oyeralls and red shirt, stepped through the doorway, and covering me with a pistol, commanded me to throw up ny hands. He was powerful built man, and had his face hidden by a mask made out of a red handkerchief.
 I did as he commanded and he tied me very securely to one of the braces of my little office.
 Perhaps you don't think I was frightened; but was, and it took me several minutes before I could recover my usual composure.
 1 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 Los Angeles. That he was an operator there was no doubt, and the question was settled in my mind when he sat down and began calling Yuma for a '9," which means on a wire "train order" When Yuma answered he gave him the following order: "To c. and E.. No. 20: No. 20 will meet extra engine 1213 east at Old Beach" and signed the superinten- dents initials to it. After com pIeting this order he began calling Mammoth Tank, where a large helper engine was kept to assist heavy trains over Pilot Knob, a large hill near Ogilby. This is the order Mammoth Tank, received: "To engineer, extra east: Engine 1918 will run extra Mammoth Tank to Ogilby and meet No. 20 at Bartram :"
 As I hear this my blood ran cold with horror. There that villain sat making a lap order with those two trains as unconcernedly as possible. Each train would try and make it's respective meets which would result in their col liding half way between the two sidings. I closed my eyes and shuddered. Even then I imagined I could near the passengers wild shrieks as they were hurled into eternity. Little did those pas sengers realize then as they sat in their coaches how near they would be to their maker. My hands burned to get at the villains throat, but he made good job of securing me.
 Suddenly the cloud burst broke