The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-09-03

"i1h rou WuieherS anu n8nlnB eycS--
You shet up" the spokS as
saying to her father. "S LS
got nothing to say aboutT MI
you git orders you'll pull @ I
r well chuck ye into yer W7
box. See 2" IN
Phoebe heard the threat VI
eyed horror.
Norman for five minntes\
away at the key writing am
string of unmeaning dots and
to fill up time. Then the red-b
man interrupted him.
Gimme that time table," ~
pointing to the sheet over the ~
| tors desk.
Norman hesitated, obeying
at the point of u pistol. The ma
his grimy finger up and down
columns of figures until he found wnat
he wanted.
Its all right, boys, we don't need
no orders. Fust meetin' points fifty
miles down the road. Mister lightnin'.
| Singer, you come out behind there =
we'Il take YOU long, an then you won't
be gittin' switch turned ag'in' us at
the fust side track"
Norman held back and tried to gai1
more time by arguing the case, but
the pistol came into play again, and
he had to go without SO much as &
word to Phoebe who was pale with in,
dignation and fright
When Norman surrendered, thd
man spoke again. Now then git a
move on that engine driver, an we'll
CO."
Pfebe'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. Supposing her father'yielded.
or, what was more likely, supposing
they put him on the engine and made
him responsible for his life and theirs,
while one of their number ran it?
Phoebe threw herself down at the table
and began to call the first station east
of Orival with frantic eagerness. II
she could only raise the operator at
Little Butte in time to have uthem
warn the sheriffs special
Again and again she wrote "lu"
"lu," signing "oj" at every fourth
repetition, but there was no answer
break, and the angry voices on the
platform grew louder and more
threatening. At last, knowing that
death-messagesatake precedence of all
"deth" between the signatures, and
then the operator at Little Butte
broke in and answered. Phoebe began
to tremble nervously through her mes
sage, but he broke in again:
West bound special passed here
five minutes ago." was what calne
clicking back +; and then she knew that
If POI left Orival there would be col
lision
The mere thought of it made her
Sioi- ''-' and the lights in the
Il
Sas lsss sajpaa dpsf @hen %he ss ms e Gs 9fsss with
move down the platform, and she neafu,
the leader say: "All right, my covey,
We'll put you on the engine an go any
way"
Before the crowd was fairly in
motion, Phoebe had snatched the
switch key from it's nail on the wall,
and, darling out of the back door, she
skirted the mob and tle v through the
darkness toward the forward end of
the long freight train. SAs she ran
she prayed that the engine might not
she nearly cried with 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 glistening MndGr the
mogui headlight swerved to the side
track. Knowing that there was a
chance for failure If she tried to start
the heavy train Phoebe darted back
and pulled the coupling-pin between
the tender and the first car, running
forward again to climb into the engine
just as the first stragglers of the crowd
began to come up. They gave ber but
a moment, but that was enou, sh.
Engine 800 had an easy throttle, and
Phoebe he'd opened it more than once.
The vanguard Of the tramp army saw
a hutter of skirts on the foot boh ard,
heard Kissing Of steam in the cyhin-
ders and two or three sharp colgghs
from the exhaust, and then theH big
mogul dropped from the end off the
open switch and plowed into thefties,
blocking the track as effectualny as
fifty tons of iron and steel could }do it.
Phoebe did not wait to see swhat
would happen afterward. ShR had
done her part; there would be no col
lision; and they could not blame her
father for something he had no hand
in. She was safe in Mrs. Hannah 3
kitchen by the time the special
whistled for the station; and when the
train ratified up and he sounds of the
fray floated across the track to her
refuge she hid her face in Mrs
Hannah's apron and cried as any other
girl might whose father and uncle
were in the thick Of a battle.
"There, there, Phoebe, girl. don't
cry, dear; they'll he all right" com
forted Mrs. Hannah, and she was still
trying to console her when Tom Nor.
man ran in.
"Where is she? Where's the little
! girl that's got more sense and sand
than all the rest Of us put together ~
| Phoebe looked up quickly. ooh
Uncle Tom, where's pa? Is he hurt p
Ono, he's all right: only they are
about to smother him with praise. Mr.
Johnson's over at the station, and he
wants to see you"
| Five minutes later shy little CIR
with tear-stained face was led int
the presence of the superintendent
who sat at the telegraph desk send
\ ing messages right and left. He rose
and took Ph9Le's hands in his In
way that made the little group o
trainmen forget for the moment tina
he was the stern cold man" of tn,
division.
"And this is the little girl VIII,
ditches our engines, is it 2" he said
gravely. What put such tnini
into your head, my child ?"
"Oh, 1t didn't have to be put in
know there would be headender