Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1896-01-02
Collecting a Fare.

chant. 81 was at that time travelling
for the house in which am now
partner, and my business took me to
the Rocky mountains. There were
two or three stores up in the noun
tains at the terminus of branch road
they were building up to some mines,
and l had to take them in. There
was tremendous grade-I presume
as much as 200 feet to the mile for %
miles-and the two trains a day that
passed over the road with passengers
were not the finest on the continent
However, they were good enough and
beat a mule train all to pieces.
"There were not more than a dozen
passengers in the single coach. very
primitive affair indeed, when we start
ed, and by the time we had gone
dozen miles there were only two of us,
and one of them had come on at the
last station. He was equal to all the
other dozen, though, for he was just
drunk enough to be ugly and terror
besides. He had two big guns in his
belt and knife to keep them company,
and when the conductor asked him for
his fare he simply gave him cursing.
when the conductor insisted on his
paving, he told him if he didn't get
out he would fill him full of lead and
tap him with his knife, and the con-
ductor retired but in no good humor.
AS he sat down in the corner by the
stove where | was, | asked him who
the passenger was, and he told me he
was the worst man in the mountains
and had killed man for every finger
he had on his hands. He had at one
time shot a hole through the conduct
or's hat, but the difficulty had been
patched up temporarily.
81 could see the conductor was feel
ing sore, and when stopped asking
questions he shut up like clam and
devoted himself to profound thought,
every now and then looking over his
shoulder toward the unamiable pas
senger. Some time later when we
might have been five miles from our
destination the conductor asked me if
| wouldn't please take my bag and
step into the caboose that served as a
baggage car. l did So and took my
seat on one of my sample cases, the
conductor shutting the door of the car
behind me and leaving me there. A
moment or two later felt the train
start forward as if part Of its load
were gone, and in a minute or so the
conductor came in. | asked him what
the matter was, and he pointed to the
door. l got up and opened it, and
instead of finding the passenger car
where had left it, it was flying back
down the track at breakneck speed.
In another moment it had whirled
around a curve and was out Of sight.
"How did it happen?" Ia8ked the
conductor in horror.
"'Got loose some way, he said.
Where's the passenger we left
there ?"
"'Hes there yet, [ guess.
"Well, aren't you going back to do
what you can? The whole thing will
be smashed.
Wouldn't be surprised.
Then he stepped to the forward door
of the caboose and told the engineer
to reverse the engine and go back.
Five miles down the track we found
the ramshackle old passenger coach In
a million pieces at the bottom of a
gorge 100 feet below the track. We
couldn't get to it then, so We went to
our destination, where the accident
was reported and the coroner notified.
He went down the next day, but could
not find enough of the terror to hold
an inquest on, and returned a verdict
in accordance with the facts and gave
the revolvers to the conductor for fu-
ture reference. "
"'Did the conductor cut the car
loose?
That's what the coroner asked me,
replied the narrator, "but how did
know? The conductor hadn't word
to say to anybody, and he couldn't be
compelled to testify under the circum-
stances"
An incident occurred on a suburban
electric car that caused laugh among