Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1896-09-26

ing on the idiot. while hurting all
sorts OF exasperating epithets at the
engineer. who by this time, was near
" blind with rage.
At this moment the conductor made
his appearance. and crawling out up
on the tender. began throwing humps
of coal at the boy as the engineer, put
ting on steam. drew near the poor fell
low.
Fortunately the conductors aims
were not well taken. for had the
young man been knocked down the To-
connective would have undoubtedly run
over him.
From this the rough autocrat of the
train desisted. for the idiots hackers.
with an American sense of fair play
that animates even the toughest of our
! brutes, began pelting the conductor
with stones. each pebble sent with the
accuracy of rifleshot at that part of
his animal economy where the legs
end and the body begins. He re-
treated hurriedly to the engine house,
where he rubbed his person in COM
ical way with one hand while with the
other he assuaged his rath by furious
ringing OF the bell. The engineer Sec
onded his efforts by letting off short
shrieks and keeping the locomotive
frightfully close upon the heels of the
wretched youth.
Having begun life with strange
disposition TO take upon myself the ills
of others. and rinding such practice
extremely unpleasant and useless, /
have gradually trained myself into the
other extreme, and generally bear the
misfortunes of my friends with phil
osophical Indifference that is very
composing. On this occasion, how
ever. forgot my cynIcism and found
myself running under that broiling
sun, shaking my list. with my heart in
my mouth. at the conductor. and de-
manding in the most authoritative
manner that he stop the train.
From the depot to the tunnel was
about half a mile; to accomplish this
distance the train and idiot occupied
/ some 20 minutes. The passengers,
crowded at windows and on the plat
/ forms, took as lively an interest in the
affair as the entire population OF Glen
Cove that accompanied the train an d
Il Oek&AC0 tAC 81 WAS u &O1otHu ~
/ the passengers, and they expressed
their satisfaction by the hyeliest bet
/ ting and cheers, first for the locomotive
and then for its strange competitor.
/ II was neck and neck between life
and the locomotive. A false step, a
stumble, and the huge mass of roaring.
throbbing iron would have gone crush
ing over the frail body of the man, who
so strangely impeded its progress.
/ And such result was imminent; for the
/ poor fellow, exhausted by excitement
and Over-exertion, staggered at times.
and at times reeleu as il about to fall,
in way to make me shudder.
That such would probably have been
the result became painfully apparent,
when an abrupt and somewhat unex-
pected termination was put to the
cruel sport. The man stationed at
the mouth of the tunnel and employed
to keep its murkey depths clear of OBJ
structions. suddenly seized the youth.
at the risk of his own life, and threw
him with some violence to one side.
Such was the effort that both rolled
over, and the huge locomotive, giving
shrill scream Of triumph, dived into
the tunnel, followed By the long train.
that disappeared as IL the earth had
opened and swallowed it.
sat down at the mouth OF. the sub
terranean excavation quite exhausted
as the crowd dispersed, ard from the
mouth of the dark entrance was pleased
to find cool damp air that came out
in puffs, as if a dragon were cooled up
within and painted out its cold, clam
my breath. 1 asked the old Waterman
series of idle questions, and OF a sta.
tistIcal sort, such as a man under the
circumstances always INDUCES in. He
grunted out the exact length OF the
tunnel, the time required to construct
It, the accidents that occurred within
his remembrance, and altogether, in
response to my leading questions, ex.
hibited good deal Of information on
tunnels. For a man to know one
thing well is power. II is better,
however, to believe you know some
: one thing and impart the information
! to your friends. IL is bore at best
and just as well when it takes the
, shape Of tunnel.
: Having excused the hole In the
ground-and really, come TO think OF
: it, there was nothing in il Il spoke OF
the late race.
Cray jackassr' quoth the senten-
tious guardian Of the excavation; he'll
git killed vet, and sooner the better
for all consumed. /"
why, do they often put him up &c
, that?''
J ''No, not frequently. They do it on
that train sometimes, for they hate the
: conductor. Onct, long ago, IL wasn'i
: needed. He used to run ahead OF
J every tain, clear through the tunnel,
! a warnin' people of. They switched
that out nv him. Now the ornary
cusses puts him up to it,
Queer sort Of insanity"
isn't it7 and he was onct a bright
feller-a raie schollard.''
, ''lndeed2'
Yes. was onct, but left his senses
: in this tunnel.
: 'Why, how was tbat?''
well, you see, he's the son Of old
Judge Conrad, Of these parts-only
child. at that-and was sent to colIep g.
J and no end of trouble taken and