The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-09-23

not be seen until the train was almost
upon them.
Once before in Lbs experience a
train had been wrecked in this manner,
and she paused and looked at the rails
in puzzled way before it occurred to
her clouded understanding that this
was meant for the 4: 10 express.
Even as she stood there a Earring
sound came to her ears, growing swiftly
louder and nearer with each succeed
ing second.
For moment her heart seemed to
stand still, and then beat again with
heavy, suffocating throbs.
Jim was on that train, and he would
be killed.
That thought was her courage and
strength. She turned back and flew
over the rough ties as fast as her totter
ing feet would carry her, out of the
nger-concealing shadow, out again
into the binding heat and sunlight.
Her breath came in quick gasps, twice
she stumbled and fell, but picked her.
self up and ran on. Now the train
was quite near, and bearing down upon
her at full speed, but she swerved
neither to the right nor to the left.
elf Jim should be killed. If Jim
should be killed." she sobbed breath
lessly, and tore off the pale blue sunbon-
net made TO please his eyes, giving it
feeble wave before she stumbled again
over the ties.
"My God" groaned the engineer,
reversing with suddenness that sent
a shock through the entire train. cts
woman, Ned, and we've killed herl"
The great painting engine came
slowly to standstill, full twenty feet
from the spot where that slight totter-
ing form had been struck, and not
stones throw from the fatal shadow
where destruction waited
"She was wavin' her bunnet in front
of the train" the fireman explained in
subdued tone to the passengers who
came pouring out to know the cause of
the delay. "We was goin' at high
speed, and didn't see her in time"
A brakeman ran forward along the
track and into the shadow beyond the
curve, where the misplaced rails lay,
coming back with his burned face
shade paler than was its wont.
She--she's saved our lives, that
little woman. There's some rails scat
tered just beyond by some darned ras-
Gals, and she was trying to warn u.s."
The passengers gathered round, awe
stricken and reverent, but the engineer,
hardly profane man, with an honest
heart under all his roughness, ground
a fierce oath between his teeth and Or
dered them away.
"Get back into that train and carry
her like she was glass. She amt dead
yet, and maybe we can save her. I'll
run this train back half mile and
switch off, and drive FER down into
l. station as though the devil was
after u.s."
AS the anxious villagers waited,
there came distant, steady hum from
far up the shining rails. The hum
deepened to growl, the growl to
rumble, the rumble to a roar, and with
an appalling speed, unequaled in all its
swift record, the 4:19 express dashed
recklessly around the last curve and
drew up before them, twenty-eight
minutes behind schedule time, but,
thank God, safe!
Many men swarmed down from the
platforms, group of them bearing a
little limp figure, very gently and ten
uoIly' Obo SreaI SianI Carried, AS
reverently as though it were holy
thing, little faded blue calico sun
bonnet
cts Lib I" muttcrod the operator,
looking in a dazed way from her to the
train.
She opened her eyes as her old
friends and acquaintance crowded
round her, asking questions in fright
ened whispers, and Foster held up his
hand for silence as he saw the thin
lips move.
"I-come-to meet-you, Jim. You
know I-said-I'd be-here-sure, an
We'll be married-to-day-a sun"
The faint voice died away. She had
gone,-to meet Jim.-Agnes Provost,
in The Household.