The Opelousas courier., 1896-11-28
for those whose remains, on two &C.

ously dealt with, when others had
shrunk and turned pale, and hurried
away from the CHASTITY sights.
Lantv, in India, had shown great
gifts as an extra hospital orderly dur
ing cholera epidemics; as also when a
party had suffered severe losses by fall
ing into an ambush i'll Loonungoung,
Burmah. He had for a time been q
medical officers batman in ireland !;
and had evinced such intelligent in
tesest when detailed to help at autop~
sien in the mortuary in Burmah, that
the surgeons had taught him a good
deal about the human bones and the
general lie of blood vessels and organs
of the body.
There was indeed, scarcely a sonse
in which Lanty Riordan could be said
to fear death. Even drunkenness only
gave JUNCTION to his homilies upon the
wisdom Of preparation for our newt
able dissolution. And now, as soon as
he had spent his last few coppers upon
O flask of whisky of specially curved
and flat pattern. prepared for slip.
ping into the breast pockets of tray
elers-''lor use in the tunnels" as
the leering barkeeper said-Lanty
ceased his m%elodious singing of "Ihe
Young May Moon" and staggered SOL
EMMY along droning the "Adeste
| Fidelis'' in his rich and tuneful bari
tone.
There had been many hours of sat
urating rain that day, and having
met his evil genius, Potter, Lanty Lad
made the wild and wet weather a plea
for spending it in drinking, treating
and wild card playing. Potter had
been discharged from the service of
the Grand Southern Railroad for dis
honesty, and had never since ceased
from efforts to make Lauty commit
himself. This unhappy day he had
succeeded. With this wild orgie
Lanty had ended oil his money and oil
his luck; and now, as he struggled
over the wire fence into the cutting,
maudlinly singing the fine old Latin
hymn, he smilingly pictured the COW
ardly, mean face of the man who had
comprised his ruin when he should
hear of the shocking accident" nett
morning.
"Begorra," mutterea Lanty, "'tis e
feather in his cap it will be, if he only
knew it, bad scran to him! To think
of the likes of him, q white-livered
cur, dhrivin' Lanty Riordan, no less,
to a bloody indl Ay! and the spal-
peen will faint stiff if they tell him to
pick up the pieces, when they find
me!
"Well, I had my chance, an chances
on the top of 1t! Not alone from
Misther Roche and Father Olpherts,
but from Mrs. Roche herself-the
blessin' O. God on her! Shure, didn't
she warn me agin Potter. 'Riordan.'
she would say, when Potter sees you
one day dragged in the gutther, he
will rejoice over your downfall, an
rub his hands wild glee to see the mas
Their an me made mock of because Of
you'll! 'Twould be the thruth she
spoke if I would live to see it! But
the nine o'clock express will settle the
business otherwise. wild my brave
Tornado doing her ffty-fye mile an
hour at the head of it'll"
Here Lanty paused u~nsteadily for a
moment before the semaphore which
had just rattingly signaled $50
ahead?" with its green light to the
approaching express.
Now.the new coal depot, as has been
indicated, was being made by the
gradual filling up oil a small valley
which ran for some distance irregular.
~ parallel to the line. The practice
a to lay down temporary lines, upon
which loaded cars were cautiously run
to aid the settling process. When the
surface was sound and level, the line
wa of course relaid at the level of the
permanent way, which had formerly
been upon an embankment above the
depression. The heavy rains of
that day would search out weak
places, and be Of great use in help
ing the settlement of new and old ma
terials.
In his least sober moments, Lanty,
from long practice. was able to stride
safely amongst sleepers and rails. So,
when sinking first to his ankles, and
then, with a plunge, up to his knees,
amongst unsupported sleepers on the
main line, his intelligence of the fear
full condition of things half sobered
him. A subsidd bee had taken place
in the side of Il 10 bank next to the
coal depot at a 4pint beyond the con-
troll of the sema (hore; and the next
train, the famd is nine o'clock ex-
press, would be Wrecked if it reached
the defective place.
"Lord o. mercy on me for a drunken
swab what am I to do now?" cried
Lanty. eff I had a bit of a red hand.
kerchief to put over the green light
= No! even that wouldn't make a
red one. Waitl I'LL make a white
light wild my ovid lanthern, anyway"
Dashing off toward the dismounted
car which had been his dwelling, he
for the battered old stable
lantern in which he used to place his
candle, and which had that morning
been thrown out of the hut. He found
it am6as1t the sweepings and rubbish
which, together with his very primitive
furniture ans himself, had had to
give place to on Acans, iron bolts and
of all ~sortsi!
"The blessed ELMffrs be praisedl"
cried Lanty, ~''tlere's ten minutes of
in it yet :9'an' the express will
be here in less time" G