The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1896-03-27

I through which wild Rock held COM
! munication with the outside world,
was dark save for one oil lamp whose
feeble rays were flashing through the
window and doing much more toward
4 illuminating the depot platform than
they were toward frightening the dark
corners inside the station. In the
operator's room there was the constant
tick of the sounder
Ms the wires carried their messages
across the table on their journeys east
md west.
Beside the table sat the operator,
Fred Burgess, in the large, easy oihce
chair. his feet propped up against the
partition that separated him from the
little watng-room and his hands
clasped behind his head. The last
train for the night had passed, and
rs he was expecting no orders for has
station, nc was paying no attention 70
the constant chatter OF the little in
strument, but was thinking. thinking
= of the events of the next day, OF 'h'
crimes committed in the name OF th'
-. law, thinking of the innocent people
+. punished and the guilty ones who es
/. capped.
. Fred Burgess had come 10 the LITTLE
A frontier station, not because he needed
= the position that the place afforded
= him, for he gave up better one L
/, accept it. and not because his hcalt'
d, demanded change If climntc. bu
for love of adventure. lie ha'
found the rough hospitality OF tn
% western people uncongenial, how
: ever. and was beginning To regret tn
h fate that had brought him west, whe
Il one day. some months before, he me
IT, Frank Wagner. who had accompanie
his brother to the railway station. III
n acquaintance for med that day Ia
/, been cultivated, and both had afte
n, ward found the wess much MOI
II congenial place than it had seem,
Ill before
as TX XXX XXX H" The little Il
IL s,rument seemed mad. so loudly did
"a repeat the letters time after tim
:. hut il was not until the sound OF II
- last "click" had die away and 9th
To letters were passing backward al
81 forward over the wires that the ope
~ ator recognized and answered his OH
liz call.
n II have an important message !
he Wild Rock. Is there any way
reaching that roinf from your off
on tonight" said the instrument, aft
ne the call had been answered.
~. 81 am afraid not; there Is no O
NO rear here hut myself and the sect
a. crew. and no way OF covering the
"a miles between here end Wild Ro
on after night" answered the operat
hc And then the thought flashed throu
,as his mind that il might be news of
&c pardon they had so long expected. q
III. he added at once: What Is the IN
AS sage about"
~ sent by order of the president
mi. stop an execution At that place
morrow morning" was the reply.
Ia, "Scnd il at once and | will deli
. 81 II myself. IL God permits" went fly
Der back To the end of The line. IN
,o with painful slowncs.. the instrum
owl licked out its glad message. 1t
hat AS follows:
,uta WASHINGTON. n c., Nov.
,uld ~ ~ .,,ii pocL. president orders
the ec,,tion OF frank Wagner. CONDEMNED
,ort he hangel tomorrow morning. stop
,,.u and the release of the prisoner upon
rival OF pardon papers forwarded thro
oon regular channels -. seeretai
'''h The good words had come. but
what time The operator rccogn
WAS the fact that il lay with him whei
pur- or not his friend YVES to die. and
was could he save him? II lacked b'
iced Nm. o,.r four hours before the
heir