The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-05-02

In. The throttle was wide open and
me little engine was rolling SO hat the
bell rang continually. The fireman had
put in his last fire and was now strain
ing his eyes to catch the smoke of the
special.
The engineer, with his left hand OF
the whistle rope, chung to the side of
the cab to keep from being thrown
out of the right of way.
The wheels under the sewing ma
chine were 70 small hat the best she
could do was As miles, and now when
h came down to the very last second
there was still a quarter of a mile be-
tween her and the meeting point, but
at hat moment the flying wheels of
the special engine crashed over the
switch and shut her out. The little
sewing machine, hid among the sand
hills, was straining every nerve to reach
the passing point at which she was
already overdue. The man on the spe-
cial was just beginning to feel sure ot
his position when he rounded a curve
and saw the light engine emerging
from a shallow cut. OF course he shut
OF and tried to lessen the force of the
collision, but to stop was out of the
question.
The fireman on the light engine saw
the special and warned his companion.
for they were curving to the left and
h driver could not see, but the four
men knew that nothing short OF n mir
acle could prevent a dreadful collision
and that in a few seconds time they
would all be piled up in a heap. Both
drivers had called to their firemen to
jump, and the firemen had turned to
their windows. The special engineer
was in the act of reversing, that he
might take the good opinion of the
official with him. The other driver only
showed the throttle lever in, braced
himself and awaited the shock.
A man who has never lived up to his
last moment OF earth and survived to
tell about it afterwards can never know
how much business one can transact
IN his mind during that moment in
which he waits and listens for the swish
of the scythe. But one does not always
review his past life at such a moment;
often he wastes time thinking about 4
mere trife.
The driver of the special engine had
a boy. and this boy had climbed up on
a picket fence to kiss his father good
by that morning at their home in Salt
Lake, but he slipped, fell and hung there
with Il fence picket through the seat of
his first pair of trousers; and it was all
so funny that nov as the engineer re-
called the circumstance he threw back
his head and laughed as heartily as he
had ever laughed in his life. The fire.
man, casting Il farewell glance at his
companion, saw him laughing and con-
cluded in his last moment that the
driver had suddenly become insane, but
as he glanced ahead where death was
awaiting he was not sure hat he was
sane himself.
The driver, having finished his laugh,
and still feeling no shock, looked ahead.
The track was clear. He unattached the
reverse lever and threw the engine in
the forward motion, and the speed OF
the train, which had been but little
checked. carried them away down among
the sand hills. The driver looked over
at the fireman and asked: did you see
anything?"
NO said the fireman. Did you?"
And the driver said no, tried his water
and opened the throttle, and the engine
whirled away, while the fireman re-
turned to his place at the furnace door.
I'll, +,,, ,,n, r,,rnal,- p1n,anl ~
each other again until they stopped for
water at Green river, but each in his
own mind was recalling all the wild
tales of ghost trains" he had ever
heard. Each was firm in his belief that
he had seen a ghost" but he would
never tell it-not for his job.
The official in the special train felt
the resistance of the engine when the
engineer shut off and reversed, and the
general manager, turning TO the super
intendent, asked, with 4 show of sur
prise:
when did you put in that siding"
what, back there? That's Coyote
spur, and it has been there for six
months" was the reply.
Il know very we'll" said the manager,
where Coyote spur is, for we waited
there - minutes for No. 5 going down
the other day, but we just passed 4 sid
ing on the north"
The superintendent was inclined to
be funny. but the colonel, stroking his
lcnggray PETERS, remarked that he had
seen n locomotive standing at the poin.
mentioned, and las trains are not in the
habit of meeting and passing between
stations. I take it that there must be
asidingt there. There was just a twinkle
of mirth in the colonies eyes, which, de
spite the finger marks left about them
by the touch of time, are still bright
with the sparkle of youth, but the SUI
pe~rintendent was utterly unable to I'M
derstand the general manager.
There was silence for a little while,
but the general manager was by ro
means satisfied. He pressed the button
and when the black porter came in he
asked: Did you see an engine on ii
siding back Always, George"
NO, sab, l haven't saw no engine.
D'aint no sidin' 'cept Ci-ote spur, an
dat wus clear"
"Send the conductor to me-" said the
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