The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-28
THE TELL-TALE TICK.

Copyrighted by Lester ShuIer.
/ had knocked around in Australia for
| five years, put in a years service In In
| dia, and had whack at the Transvaal
| insurrectionists as a volunteer, only to
settle down at last as a telegraph oper-
ator at Rocky Forks, a telegraph station
between Omaha and Sioux City 1t was
my business to transfer messages between
the two places, and to connect with points
further along.
The next station fifteen miles further
up the road, was Dismal Point and here
Tom Brown, my Oldest and truest friend,
operated. Tom and l had roughed It all
over the world together, and when we set
tied down here it was to be near each
other.
One day Tom telegraphed down TO the
that he would meet me at Rocky Forks
next Tuesday for a days shooting. He
said he would come down on the o'clock
train in the morning. and wait for me to
get off at noon. After that we would go
up into the hills and shoot along the
points of the ravine.
1 liked nothing better than a days out
ing with Tom, and 1 quickly licked back
word that he could rely on me next Tues
day, as that was my day off.
The following day there came a message
through Omaha that the United Express
would ship $12OO0,OO0 In bullion over the
road to Sioux City the next Monday night
and that the train would pass through
my station, Rocky Forks, at 8:15 in the
evening. 1 telegraphed back that I'M
derstood 1t, and then 1 opened up the in
strument and asked Tom If he had receiv-
ed the message yet. He said that he had,
and would look for the train seventeen
minutes earlier at Dismal Point.
That day and the next / passed In my
usual way. Sunday was uneventful. and
would have seemed long, except for the
constant ticking of the instrument, which
was kept busy sending messages about the
important shipment to be made the next
day. Monday evening at 1880 / looked at
my watch. 1.-The train will soon be along 4"
/ said. 81 guess / will call up Tom, and
see if he knows where it Is"
/ called up Dismal Point, and Tom an
swered.
THE express train Is one station up the
! road" said he, land is ahead of time. 1t
win wait here five minutes. I'll let you
know as soon as 1t leaves here. To-mor-
| row"
| There was sudden pause In the ticking
| and then a strange hand sent the meg
| sage: THAT is all
| I called up Tom again, but he did not
answer; 1 kept calling, but no response
came and 1 thought that the wires had
| become entangled
/ waited for the express with its $1,000
| coo i'm bullion until 8:15 but 1t did moi
| a t.rfva Then I tplqpraDhp6 I'm the road 10
Tom, but there was no answer. / waited
| five minutes longer and telegraphet
| again, but etill no response.
"rhe wires must be down." said.
I walked out upon the platform and
looked up the road. To my surprise,
saw in the distance an engine coming to
| ward me, slowly swinging down thu
| track. As 1t came nearer / saw II was
empty, and as 1t passed me | boarded it
| Reversing the engine, | started back M
| the road / went with such fire as / coulC
| get up back to Dismal Point. There, in from
| of the station, stood the express car
| rifed of it's contents Across one of tbs
| trunks the express messenger lay dead
| The engineer and fireman were so badly
| stunned that at first | thought they, too
| were dead, but after some time | l@)ugh
| breath back into the life of the former
He poor fellow, was too daZed to speak
and 1 lifted him into the car, thankful tina
| he was alive.
When / stepped into the little station
where Tom always sat, an awful sigh
met my eyes. There. sitting at the in
strument with his back to the door, was
my old friend, a dagger sticking through
| him, and fairly pinning him to the table
1 grasped the wooden handle, and pulled
it out with all my strength, only to receive
| his cold body in my arms.
Well they never found out the robbers
OF the train. The engineer had been
struck from behind, and could remember
| nothing; and, after waiting only long
enough to see my old friend buried, /
resigned by position at Rocky Forks and
struck out again. But on Toms grave,
back in the woods at Dismal Point, put
shaft Of wood, and on it / carved these
words: Living, / will pursue you to the
end of the world. Dead 1 will come back
to you"
Below put Toms name and age, and
vowed aloud the oath that / had there
written, to find the murderer of poor Tom
Brown.
Three years later, found myself sta
toned at New Ellsworth, a suburb of New
York / was in charge of a private wire
connecting with the new Atlantic and
Pacific Telegraph Company, which com
municated with all parts of the world
IT was one of the richest Organizations
of the new world. and L was proud to
be an operator in its emDloy.e-
! My duty here was to transmit the pri-
vate messages of the company, for here
the president had his summer home, and
here also were the trustees and those who
! manipulated the road. Many confidential
messages passed through my hands, and
! I treated them with becoming confidence.
! never liked the president Of the COM
! pany, though he lived in the handsomest
house in the place, and treated me with
uniform courtesy. He had a cold uncer-
tain manner. that did not seem to be wor-
| thy of trust. Certainly / should not have
| put my millions into his hands
| One night, when he did not reach home
his wife came down to the telegraph Of
fee and nsked me IL L had hnard from