The Republican journal., 1897-08-12

-MlSS M Any II. ca1O1 oobolOWAs Az y.
ly saw the switch lights in position; red
for danger and white for safety. The
shades of evening had settled upon the
mill building and its surroundings and
the only visible things were the switch
and switch lights. After l had closed the
door the darkness in the car was intense;
l could imagine that the yellow corn upon
which l crouched was saying to me, ''sub
nit all who enter here to the darkness and
murmur not" Reluctantly | submitted
to my position and commenced to cut
hole in the door slide, which was soon ac-
complished. l made an aperture about
the size of a silver dollar, and placing my
eye to it found l could cover the switch
to my satisfaction. | now made myself
as comfortable as | could under the cir
cumstances. The grain in the car was
sufficiently high to give me a position
within easy reach Of the ''hole' through
which was destined to go the leaden mis-
eternity.
| sat in total darkness awaiting the ar
rival of the train wreckers and the express.
Many thoughts began to surge through
my brain. ''What if my mission should
prove unsuccessful? Suppose the villains
should succeed in throwing the switch
! bo no =
pice. Or, if | should be discovered and
the car run down the siding and dumped
into the mill pond-a thing which could
be done comparatively easy. Again, [
might be drawn from the car and bound
hand and foot, be thrown on the track to
be ground beneath the wheels of the swift
my mind. l was entirely at the mercy of
any one who should approach the car from
any other direction than in range of my
''port hole" While ! was thus solioquiz-
ing the bell in the village tolled the hour
of nine O. clock. One hour remained be-
fore the express was due. The waiting,
lHC ulCdtt, tllC aNl III SOiClIllly l1lo
of an unknown william or villains, and see
ing them tamper with the switch and
change the signals, for the devlish pur-
pose of murder and robbery, all tended
to strain my nerves to the highest pitch,
beyond the power OF expression. A peal
of thunder sounded in the distance and |
surmised that storm was approaching.
The rumblings became more frequent and
distinct, and the glare of the lightning, as
seen from the aperture in the door, made
weird pictures about the switch and rails.
This added to the horror Of my situation,
seated as l was, a prisoner, in the midst
of such gloomy and foreboding evils.
Consulting my watch, with the aid of
the lightning, saw that it was O. 40 o clock
and in 20 minutes the express would come
laundering along. The storm was now
gathering with greater force, growing
more and more intense; the lightning was
playing around the switch necessarily, so
that it was illuminated with an intensity
which would enable me to readily discern
any movement toward its destruction or
displacement. The peals of thunder
sounded nearer and nearer and more ter
rife, until it seemed as if the storehouse
of Vulcan had been oosened and all it's
contents concentrated in this locality The
storm cloud soon burst directly over the
car and let down deluge of water. The
lightning's freaks became more frantic
and, providentially it seemed, it furnished
me with the light needed AS the storm
continued to rage with greater fury, one
could almost believe that the elements had
gone mad, and l began to feel alarmed at
the swaying to and fro of the car, wonder
ing what would become of me and the ex-
press should the brake chains snap For
myself, l knew it would mean certain de-
struction, and | could think of no differ
ent end for the express train and its occu-
pants. | said to myself, "possibly this
is to test my courage" The reader can
imagine my feelings at this time. In about
fifteen minutes the safety or destruction
of the train would be determined, and it
all depended upon me. l needed courage
and must not allow myself to become
needlessly alarmed.
The minutes pass. Few now remain,
and the express if on time would arrive.
AS l started to place my eye to the
aperture a ball of fire entered the car and
made a circuit of it. Miraculously was
unhurt, but in its swift passage it had
burned some of the corn and the odor was
plainly perceptible to my nostrils. The
bolt of lightning made its exit through
the hole had cut in the small door, and
l noticed when I again examined it, that
it was much larger than before, aid
ing me materially in my observations
of the switch and its surroundings.