The record-union., 1898-05-08
AT LARGE.

| 1t was the first time 1 had ever at
| tended q race meeting. and I vowed
mentally it would be the last That,
| as q matter Of fact, it has not been
| the last by a good many is neither here
| nor there The resolution (Which only
| mention as an Indication OF my state of
mind at the timel was a good one in
itself, and good resolutions, however
sincere, are notoriously difficult to keep.
l had come over from G-that morn
ing with few pounds in my pocket;
and not only had l dropped every penny
Of this money on losing horses, but some
| juggler on the race course had relieved
me OF my watch, plus the return half of
my railway ticket, which, according to
a habit of mine, l had placed for safety
inside the case.
| The serious nature of the predicament
in whicIII found myself Will be at once
appreciated when 1 mention that the
distance between H where 1 was
and c., whittier I wanted to go, is
something like forty miles; and that, as
did not know soul in H, there
was no one within reach to whom
could apply for a loan sufficient TO cover
the amount of my railroad fare. How
|
situation flashed on me at a later period
but in the meantime the difficulty of
finding a solution to the problem merely
depressed me. To perform the journey
Oh foot would have been an arduous
Undertaking at any time, and seemed
altogether out of the question now, for
the evening had closed in tempestuous
and wet. and I was dead tired.
| inf 20
| C by the 6:15 train, and toward that
hour an irresistible attraction drew me
to the railway station. AS | stood dis
consolately watching the trains depart
crowded with people in exasperatingly
high spirits, l formed a desperate re-
solve. l would travel without ticket
by the next train for c.. This hap
pened to be the 8 o'clock express, which
stopped nowhere on the journey except
for few minutes at S, on the cut
skirts of c., to enable tickets to be
collected. My idea was to stow myself
away under seat; and if l could be
fortunate enough to secure a compart-
ment all to myself, I should only have
to remain in this concealment until We
started from H, and to go back to it
again for the short time we stood at
After pacing the streets, in the dark
ness and driving rain, for two miserable
hours and half 1 returned to the sta
| ton and took up a position just in
| side the door of the deserted waiting
room, which was dimly lighted by
single gas jet. The train was already
! drawn up, and there were signs that it
was not going to be a heavy one, which
!
solved to put off to the last moment be-
| fore getting in. Directly in front of
me stood a third class carriage, which
| as yet was quite empty. It remained
so 40 to within five minutes of start
| ing time. and then a drunken fellow
came reeling along the platform and en-
| tered one of the compartments. | re-
| coSnized this person as a man. ap-
parently of the seafaring profession,
who had been winning all day on the
race course. He had probably dallied
too long in some public house, and
missed the earlier train by which most
of the visitors had left L hoped that
the hideous bawling which he kept up
! Iincessantly under the impression doubt
less, that he was singing might have the
effect of soaring intending passengers
a compartment exclusively for me. in
accordance with my desire; and, wheth-
er from this cause or not, it is a fact
that at sos o'clock he was still the sole
| occupant Cf the carriage.
l could not well DELAY any longer.
None of the railway officials were on
hand, and so, leaving my post of OBJ
servatiOn, l skunk across the platform
- q nd int
next to that in which the uoisy inebri-
ate sat. Having closed the door softly
| craWled under one of the seats and
lay there as close to the partition as
possible, quaking and ashamed | must
have been completely hidden for the
seat was broad and the shadow deep;
but although. in one sense, never felt
smaller in my life than l did at that
moment, it seemed to me that my body
tOCOk up an extraordinary amount of
space
My chief fear now was lest any one
should. after ALL come into the COM
partment, as this would not only neces-
state my lying motionless in an un-
comfortable position for over an hour
which was a comparatively small mat
ter, but would greatly increase my
chances Of detection, which was much
more serious consideration Under
these circumstances the two minutes Of
waiting seemed endless, and the sound
of every occasional fOotstep passing the
door outside threw me into fever of
anxiety and brought cold perspiration
to my forehead
At last the signal for starting was
given, and the train began to move.
This was to me the most painfully try
ing moment of ALL for, until we should
gather some speed there were still a
few seconds during which it would be
possible for some one to jump in and
so disappOint my hopes just when they
were at their highest. And, sure
enough, scarcely had the motion of the
train become perceptible than a man
suddenly thrust his head in at the win
dow and scanned the interior of the
compartment. l was at once struck by
the extraordinary sallOWness in the eX-
preston of his eyes. To my relief he
did not come in, but withdrew his head
and vanished almost as quickly as he
had appeared. An instant later the
banging of a carriage door and an up
roariOus welcome from the tipsy sailor
told me that the latter had found a
travelling companion.
The speed of the train rapidly in
creased. and l soon felt secure from all
possibility of intrusion; but I was still
in condition of extreme nervousness,
and started violently at the sudden
Gathering of the window sash. and the
fracas of the rain beating on the roof
and side of the carriage as we shot out