The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1898-02-02
THE PLUNGE OF ~
y THE ARCTURUS.
BY MRS. ANNIE A. PRESTON.
,gq ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS,
CHARLES sat at the round table, un.

CHARLES sat at the round table, I'M
| der the hanging lamp, reading the
evening paper aloud. The family were
listening in the Acknowledgement way in
which all-even the most sympathetic
are obliged to regard the daily news,
which is largely made up of others
etNyocs, of whom we have no personal
knowledge.
For variety, here is a railroad COLI
SION said the reader, after going
through long list of coasting ACCT
denis, and he proceeded to read an
item, which ended with John Swift, the
engineer of the special, reversed his
Engine, whistled for brakes, and saying
10 his iiremGn: Look out for yourself,
David jumped from the locomotive;
but his feek caught in..the. xiI;ssman, s,
eNcitement-and the poor fellow, who
was one of the oldest and best engineers
ON the road, was thrown beneath the
slowing wheels and quickly mangled to
death. Had he remained upon the en-
giwc, he would have come out unhurt.'
when did it happen? ?" quickly spoke
up Horace Mason, Il near neighbor, who
had dropped in-as he often did-for an
hour in the evening.
lie sat in an easy chair, balancing a
stout crutch-whieh stood him in stead
of his right leg-across the arm, and
now, without waiting for an answer to
his question, went on, with deep sigh:
Poor John Swift! So he has gone
in that way at last. He has always been
called reckless, but luck has been with
him until now; while /, who was al
ways far more cautious, have been fire.
Qucntly in trouble, and after having
been jammed, bruised and pinched, I'M
til il came TO be said on the road that
! had as many lives as a cat, have lost
a leg and come off barely with my life.
John Swift and l began firing on
the Noneticut River road, on the very
same breezy March day, 25 years ago.
lie was promoted to be an engineer
long before j was, but was not jealous
Of his good luck, and / will tell you how
it happened.
when we had each been throwing
wood about two years, there was a fear
ful freshet on the Noneticut river, after
which our road was named. and with
which it ran parallel for 40 miles or
more
1T was good road, well managed by
conscientious officers, who treated their
employees as if they were men and
brothers, and kept their stock away up
above par, by making their road as
nearly perfect in every way as rail
road can be made.
The Noneticut river fairly outdid it
sell in the way of a freshet that year.
There was a tremendous amount Of
snow at the north, and when, after Il
long rain, the ice broke up and went out,
II made block at the Narrows, above
the ONbow falls, and in two hours time
The water had spread out over the great
meadow on one side, and had sub
merged ten rods of our track on the
Other midway between Eosuch and
North Nosuch stations, taking every
body by surprise, for the oldest inhab-
ltants even had never before known
the placid, steady Noneticut to attempt
gong beyond its prescribed bonds.
Late that afternoon the freight that
/ was firing was standing on a siding
at North Nosuch station, waiting for
the express to pass us, upon whose loco
moliye-the MISUNDERSTANDING Swift
was fireman.
There was high wind, the rain was
pouring in torrents, the slush was ankle
ueep, and as darkness settled down
upon us there was promise of the worst
Kind of night for railroading-or any
thing else, for that matter-that could
take person out of doors.
just as the express came whistling
into the North Nosuch station, little old
Jimmie Hughes. droll Irishman, who
h'ed IN a small shanty in the center of
DIS good a 'pertatee-patch' as there was
On the river road, came hurrying and
wheeling into the passenger station.
Every hand on the road knew Jimmy,
ana made point of swinging their hats
at MN and his ovid woman in her
sun, white apron and her white double
ruiiied cap, as she stood by him, smiling
ana knitting, while he hoed away, keep
ing the weeds out of the potatoes and
cabbages.
There is throuble below!' ex.
elaimed Jimmy-'throuble enough be-
low! An the track-bad luck to it'll
nave gone down out of sight into the
ri'er. An the river itself, as it most al
ways does whin it gifts IN such tam
,nrum, is roarin' an foamin', wild it's
nig chunks of ice. a-pilin' up! An all
'he tonne il coomes creepin'
on an creepin' ON. TILL ] be-
ave in my heart it will coom' in an
warm itself by the fire wild the ovid
woman an me! An the telegraph
poles-bad cess to 'em!-hiv' laid Thin
serves down straight to rest beside the
,oadoed; an it amt so much to be won
uered at for they hiv' been standin'
tnere summer an WHITTIER, rain an
fhoine, iver since my ovid woman an
me COON to this country
The telegraph wires were down
somewhere, we knew. The operator had
found IT out an hour before. The ex-
press passenger going north would wait
Al Aosuch for the outgoing south, until
: naii-past seven, when 1t would come ON
Unless teiegraphed to remain where it