New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-04-10
AT LARGE.
From To-day.

The last That as a matter of fact, it has not
been the last by a good many Is neither here nor
there. The resolution (which only ilehtlon as
an indication of my state OF mind az the tlme)
was a good one In itself and good resolutions
however sincere. are VIGOROUSLY difficult to keep
had come over from c. that morning
with a few pounds in my pocket: and rot only
had 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. accord
ing to a habit of mine, | had pla ced for safety
inside the case.
The serious nature Of the predicument in which
7 found myself will be at once appreciated when
mention that the distance betwe en- H. where
l was and c.. whittier l wanted to go, Is
something like forty miles: and that, as / did
not know soul in IL. there was no one with
in reach to whom could apply for loan sufii-
cient to cover the amount OF my railway rare.
How was to get home? The fiumor OF the stu
alton flashed on me at a later period but In the
mean time the difficulty Of finding solution to
the problem merely depressed me. To perform
the journey 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 was dead
tired.
My intention had been to return to G" by
the G:15 train. and toward that hour an ire
sistbe attraction drew me to the railway sta
ton. AS | stood dscOnsOlatey watching the
trains depart. crowded with people in exasper-
atingy high spirits. l formed a desperate re-
solve. would travel without ticket by the
next train for c.. This happened to be the
9 o'clock express. which stopped nowhere
on the journey except for a few minutes
at S. on the outskirts of c., to
enable tickets to be collected. My idea was to
stow myself away under seat; and If could
be fortunate enough to secure a compartment
all to myself. | should only have to remain in
this cOncealment until started from H,
and to go back to it again for the short time
stood at s..
After pacing the streets, In the darkness and
driving rain, for two miserable hours and half
| returned to the station and took up posi-
ton just inside the door Of the deserted wait
ing ROOM which was dimy lighted by single
gas jet The train was already drawn up. and
there were signs that it was not going to be
heavy one, which so far favored my project,
but resolved 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. 1t remained so up to within five min
utes Of starting time, and then a drunken Eel
low came Keeling along the platform and entered
one Of the compartments. recognized TINS per
son as a man, apparently Of the seafaring pro
fession, who had been winning all day on the
racecourse. He had probably daed too long
in some public house, and missed the carrier
train by which most of the visitors had lett
l hoped that the hideous bawling when ne kept
up necessarily under the impression: doupt-
less that he singing might have the erect
Of soaring intending passengers from the neigh-
borhood thus reserving compartment exclu
siyey for me, in accordance with my desire
and whether from this cause or not, II IS a fac'
that at sos o'clock he was still the sole occu-
pant Of the carriage.
could not well delay any longer. None of
the railway officials were at hand; and So leav-
ing my post of observation, | SUNK across the
platform like thief and got into compart-
ment next to that in which the noisy inebrlate
sat Having closed the door softly. crawled
under one OF the seats and lay there. as c!ose
TO the partition possible, quaking ana
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 did at that moment, 1t seemed
to me that my body took up an extraordinary
amount of space. .
NV chief fear now lest any one should
after ALL come into the compartment. as TINS
would not only necessitate my lying motlohiesN
in an uncomfortable position for over an hour
which was comparatively small matter pul
would greatly increase my chances or detectioh
which a much more serious consideration
Under these circumstances the TWO minutes Oh
waiting seemed endless. and the sound or every
occasional footstep passing the door OUTSIDE
threw me into fever Of anxiety ana brought
cold perspiratiOn to my forehead
At last the signal for starting was given ana
the train began to move This was to me the
most painfully trying moment or ALL ior' uhtii
we should gather some speed, there were sun
a few seconds during which 1t would be possible
for some one to jump in. and so dlsappolht my
hopes just when they were at thelr hlshest
And, sure enough, scarcely hau tHe Iilotiol ~
the train become perceptible than man SUI
denly thrust his head in at the WINDOW ana
scanned the interior Of the compartment.
was at once struck by the extraordinary sal
lowness Of his complexion and a certain wlId-
ness in the expression OF his eyes. To my re
lief he did not come in. but withdrew his mead
and vanished almost as quickly as ne had ap
peared An instant later the banging OF car
riage door and an uprOarious welcome from the
tipsv sailor told that the latter had found
travelling companion
The speed Of the train rapidly increased. and
soon felt secure from all possibility or intru-
cion. Int | was still in a condition of extreme
nervousness and started violently at the SUD
den Gathering Of the window-sash ana inc
fracas Of the rain beating on the roof and side
Of the carriage as we shot out from the shell,
ter Of the covered station and became exposed