Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1899-05-27

spasmodic ticking of the machine anu
tho heavy breathing of lis operator
was audible. He sat bolt upright IL
his chair, his left hand on the arm,
his right busy with the key, His
eyes were riyeted on the table before
him. For n moment he WAS busy
with his message, and then, silence.
And what IL silence! Not a muscle
moved, not sound could he heard.
Even the agents breathing had
stopped. He watched his machine
with the gaze of lynx. | STOOD he-
hind him, my heat :hrobbing with
anxiety aud fear, At last, after II
silence which seemed ages, the ma
chine began to click. l watched him
while the message came forth from the
wires. 1t was, evidently, a satisfac-
tory reply, for he did not appear more
agitated. The machine soon stopped.
He rose from the chair and came
towards me. 1t needed no words to
tell me that he had suffered during
those five minutes. Great drops of
sweat rolled down his cheeks. His
hands shook through anxiety. Placing
them both on my shoulders, he nl'
dressed me thus, in hurried and i'm
passioned voice:
II don't wonder that you're sur
prised-Heavens knows that | was
awfully frghtened!-but listen: | got
orders this afternoon to stop the
freight train which just went by here,
on our turnout. was TO detain il
until the Boston express should arrive,
and then allow it TO 60 ON. But,
somehow or other, forgot the order
AS you know-and didn'tthink about
it till few minutes ago.
"Soon after 1t went, / heard from
b., two stations above here, saying
that the express had just left there
for this station. You see, it doesn't
stop at A., the one between here and
b. That message reminded me of my
mistake, and now the express and
freight have both been running to.
wards the same station. If the eX-
press had arrived there first, and left
before the freight got there, or they
bad not received my message, then
-then-" lie paused in his rapid
talk, and said in an awful voice
"then there'd have been collision,
and I'd he to blame. But God knows
that didn't mean to forget TO obey
that order" said he, impulsivcly.
''There was only one thing to be
done-telegraph to A., telling them to
hold over the train that arrived there
first. That did. For five minutes,
as you saw, 1 waited in mortal agony
for the answer to that message. 1t
came just now. Said that neither
train had arrived, and that they'd
hold over the one thai got there first.
So, thank God, was not too late, and
that everything is all right"
He sank into chair and folded his
arms on his breast. Hardly had he
done this when the ticker begain
again. He read the message, and
then, as the clicking stopped, he
bowed his head on his hands and
sobbed aloud. The message was.
"Have stopped the express here; will
hold over as directed"
The Boston train reached d. half an
hour late, by reason of the stop-over
at A. Bidding my friend goodnight,
who was now completely Gained
down, I boarded the sleeper, and soon
went rolling toward life and civiliza.
ton.
Two weeks later I came across q
country paper from the vicinity in
which my adventure with the ticket
agent took place, and I noticed this
article:
much to tho surprise of his
friends, Mr.. John Huss, the popular
and trusted station master of d., last
week resigned his position, and has
now, we learn, removed to New York.
We wish him success in his new quar-
tiers. ".-Wayerley.