The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-19

Express Messenger Wins the COTTON
Mans $4,000 Roll - Money Lost
Was His Employers, and I'm De-
spnir the Clerk Blows Out His
own Brains-Why Sprunt Quit
RniIrOading.
CHARLESTON, S. c., Nov. 16.-"So far
as attending results are concerned" re-
marked a retired railroad engineer last
night, the most remarkable piece Of
gambling of which l have ever heard oc-
CURED some years ago when I was run
ming a local passenger train on the c..
& w. railroad. My train one night was
side-tracAed at a way station with a
Wasbout ahead and another behind us. 1t
was while We were killing time that this
game was played, and it makes my hair
stand to this day when I recall the way
in which a corpse came to life in the
midst of the play"
The engineer rubbed a big handkerchief
over his brow and filled his pipe my
train was scheduled to leave - at p.
m. Before leaving - we had to make
connection with the through train from
the north, and on account of the bad con-
dition Of the track 1t got in several hours
late. 1t was o'clock when my train, No.
%, pulled out
Well have bad run tonight, I am
thinking said the fireman, as he climbed
in the cab, and they have dead man in
the baggage car to keep us company If
these rains continue I think We'll have
more collins to fetch back tomorrow
I'VE Travelled slowly, and when about
nifty miles out saw a dim lantern on the
track, and the brakes were given a sud
den jerk.
H. cried the man who had tagged
US, the trestle ahead has been washed
clean away. There is no chance to cross,
and you'll have to go back
1.-The conductor gave orders to pull back
slowly to high trestle, ten miles in our
rear. On our side of the trestle there was
a long stretch Of straight track, and when
two miles away We saw the headlight of
freight laundering down at full tilt. The
engineer ran right on to the bridge with
out slackening his speed. Just when the
freight got midway of the bridge there
was crash, and bridge, train and all
went down. We got up slowly. There was
no sign of life, and we realized that we
were cut off in both directions. Nothing
could be done, so our train pulled up a
mile and stopped at a siding.
I'm the baggage car there was a teIe-
graph instrument, but no operator. The
express messenger said he knew a few
calls, and he thought he could tell the su-
perintendent Of the wreck. A loop was
hooked on the main wire and the instru-
ment was connected, but the messenger
was not good at the business and, after
trying for twenty minutes, he had to stop.
IF this guy in the box here was not
dead, said the baggageman, we would be
IN town He was a fine operator before
he cashed in his chips
The most worried man on the train
was cotton dealer from New Orleans.
who was travelling with barrel of money,
The man came in the baggage car and
talked frantically of the delays After q
time, however, he got more cheerful. and
stood around and watched US plavIne
cards. When we had changed from seven
up to poker the cotton man asked If he
could get in, and we were all glad to have
MIN. There were five in the game-the
conductor, express messenger, baggage
master, cotton broker and q neWsDaner
man. The messenger was the best gambler
on the train, and he got a streak of luck
P1teT time. The newspaper man and the
paggagemaster dropped out, the conduc-
tor sticking to make the three The mes
eenger, Sprunt, was sitting on the foot
OF the coffin, and the f1agman said that
this was why he was having luck. The
playing got hotter and the conductor
dropped out, leaving Sprunt and the cot.
ton man, big fellow, who introduced
himself as Smith. He had been losine
steadily, but he brought out punches Of
new bills every few moments One or two
pots had been rich. In one there was a
least $1,000, and the one following haG
tuIly $l,6OO. The two pots came over tC
sprunt.
1T was not & long game The play.
ing had been quick, though the finish
came, strange to say, in view of subse.
quent events, on a deal by Smith But
bprunt was so slick that I am not sat
lshed to this day that the thing was
square. When the crisis came Smith was
neahng. He shuffied the cards carelessIy
Rnd rolled off ten. Everything was a 1acl
pot. Sprunt said he could not open If b,-
Smith smashed it with a handful of banl
notes. Sprunt surprised US by COMING
back with a heavy raise and for a moment
the raising was Wild.
Sprunt drew one card and Smith STOOD
pat The betting continued until Smith
Sill
had small amount, but he said he woulf
call. Smith felt sure Of what was n
sight when he laid down four deuces. bu
his breath stopped short when Sprunt put
down four fives.
"All the while Sprunt had been sittine
on the coffin. God, there is something
alive in this box, he said For a moment
everything was still There was a fain
tapping, and the conductor took an AK
knocked the lid off, and there was tn,
man, with his eyes open, breathing. TIL,
man spoke and called for a drink. Tel
minutes after he was lifted out he wa,
revived and talked. He was Jenkins .
telegraph operator. We were still in III,
car staring at Jenkins when the renor
Of a pistol outside was heard We wen
out to investigate, and found Smith, ston,
dead. He had blown his brains out Pa
pers in his pockets showed that he was
a factors clerk and was taking the mono,
which he had lost to pay for cotton. Th,
loss of $4,000 had upset him and fear q
results caused him to commit suicide w,
took the body back to the baggage car Il
put 1t in the coffin formerly used by Jen
kins. After that night .Sprunt quit tn,
road"