The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-09-28

freighthouse.
Saturday night when we entered
the cut below Cuba leaned over the
boiler head and yelled to Collins:
Look out for the headlight, Frank
we came out of the cut, swung
around the north end Of the reverse
curve, and saw nothing out of the or
binary But as we thumped around
thelower end of the curve on the brow
of the hill the binding rays of head
light flashed In our faces. I took
Kings advice, and, pulling the throt-
tie valve wide open, drove straight
at it.
I'm few seconds the headlight
fiickered and faded away, precisely as
the red tail-end light had done. Sew.
eralhundred yards further on we were
stopped by torpedo signal. and King
came running along the side of the
track. He stopped below my win
dow and said, laughing.
It's all right, Joel I've cleared it
upl just what / thought it was,
tool I'll see you this afternoon-I'm
coming down to Springfield on 49,
Shortly after two o'clock that aft
ernoon King came to my lodging
house, and, running up the flight Of
steps to my room, shook me out of a
sound sleep.
"'Wake up, therel Consarn you'll
don't you want to hear about the
ghost I've capturedY he bawled in my
ear. i intended to ask you to guess
q couple of times what it is I've dis
covered, but see it's no use to do
that now, for your sleepy brain
couldn't think q little bitl An, be-
sides, don't believe you know there's
such . thing as a zinc mine In the
state of Missouri
"'Say, quit your foolishness, and
talk sense, can't you p retorted.
Talking sense, then, Joe, the ex-
plantation is this: When youh day
light run, do you remember seeing that
zinc mine on the side of the mountain
| across the ravine from Knobview? It
don't cut any figure whether you did or
didn't see it, it's there just the same,
an ! caught the spook at that zinc
minel
The mine, Joe, Is higher up by about
40 feet than the elevation of Knob
view, and little to the right of that
place. You know how sharply the road
turns to the left on the lower end of the
reverse curve, and then runs fairly
straight to Dillon, from which point it
is as straight as an arrow down to Rolla.
Now, If you go over to the mine and
stand with your back against the south
east end of the shaft house you can look
right down the stretch Of track from
Dillon to Rolla, and then looking toward
Knobview you can see clear up to the
cut above the reverse curve, but only
the short, level portions of track in the
curve will be in the line of vision.
The shaft house at the mine is built
right up against the side of the noun
tain, and, as the light is shut off on all
sides except from the southeast, the
company owning 1t has always been
forced to have artificial light inside the
building, the ordinary windows not let
ting in enough daylight to answer their
purpose. Some months ago the win
dows were taken out and nearly the en-
tire southeast part Of the building
was fitted up with combination OF
| prisms and lenses to catch the day.
light and turn it from its original
course into the dark interior of the
building
~ knew this fact, and also knew
the exact location Of the mine, and
reasoned that the light we had been
seeing was caused by refraction, and
was nothing more than the reflection of
the tail-end light Of 81 on the siding at
Rolla. These prisms being in direct
line with the north end Of the siding,
would reflect the light between that
point and the water tank, where the
| station buildings would intervene be-
tween the light and the prisms Soyop
can readily understand why we would
see the light at different points on the
curve--it all depended upon the posi-
| tion of 81 on the siding We never saw
the phenomenon when 9I was running
on the original schedule, because the
train was always down by the water
tank, and, consequently, hidden from
the prisms by the station house. But
since the time had been shortened on
them the crew were usually about en-
tering the switch when we struck the
reverse curve, and we caught the re-
Aection of the tail-light on every
straight piece of track until rounding
the hill below Knobview,
"Iast night let the agent at Rolla
into.the secret, and we rugged up an old
headlight, setting IT up near the switch
stand, right in line where the taiI-light
of 81 would be when on the switch at
that point, and he promised to cover
up the tail-light as the train got on
the switch,
i took the roadmaster's track tri-
cycle and came up to the curve to see
how the scheme would work. guess
you couldn't see as we'll as did, but If
you noticed it the light didn't show up
until you turned the lower curve be-
low the Knobview semaphore. That
proves that when we'd seen the tail
light in the cut 81 was nearly at the
water tank, and when we'd seen It
where you did tonight the freight was
just taking the switch.
1--WE can tell hereafter exactly where
TO locate the real 81. and also the phan-
tom freight expressl Eh, Joe p -
Philadelphia Press.
II One Mans wisdom,
i pix~pid you ever get stuck ON q
counterfeit bill2
Hix-No, When ! get hold of one