The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-06-17
NERVE WILL Do Anything
HOT RACE BETWEEN TRAINS ON
TWO SOUTHERN RAIL-
ROADS
A ROMANCE IN IT AS WE'LL
Exchange of Cards by Passengers
as the Coaches Ran Side by
Side Resulted in
Wedding.

w eN11nB.
Yes, sir, a little nerve will do most
anything, observed the travelling man
positively to the night clerk at one of th-.
Broadway hotels the other evening after
the Boer war, the Philippine policy, aud
Bryan's campaign had been discussed TO
standst1ll, says the New York Times
The clerk gently showed the others
elbow off the register and received the
signature of a belated arrival The rev
guest having been sent up on the eIe-
vator, the clerk replaced the pen behind
his ear and awaited the story quietly:
Now take my own case. for instance"
continued the travelling salesman, conf
dentially. Nerve and circumstances are
responsible for my run UP to the metrop-
Oils when my territory extends only
through the Southern states, and I'm SELL
ing for Cincinnati concern at that.
Pretty good story, and you're getting it
first hand. Fact, / haven't begun I'M
loading 1t on the trade yet.
Now this particular case of the exer-
else Of nerve amounting almost to genius
reVolVes about friend of mine who secs
the South for a Chicago harness house
About two years ago we found ourselves
one summer afternoon on the Brunswick
branch of the Southern railroad, bound
from Chattanooga to Atlanta We sat
IL the smoker talking shop and smoking
bad cigars until we got to Dalton, Ga,
shady. sleepy little horse place, It's
principal excuse for existence being that
two important railway lines run through
it, The trains of the Southern and the
Western Atlantic run into the same little
union station
Leaving the station to the southwark.
the single tracks of the two rival lines
run side by side for a distance Of five
90r SIX miles over perfectly level stretch
OF country. So near together are the
rails OF TIE two rival roads that the cars
OF the trains running side by side appear
to almost touch SIDES. We had not Ear
: ttcuiarly noticed this f0ct before, but we
viii never forget it again. At least nv
friend won't for he wont be allowed 10.
[ guess.
CROWDS UNWONTED INTEREST.
'On this particular afternoon we 10
tlced that the population of Dalton gath
cred about the union station in groups o.
soft-spoken, felt-hatted Young ard ola
ana pretty IN lawn and muslin, and
slouching, smiling negroes seemed to dis
play little more interest than usual
our tram had just come to a stand
still when a passenger train of the West
ern IL Atlantic rumbled In On the other
track to our right, with the locomotive
bell ringing slowly, and stopped with
loud hiss Of steam from the air brakes.
AS the few passengers entered our car
one, gray-haired man past middle age
with broad-brimmed light hat. seated
himself behind US and stuck his head our
of the window:
Judge, l hope to take yo' money.
san. he. observed to gray-whiskered
man on the platform
" All right, Cu'n'l,' responded the other
cheerfuiiy. I know You do. but I reckon
you WIFI be disappointed this trip
lie same sort of bantering was going
on all over the station. and there was
d look or expectancy on eYerybOdy's face
Even the conductor on our train had
sort Of preoccupied air. We noticed thu
but thought possibly It referred to the
outcome of some sporting event at one
of the country fairs, and paid no more
attention to it for the moment
All aboa d. sang out the conductor of
All aboa' d. came almost instantly
from the Western & Atlantic Conductor
he engines of both trains gave a Wig
orous puff and then a rapid succession
the ralls. We were off together, and
gathered Roadway unusually quick The
two engines almost pulled in unison as
we cleared the station shed and got out
into the bright light.
When is that darned train going to
get out of my sight? exclaimed my
friend, who was sitting with comic pa
per in his hand on the end of a seat near
est the window facing the w 6, A train.
''Out We went with a CHATTER beyond the
roundhouse and railway shops, through
the little field Of tracks and frogs and
beside US. We cleared the last little
warehouses, and then the negro huts.
with their family groups waving the Gus
open country. The chug-a-chug of our
engine had become rapid that it had
merged into che long continuous hiss, and
We could feel cur car begin to rock as it
whiFled over the rOadbad
CARS KEPT SIDE BY SIDE.
Eve looked across the aisle through the
windows on our left and saw the fences
and trees and telegraph poles fly by like
phantom procession. But when we
looked to our right we seemed to be
standing still. There was the same car
of the w. & a. train that had stood Op-
posite Us in the station. 1t was rocking
heavily, bat seemed to be attached to u
in some way. It's window opposite would
slowly go ahead few inches and then
recede as much pulled off my hat and
looked down between the two cars The
strip OF ground between the tracks was
/ floating by like a trembling white rib
bon and the ends of the cross ties, as
we flew over them. Tesembled a solid
black border to the ribbon Of white Pas
sengerS in our car began to wake up and
wonder what made the car rock SO and
to ask each other what the matter was
The conductor entered the front of
the car and made his way down the
aisle. holding on to the back of the
seats and taking tickets as he came The
colonel behind him hailed Pin 1@rniiarIy
and excitedly.
ing her along he shouted above the
roar Of the trains.
% He is, sab. He is indeed letting her
out! replied the conductor smiling grim
ly.
4 observe though, continued the