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

Eyes. sir, a little nerve will do most
anything, observed the travelling man
positively to the night clerk at one of thu.
Broadway hotels the other evening after
the Boer war the Philippine policy, and
Bryan's campaign had been discussed to
a standst1ll, says the New York Times.
Fhe 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 it on the trade yet
Now this particular case of the exer-
else of nerve amounting almost to genius
revolves about a 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
pad cigars until we got to Dalton, Ga, a
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 distance OF five
sor SIX miles over a 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 rar
! ttcularly noticed this foct before. but we
Will never forget it again. At least nv
friend went, for he wont be allowed To-
[ guess.
CROWDS UNWONTED INTEREST.
'On this particular afternoon we 40
ticed that the population of Dalton gath
cred about the union station in groups OF
soft-spoken, felt-hatted young ard oil!
men, young ladies looking mighty clean
and pretty in lawn and muslin. and
sleuchlng, smiling negroes seemed to dis
play a little more interest than usual
Our train had just come to a stand
sun when passenger train of the West
ern q Atlantic rumbled In On the other
track to our right, with the locomotive
Deu ringing Slowly, and stopped with \
loud hiss. of steam from the air brakes
AS the few passengers entered our car
one, a gray-haiTed man past middle age
with broad-brimmed light hat. seated
M him nj
of tie window:
Judge, l hope to take yo' money.
san, he observed to a OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
man on the platform.
All right, Cu'n'l.' responded the other
cneerfuliy | know. YOU do. but reckon
you WIFI be disappointed this trip
The same sort of bantering was going
on al over the station and there was
look of expectancy on everybody's face.
Even the conductor on our train had a
sort Of pFeeccupied air We noticed tbh
but thought possibly 1t referred to the
outcome OF some sporting event at one
or the country fairs, and paid no more
attention to it for the moment
our train. -
All aboa'd' came almost instantly
$ The engines of both trains gave a Wig
orous puff and then rapid succession
'ef them as their driving wheels slipped on
the rails. We were off together. and
IA
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 nv
friend, who was sitting with a comic pa
per In his hand on the end of a seat near
est the window facing the w & A. train
out We went with ciatter beyond the
roundhouse and railway shops, through
the little field of tracks and frogs and
switches. the W. & A. train Keeping
VS AN "a nI cd
warehouses, and then the negro huts
with their family groups waving the Gus
tomary frantic adieu,. and reached the
open country. The ehug-a-chug of our
engine had become 50 rapid that it had
merged into enc long continuous hiss, and
We could feel our car begin to rock as it
whiFled over the roadbed.
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
a 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 Us
in some way. Its window opposite would
slowly go ahead a 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 resembled 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 10 the back of the
seats and taking tickets as ne came The
colonel behind him hailed hin 2arni,iarIy
and excitedly
:" BY CAD. Tom. but Bud Devlne is list-
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
:. I observe. though continued the