Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-08-18


on the part OF an infatuated. vain
minded young wife on the one hand
and an unprincipled man of the world
on the other. man who cared not
what wreck he left behind him.
We were just leaving our western
terminus one morning when old Jim
received telegram. lie opened the
telegram with steady hand. read the
message without a tremor and then
twisted ii up aud lighted his pipe with
Il. And yet | came to know that the
telegram told aim that his wife and
Frazer were clipping together and had
tickets for the day express bound
west His imperturbability deceived
me, and | did not give the message a
second thought A man must have
nerves OF steel to con a message like
that and never blanoh. At noon, when
we reached Thomasville, we got orders
to run to Bascomb's and there side
track for the express. We could do II
with three or four minutes TO spare
Baseom's was not even a station, but
a siding half a mile lone on the prairie
and we must do our own switching
For three miles beyond II was a
straight track. and then Il went curv-
Ing and turning among the hills and
over brawling creek. When we had
come within a mile OF the siding. |
looked for Jim TO begin to slow up, but
he made no move. Half minute and
he even increased the speed, and when
I shouted In his ear he waved me back.
We passed the siding at a clip of %
miles an hour and gaining on that ev-
cry minute, and as / at last grabbed
Jlm's arm he pulled a revolver from
his breast and motioned for me to
stand back. me man had not gone
crazy. he had not misunderstood his
orders. but what was he doing In thus
passing the siding? In. a run of three
or four miles we must meet the ex-
press. For second | thought of at
lacking him with poker, but he look
ed over his shoulder at me with n grim
smile and motoned with his head for
me to jump. Then 1t occurred to me
that the train had got away with him,
and / turned and sprang from the cab.
It was soft prairie for the fall, but ID
seemed to me that | turned over and
over 500 times before the breath was
finally knocked out Of my body. When
my senses returned. heard the hiss OF
steam and the shrieks and cries OF In
jured men and women, and | had stag
gered along the track less than a mile
when came upon the frlghtful wreck
The engines OF the express and freight
had met head on, and 30 people had
been killed and 20 injured In the awful
smash. 1t was the most terrible rail-
road wreck for score of years.
helped to get old Jim's crushed and
mutilatsl body out, and ! helped to get
out the crushed and INITIATED bodies
Of his wife and Frazer, but 1t was days
before / got at the true facts in the
case. Finding myself betrayed, the
old man had deliberately brought about
the collision that he might have re-
venge on the guilty pair and be wiped
Nout at the same time. II he thought
OF the innocent who would suffer as
well, he had no pity. He must have
hated the whole world as well as those
who had directly wronged him. 1t
was an awful thing he did, but he Of
fered his own life with the sacrifice,
and somehow I have always felt that,
even though he presented such fool,
calm front to me, the fires OF insanity
must have been blazing In his brain
every minute after reading that tele-
gram.