The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-10-31
THE LIANT"

| lawyer and his wife, whose guest he ' happened be for dinner The law yer leaned back, too, but the lawyer s wife could not because the telephone was up against the wall behind her seat. But they do believe them down in he country where I came from, !" continued the doctor, while the law yer's wife crumbled up cracker and let the pieces fall into her finger bowl For instance, a story was current when I was about fourteen years old that was realistic enough and had proof
 enough to have been so even If it was
 not.
 "The Pennsylvania railroad-known
 then as the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and
 Chicago-was building, and the right
 of way cut through sandhill less than
 a quarter of a mile from our front
 gate. In building the line there were
 several places to be graded, and no
 better material could be found than the
 gravel in this hill Next to the wagon
 road, which wound away through the
 sands of the hill, stood the red house
 and barn of Graham Davis, Some time
 before this scourge of smallpox had
 NlolleQ Luc tOllilllQillty' l W. VI Ni'S
 Davis children had died almost on the
 same day. Anyway. they were hurled
 in the same coffin and in the, same
 grave. The graveyard was in the or
 chard, as great many graveyards of
 the early settlers were.
 "As the railroad company pushed in its siding against the hill Graham Da- wis found himself short of room, so in
 the course of time he sold that corner of his farm to the company and moved from his house and barn, forgetting all about what he had in the orchard. The neighbors remembered, and it was not long before weird stories of slam ming doors and grewsome noises were told about the country side Some peo- pie went so far as to declare they had seen the two children, hand in hand, going through the orchard to the school, as they had often been seen in life to do. This happened only at midnight when the moon was high and the tir clear so there was little chance of making a mistake, The side-track made its way farther and farther into the hill. The crew of this gravel train consisted of Irish shovelers, Yankee conductor and Scotch engineer. One by one the trees of the orchard fell as the gravel was dug from beneath and loaded upon the fiat cars by the red shirted gang, who talked and joked and idled away their time like flock of geese.
 '"One day the crew came upon a box buried in the orchard A shout went up from the Irishmen, for they had found the skeletons of the children. Down on the siding stood the long train of flat cars, with the engine smoking away at the end. Robert | Watson, faniiarly known as Bob, was flaming himself in the window of the | cab. Conductor Thompson was some- where along the shady side of the box ! car which did duty as the caboose. On the hill there was big commo- ton, and the sand and gravel came 1own faster than it had ever done be- lore, following the heels of the shovel CTS, These 1rishmen ranged them selves by the side of the train, pant ng and jabbering in a way few could Bob Watson stuck his head far out from the cab window and inquired he cause of the trouble. Conductor Thompson went leaping up
 he hill like kangaroo until he got to box half covered with sand beneath tree in the orchard. Then Thompson vent back faster than he went up, and 'at down on a tie. No color was in lis face, and his hands trembled. Sur him crowded the Irishmen, yho made so much noise no one heard he lightning express as 1t went thun- Iering by. Nor would the men go back o work as long as the box was on the ill. Engineer Bob Watson called the onductor to him and learned the situ- Ition.
 "'I'll take the things out of there,' aid the engineer, as he slipped down he iron step to the sand. Up the hill e went until he came to the box, vhen he caught hold of the protruding nd and he gave 1t twist that sent oth box and engineer rolling and tum- ling with the bones rattling down the i'll. Conductor Thompson sent dele- ation to the new home of Graham Davis to tell him where the bodies of he children were and to request him to arry them away.
 Then the men went back to work. When evening came a large Irishman ralked up to the cab of the engine to here Engineer Bob was lighting his ipe.
 1" You've got the hant, Bob Watson, nd if you take my advice being man hos uninterested, you'll get out of his job and won't pull no train on this ivision of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne nd Chicago road.
 Engineer Bob Watson laughed, got ( ne signal from the switchman and f lew two blasts from the whistle for off rakes and started toward town with 1e water boy trailing along behind in n attempt to catch the improvised ca pose.
 "The incident on the hill was forgot m, almost, perhaps entirely by all ex- ept the Irishmen who seldom lost ling of this kind from their memories ime brought many changes. Bob ratson was advanced until he was ven charge of night express be- veen Chicago and the east. Conduc- IT Thompson controlled the destinies
 the passengers on this same train. ne night they were coming into Chi lgo, with the moon shining full and 0 e face of the country almost as clear r
 at moonday. Off to the left was the F