Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1901-05-23

don't mean to stop. He paused. IL
guess one thing that kept up my cOur-
age was the thought that my mother
was praying for me, and that there
was a good home with its door always
open waiting for me if the worst came
to the worst"
They trudged along in silence.
I'm only a boy" said the lad, pres
emily, land you're man, but hon.
estly think if I were you I'd go home
and see my mother, and take a rest,
and talk things over, and start in
fresh"
Then came sudden diversion.
The boy stopped, looked back and
turned hastily.
"See this !" he cried. A rail had
been taken up, and was lying on the
ends of the ties, the freshly drawn
spikes beside it. The strangers face
paled. Train wreckers !" he gasped,
and his bright eyes searched the bush
covered sides Of the embankment.
"Hark /" cried the boy. "The e1-
press is coming"
There was fringe Of trees along the
track where it curved slightly two
miles or more away, and above the far
thest tree tops puff Of steam sudden
ly arose.
ut must be tagged I" cried the boy,
and looked about him wildly.
Here" shouted the stranger, as he
tore open the battered valise. "Flaunt
the cardinals red robe at them +
"Halt !" cried a ringing voice from
below.
Three men had emerged from the
bushes and were climbing up the en-
bankment. Something glitteredin the
hands of the foremost. Halt" he cried
again.
run !" shrieked the stranger.
The boy started up the track at full
speed towards the approaching train,
the red robe flaming out behind him.
The man with the revolver came up
almost abreast of the boy as the latter
sped by.
Halt the man cried once more,
and leveled the revolver at the flying
lad.
But the stroller, with despairing
glance about him, had caught up one
of the spikes and suddenly flung it
with all his force at the desperate.
His aim was sure. The flying iron
caught the ruffian squarely on the head
and tumbled him down the embank-
ment to the very bottom. At the IN
slant he struck the revolver went OFT,
but the bullet flew wide and The boy
sped on. The other desperados, climb
ing behind their leader, saw his sudden
overthrow and hesitated. Then they
turned and scrambled down after the
bounding form of the injured man and
disappeared in the bushes.
The stroller watched their fight
with great satisfaction. Then he
turned and looked up he track. Far
ahead he could see the boy wildly
waving the red robe, and still farther
ahead was the steam-crowned black
dot that he knew was the coming To-
comotive. Then he heard the shrlll
shrek Of the faraway whistle and knew
that the engineer had seen the signal
and was applying the brakes. In a
moment the train had rushed by the
boy, but its impetus was rapidly
slackening and the huge mass OF glis-
tening iron, groaning and painting,
came to dead stop hundred yards
J from the lifted rail.
| Then the boy came dashing up
with his hands outstretched.
Have they hurt you?" he cried.
"Im all right, said the stroller, as
he grasped the lads hand. "But say,
my boy, you're plucky one. You
never finched when that rufian held
the gun on you. You're good stuff.
And he grasped the boys hand again.
"I thought sure he'd nail me, " said
! the lad. "What made him miss
81 tossed him an inshoot with j
railway spike over the ear, said the
stroller grimly. "Iguess haven't for
gotten all my boyhood cunning. He's
down there in the bushes with a bro
ken head"
And then the engineer came run
ming up, followed by the conductor
and the train crew, with group oi
passenger, trailing in the rear.
The trouble was soon explained and
everybody insisted on shaking hands
with the stroller and the boy, al
though the former stOutly declared
that the lad was tn. only hero Of the