Rock Island Argus., 1902-12-12
DAILY SHORT STORY
The Persistent Passenger
lOriginal.l

| The lightning express had just
moved out of the Union station, and
the conductor had emerged from the
| baggage car and begun TO take up
| tickets. Coming To u gentleman with
| pale complexion, red hair and gold
| spectacles, he punched his ticket, hand
| ing it back with tho remark, Don't
stop at Blimton."
Don't stop at Blimton? Then what
did the agent sell me Il ticket on this
train for?"
| The conductor passed on without 4
reply, clicking his punch, turning from
right to left and left to right, like the
president bowling to n crowd.
'See here, Mr.. Conductor. If you
don't put me off at BlimtOn, I'll make
| it hot for you"
"And If you don't shut up III put
| you off in swamp"
HThe passenger was very angry, NUT
tering to himself about the tyranny of
railroad men. When the train reached
Blimton, he pulled the bellcOrd and
made for the door. The conductor,
who happened to be in the car, seeing
the act, gave a signal to go on. but not
before the train had slowed down and
conductor gave terrific stop pull on
the cord and made for the door him
self. In few minutes the train hands
were carrying the lifeless body of the
passenger into the baggage car, where
it remained till the train reached its
first regular stop.
Six months after this event the night
express carried n passenger who pre-
sented n ticket to BlimtOn and was
informed that only local trains stopped
at that station. When the train reached
Blimton, the passenger went to the
door and gave leap in the dark. y
brakeman who saw him gave Il stop
signal, and the remains of the passen-
ger, mutilated beyond recognition. were
found lying beside the track.
The next day the conductor of the
lightning express made application to
be transferred to local train that
stopped at Blimton.
What do you want that for, Tow
ler!" asked the superintendent. ut
will cut off $50 month of your pay"
Il know it WILL" replied the con-
ductor, but I'm getting nervous about
fast trains. don't think I'm well.''
The conductor OF the local ran his
train for several months when Il new
time table was issued cutting off its
stop at Blimton. When the first train
had passed that station, brakeman
stopped the train, hurried to the con-
| ductor and announced that passenger
had jumped and had undoubtedly been
| killed. The conductor sank into Il seat
aud directed the brakeman TO so back
and find the body \ search was made
with lanterns, but the remains were not
found. Some said the brakeman had
been mistaken. others that the pasSen-
ger had not been killed. This was not
likely, as the train was moving at the
rate of forty miles an hour.
''rowler," said the superintendent
one morning, williams is sick in bed.
and yOu must take the lightning ex-
press"
fowler turned pale. I'D rather not
if you can get any one else
But there's no one else to be spared.
1 can put an inferior man on your
train, but the lightning express needs
one of our best conductors"
fowler knew that to decline posi-
lively would be to lose his position
and assented. 1t was fully fifteen min
utes after the train moved out of the
station before he mustered courage to
go through the cars for tickets How
ever, occupation is good for the nerves,
and he was forgetting his superstitious
dread when a ticket was handed him
for Blimton. Starting, lie looked up.
There sat a pale man with red hair
and wearing gold trimmed spectacles.
fowler stood with his punch in one
hand and the ticket in the other star
ing at the passenger. He tried to speak
the words, This train doesn't stop at
BlimtOn," but his tongue would not
utter them. A brakeman who was
following him up as assistant saw him
stagger, caught him in his arms and
assisted him to the baggage car. After
the train had passed Blimton a pas
senger came hurrying into the baggage
car to announce that man had
jumped from the train. The conductor
grOaned and in a faint voice ordered
that the train be not stopped.
Conductor fowler had one more
meeting with the troublesome passen-
ger who insisted on getting off at
Blimton. His health was failing, and
he had been assigned the easiest job
on the road, a night local that stopped
at every station. The hours, however,
were very short. One night fowler
was sitting in car without a single
passenger. He had been suffering all
day from depression of spirits conse-
quent upon bodily ailment and sank into
troubled slumber. He was dream
ing over a time table which did not
give Blimton as one of his stops, and
yet he was sure that he stopped at all
points. He heard the train come to a
halt, and when it moved on brake
man put his head in at the door and
called:
''The next station is Blimtonr'
fowler, half asleep, was conscious of
some one sitting i'm the seat beside him