The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-01-24

cents, until her return from New Yorl
 that evening. The ticket man ddn
 know her very we'll and so he refused
 to comply with her request. She miss
 ed the train, and thus, in all probabil
 ity her life was spared, for she always
 rode in the car that suffered the great
 est damage.
 | q myself have escaped death in tive i bad railroad accidents through the merest chance. What my friends and i relatives are generous enough to term 1 my extreme pigheadedness nearly caus- | ed my finish in the first of these disas-
 ters. I started from Chicago to a town
 in southwestern Illinois at 4 o'clock one afternoon, having taken berth at the
 extreme end of the rear car. As I was boarding the train I saw three of my Chicago ebums getting on, too. They were bound for St. Louis and had | berths in car that was only removed by one from the engine-the train was composed of seven cars. We exchanged greetings, and, telling them I'd see them later on the train, l swung aboard
 
 about half an hour after the ear started, had smoke and chat with them, and then returned to the rear car. I was reading in the smoking compartment about an hour later when they all came after me to get me to go forward to their car and join them in a game of whist. I demurred. I was interested in a magazine yarn and didn't feel like playing whist. They begged me to make up the four, and I continued to stub bornly refuse. Finally, after they'd been at me for about fifteen minutes and I was still determined to stay in that rear cars smoking compartment, they exchanged glances with each other
 Well said one of them, you've got to come forward and play whist with us whether you want to or not, see!'
 That's right-he's got to- chimed in the other two.
 Not as long as I've got my health, I don't have to- I replied al title net tied a their persistence.
 Well, come ahead, fellows, and help me fetch him forward, said the one who had first said that I'd have to play whist-they were all three younger men than myself, and we were all very close friends
 The three deliberately grabbed hold of me, gently but determinedly pulled me out of my seat. hauled me into the aisle and started forward with me. I struggled to free myself, but they were all athletes and I could barely wrggle in their strong grasp. I was angry and let them know it, but that didn't bother them a little bit The train had in the meantime come to stop on account of a hotbox or something of that sort. They hauled me right through the aisles and vestibules of five cars until we reached the one where they had their berths. Then they calmly pumped me into seat in the smoking compart- ment where they had the card table all ready fixed They had no sooner depos- ited me in that seat than there was a terrific crash from behind. A freight engine hauling a heavy train had crashed into the rear car and smashed it to kindling wood. Three men and a woman in that car were mangled be- yond recognition and about fourteen persons were terribly injured The handshakes that l gave those three young men for their disrespectful be- | hevior in dragging me into their car only minute or so before my death | would have been upon me were the | most cordial I ever extended before or since.
 "A few years later I was travelling fo lo tp on a train that was made up entirely | If day coaches-we started on the trip | in the morning. and it is 1 lnly days ride Four or five hours after starting was seated in the smok- l ng car, which was hitched directly be- 1nd the engine, smoking a cigar and 'eading. A heavy snow storm was in progress and the train was going under 1alf headway. I had my cigar about half smoked when the conductor came o me and tapped me on the shoulder.
 Are you Mr. So-and-So?" he asked ne.
 T am,' said I.
 We'll your wife in the rear car wants to know whether you have her She wants to buy some said the conductor.
 T hated to abandon that good half moked cigar, but I took few long raWs on it, threw it aWaY and walked ack to where my wife was seated. I ad just entered her car when I was brown to the aisle by a tremendous llt The engineer of a train coming l the other direction had failed to see 1e red signal in the heavy snow storm.