The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1902-02-06

| sociability / confess that, as the days
sped by and l listened to her witty
| expressions and bright conversation,
found myself falling in love with her,
yet ! had not the least tangible idea
OF her personal appearance, and knew
not whether her voice was soft and
musical, or pitched in high key that
was harsh and disagreeable to the ear.
| knew she was good-natured and pos
sessed of a keen sense of humcr. for
she would laugh heartily at my re-
marks, and respond with the mos bril-
liant repartee when my humorous darts
were leveled at herself.
This may all seem enigmatical to the
reader, but will assume an aspect of
entire FEASIBILITY in the light of the
| fact that she and were telegraph OPP
orators at widely-separated stations on
a western railway. She knew as little
Of the young man with whom she dali
~ chatted as | did of herself We had
each drawn ar ideal picture Of the per-
| sonal appearance Of the other, and in
our frequent conversations over the
wire, each had in mind face and fig
ure to whom the remarks were adj
| dressed. / had pictured her as
bright-eyed, laughing, jolly little crea-
ture, with golden curls and silvery
voice. | often wondered what sort of
mortal picture she had drawn of my
| SELF
Red Rock, where / was located, was
station on the Santa Fe railway, in
the Cherokeen strip of Oklahoma, be-
fore that now famous stretch of land
was purchased by the government from
the Indians and thrown open for set
Element. The population of the town
| CD consisted of burly section fore
man, of Milesian extraction; his wife,
a red-faced, red-armed woman, who
had no aspirations outside the limits
| of her not over-clean kitchen; four
section laborers, and myself, the agent
and operator for the railway company.
| The country was, at the time of which
/ write a wild one, inhabited only by
Indians, few cattlemen who leased
grazing lands from the aboriginal own
ers, the cowboys who looked after the
scattered herds, and rowing bands of
! desperadoes under the leadership of the
Dalton brothers, the most famous of
whom, Bill Dalton. was punctured by a
well-directed bullet from the rifle of a
deputy United States marshal but
few days ago, and who died with pistol
in hand cursing the shot which had
| laid him low
Miss Rankin was my predecessor in
the position of agent and operator at
Red Rock. She learnt the art of tel
egraphy I'm tire train dfspatcher's Office
at Arkansas City, where her widowed
mother resided, and when competent
to assume charge of a small station
had asked for and been given a posi-
| ton at Red Rock. She tired, of a
while, Of the lonely monotony of that
obscure station, and asked to be sent
! to one less isolated from mankind; and
when one day the operator at Ed
mond, further down the line, reported
| that his fingers had been "pinched"
while endeavoring to couple two cars
together, and that he must hasten to
Arkansas City for surgical attention
the Red Rock agent was telegraphed
instructions to lock up her depot, leave
the key in the care of the section fore
man, and proceed on train then al
most due to Edmond, and assume
charge until the injured agent should
return. / was at the time an "extrs
operator" on a Kansas division, and
on the afternoon of the day on which
Miss Rankin left Red Rock, / found
myself sitting in her recently vacated
chair for All indefinite stay at the lone.
ly station
My first train report had scarce an
nounced my presence to the operators
up and down the line, ere Edmond
called me up. She expressed regret
that she had been denied the priv
lege of extending to me personal vel
come to my new home, said she hoped
| would find the station a pleasant one
and asked me If l would not kindly
collect a number of feminine trifes
which she had overlooked in packins
her trunk, and then send them down
TO her. She would be ever so much
obliged and should an opportunity pre-
sent itself. would certainly reciprocate
my kindness. That was my frs
meeting" with a lady who was soon
destined to play a heroic part in
| thrilling adventure in which l was
prominent figure.
Little by little Miss Rankin and my
self became acquainted over the wire
We were soon holding daily converse