Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-11-17

Uep," said Dick, as he slammed in the
throttle and opened the air brakes.
Only a tail-light, likely" said he.
but I'd better go back and make
sure" Slowly he backed up, and at
last passed a red signal lantern. "On
the left-hand side, and in such a night
as this" he muttered. 20, well, some
signal-men were born fools"
Twenty, 30, 40 minutes and not q
soul had been seen or heard. Half q
dozen times Dick felt himself falling
asleep, and as often walked up with a
start All the others of the crew were
sound asleep, and as the minutes
dragged on Dick began to wonder IL
the signal had not been a mistake. A
switchman might have carelessly set
down his lantern. His orders read
open track" and he was about to
start out again, when his trained
. nerves detected a slight vibration.
Nearer and nearer it seemed to come
until the earth fairly shook. Sudden
ly the headlight of the belated limit
ed" doomed up through the mist of
snow; 20 yards in front it took
the switch and with a roar rushed by,
its Pickering tail-lights dying out of
sight in a minute. simultaneously a
man emerged from the darkness, picked
up the signal lantern and silently dis
appeared. =
They'll never know how close their
shave was" said Dick, as he opened
the throttle.
Two hours later, and Dick sat still
at his post, his hand on the throttle,
his face a mass of stole inexpensive
ness, his eyes peering out into the
darkness that ever kept falling away
before the advancing headlight. For
an hour he had not moved so much as
a finger. Harry had fired for men that
he had to wake every Is minutes on
a night run, but he knew Dick. "All
| have to do" said Harry, sis to keep
on a hundred and forty and my fiues
wet. and Dick will do the rest"
1t was an hour before daybreak.
The heavy clouds that had obscured
the moon fort most of the night we're
beginning to scatter, and at intervals
a flood of hazy light fell over a desert
of sparkling NOW At places there
were drifts across the track, but the
snow was loose, and the high speed
of the train, with the momentum of her
100 tons of coal, carried her safely
through.
Suddenly, in an interval of moon
light, Dick fancied he caught the CLINT
Of something red up the track. The
throttle went in with a chuck; the
brakes gripped and sputtered on 80
pairs of wheels, and the train came
to a stop.
Directly in front was a danger signal,
a signal that has many a time. spelt
danger and death to the foes of Britain,
but which never before, perhaps, was
used to flag a railway train. Dick,
thinking his eyes deceived him, threw
open his glass front; then sank back
on his cushion with a slight cry. He
was no weakling; a locomotive cab is
not the place for a coward, but the
blood seemed to halt in his veins, and
he seized a lever to steady himself. Go
back for Baker" he whispered, hoarse-
ly.
There, between the metals, and a.
rail-length' ahead, planted up to the
waist in snow, stood the body of a
mounted policeman-dead, stone dead,
the frozen face twisted in it's death con-
tortions, and the whitened eyeballs
cleaning horribly in the glare of the
headlight.
Before Harry was back with the con-
ductor and brakeman, Dicks nerve had
returned, and he was down beside the
dead body. The frame was perfectly
solid; it might have been frozen for
days. On their arrival on the spot
Baker and his brakeman stood aghast,
but scarcely a word was spoken. Ex-
plaI ations were impossible; the situa-
ton even deied speculation.
Reverently the four men raised the
lifeless body in their arms. AS they
did sc Dick felt a solid mass on the
chest, and, on examining it, found it
to be frozen blood. my God!" he
exclaimed, as he staggered back, "the
mans been murdered!"I
The statement could not be disputed,
and with blanched faces the train
crew, 30 tragically converted into pail
bearers, stared at each other. But
there was but one course, to place the
body in the caboose and report the
matter at the next telegraph Office.
The moon was again obscured when
Dick and Harry climbed into the cab,
each with a strange'unsteadiness after
the nerve-wrecking experience of the
preceding ten minutes. But their adj
ventures had only begun, as they were
soon to learn. Two revolvers flashed
in their faces, and a low voice said,
Now don't make a fuss; we don't
want to kill you unless we have to.
Do as you're told and you'll get out of
this unframed, but try to jolly us and
you'll share the fate of that lions cub
you just carried back there"
Such a proposition admitted Of no ar
gument, and no matter how many arm
chair theories a man may have, when
the alternative lis represented by a
loaded revolver there is just one thing
he is going to do, and that is-obey.
Dick mustered his s~elf-control as best
he could, and asked quietly, What is
your pleasure, gents?"
Nov that's like It," said n of the
party, which now proved to consist of
two persons. "Glad to see you're
sensible. Had to shoot a man the other
day fos being foolish. You just get
up in your seat and run us ahead to
Turner's bridge and stop there. That's
all we'll trouble you to do. We don't
want you. money, watches, OF anything
also Ws,ra aftar hioOor ctokoc 10 |