The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-01-06
nd the RussIan anarehIsts unmIstakabIe

laugh,
you fellows are getting cold feetl The
boys are safe-after the supper we gave
them he softly chuckled. "As for the
passengers, when the smash comes no.
body Will be looking out or windows az
gravel banks / worked this Washout
racket three years ago, and lived Ike
nonanza king for months.
Their hideOus plot yawned before Myra
like an unsuspected abyss revealed by
lightning Only a mound Of earth lay
between her and incarnate devils. Their
discovery Of her no longer meant an un-
pleasant detention. but a brutal death;
and careless cough, a misstep, the
trickling of stream of gravel might be-
who had been haunted by an imaginary
presence In a lighted room; who had been
driven into Mysteries by the Tapping OF
shingle who. following a wild caprice,
had darted from shelter out into the
stormy night now face to face with
real danger, showed no tremor OF fear.
That spirit which. in the instantaneous
flash OF emergency, creates the hero,
breast Cool collected, motionless, she
crouched by the bank.
"Luck's with u.s." chuckled the Rus
slam anarchist HAD the boss been
got dark lanterns, and this storm won
last. Now. well skin through without
a gopher the wiser Remember, jump
the bank. the moment you see her round
The crouchiYg woman no longer stayed
to listen Not ar instant must be lost.
Her first impulse was to dash up the
track in the direction from which the
owl came but Il would be madness to
carry a lighted lantern along the rail-
road At so critical 1uncture, light
anywhere was too great a risk. and sn'
bent over her lantern and softly blew out
the naring fame. AS she crept on her
knees along The bank until her gropine
fingers lay hold Of the steps leading 10
the walk In clear sequence, each detai.
of a plan leaned upon her brain She
would 90 back to the shack procure
matches. return 10 the railroad BY path
skirting the mems quarters, and thus
-each the track above the curve, beyond
the wreckers vision.
Once upon the plank walk, she flew
through the darkness like the wind Shf
ceased to plan. TO thmk-she only heard
the words due in twenty minutes.
words beat necessarily upon her con-
sciousness, she knew tnat they no longer
rang true-that by the time she had
reached the end of the walk at least ten
Of the twenty had been spent.
In more frantic haste she pressed on
tiipped and fell fun length. the laltern
spinning out Of her hand, its glass shat
tering against q stone The tiny crash
seemed to I'll the silence OF the night.
and hiding behind a tree Myra awaited
pursuit from the wreckers on q drunken
outcry from the mems quarters, There
came no sound except the soughlng oi
the wind among the leaves, above heI
head and out from the covert she darted
toward the shack. like a doe escaped
from hunters.
shock Of the fall threatened to triumph
over her dauntiess spirit, ana In the ny.
ing room at last, she sank into chair
painting. her hand upon her aching side
She looked down at her lantern Win az
.. nf ir were
the holes in the glass such that the all
would fan out a light. but the prongs
holding the candle had been 50 twisted
that ii could not be made to stand up
right There was no other lantern in tht
shack and from the Russian anarchist
chuckling allusion to the supper. snt
knew the danger of arousing the men. 1t
tho freplace the little logs that had Sc
n,erriIv snarped In the early evening haC
burned into ashes. but a bank OF names
about the backlog set tiickering. pain q
light across the carpet; lad Wnite nm
gers upOn the cloth of the supper table
fransformed into a crimson burst o.
bloom the crinkled paper shade upon IN
lamp Myra 5 heart bounded with SUD
den JOY. She ran to the table with out
stretched hands.
The lamp, while heavy. could be carried
| by even so little a woman as Myra, ant
| its reservoir being half emptie3, there
| was small danger of spilling the oil. Blu
| il took the firm grip Of TWO hands, ant
mad ceased. but the ftful gusts of th'
wind billowed Myra's skirts ana Mapped
! the cape Of her coat about her head 81
| that every hurried step was struggle
| II she should be too latei Her exna1s
| lion the throbbing pulse on her temple
the rain in her chest, her own DANCE
| from n hundred pitfalls were forgotten
| jn the horror of that sleeping tran
speeding to destruction
Why did she not reach the stile2 =
blow upon her knee answered he
| thought, and she discovered that she aila'
run into the fence. Setting down he
] lamp she drew match after match, but II
neither direction could she find the steps
and where she had wandered from th'
path steep bank led up to the track
An attempt TO signal train from a noin
| below the track would be folly and a
any moment the headlight Of the lOcomo
| tive might swoop through the darkness
| Desperate she placed the lamp on tn
| top rail, and holding it with one han'
| clumslly climbed the fence. Her feet ha'
| not reached the ground when the sllenc
| was broken by a low sob. Her feet ha'
| far-away whistle OF the express
Like a mad creature endowed with su
perhuman power. she ran up the steel
| bank Not pausing for breath. sh
shade, lifted the chimney. The low so
| became an eerie cry. She struck a mattel
"a pun Of wind blew il out. She struck
second. a third match. tiny ligh
| curled at the corner or the wick. faltered
spread into a fiaring circle. Chimney an
shade clicked into place. The headligh
/ burst into view.
The air roared: the ground reeled tn
| glare Of death bounded forward. Myri
| stood in the middle Of the track, the re-
danger signal held high. The blindini
| light took one last spring. The littl
hands frightened upon the lamp. Their
was a pant OF iron lungs. shrek o
| steam. and the locomotive, its cowcatche
| grazing the Tapping skirts of her raj
coat came to halt.-May c. Ringwoli
| in Los Angeles Times.