The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-03-01

upOn the Sreat prairie. WIFI uo ndollI-
tor within miles. My clothing. my
| ticket and my money were all OH the
train that was fast making its way TO
| The East. Thefe was only one thing
I could do. In some way | must stop
| the next train.
In the meantime I continued my
walk. The morning light was now
| sufficient to give me a clear view, and
| after a little. as I looked far ahead
down the narrow. glisteniug tracks. my
heart gave a great leap. Surely there
in the distance was 4 building near
the tracks.
1T was still early morning when.
footsore and exhausted, 1 reached a lit
| tie telegraph station, where I found
a sleepy night operator. He opened
| his eyes wide when q young woman,
| attired in a dressing robe. a young
woman whose hair vas disheveled and
| shoes scratched, appeared before him.
told my story as coherently as possl'
BILE, and was relieved to find that he
| agreed with my explanation.
Yes he said. when I had finished.
you must have had the nightmare, and
had it bad. But how you ever got
off that. express train without breaking
| your neck is more than I can see!
Il never think of that night operator
without a feeling Of gratitude. BE
was a man of resource. In q few mo.
ments he had made and placed before
me a cup of steaming coffee, clear and
strong.
Now he said, I'VE must plan
what's to be done. In about an hour
your train will reach Hamlin. where 1t
makes a stop of twenty minutes. I
will telegraph there to have your things
removed from the car and held for you
Then I will get orders to have the next
express stop here and take you aboard.
1t will not delay you many hours
"He seated himself at the instru-
ment, and then began the click! click
that seemed to me to continue many
e minutes. At last he turned to
me with a smile.
".It's all right he said. They will
take your things from the train. and
the next express. that goes through
in about two hours. will stop for you.
Doubtless your disappearance has not
vet been discovered. and won't be un'
til the train reaches Hamlin.'
another weary wait began, broken
at last by the insistent click Of the
telegraph. AS word after word of the
message was spelled out by the instru
ment, a'look of surprise and keen in
terest came into the face CT the opera
tor. At last he turned and looked at
me curiously.
"'Well, young woman he exclaimed:
at last. you have had an experience,
and no mistake. One that you won't
forget in a hurry. or I miss my guess!
''Then he told me that message tfGt
had, Just come over the wires. My
train had reached Hamlin, and my
absence had not been discovered until
then. So far, nothing very startling.
but listen to this! When the train
from which I had made such a mys'
ferrous exit reached Hamlin it had a
strange tale to tell. The night before,
on the open prairie. it had been board
ed by a large band of train robbers
There had been a brief struggle, IN
which the robbers had been success
fully repulsed, and the train had gone
Oh its way.
O.. fo- -,onl,c Iafnra thorn had hlan
a daring and successful robbery on one
of the roads in the Southwest. A large
sum of money had been taken from
the express car and the mails rlied.
The detectives who worked on the case
believed this robbery was one or a
series that had been carefully planned.
and had warned all the Western roads
to be on the alert. When the train on
which I had taken passage started fol
the East, it had on board. all unknown
to the passengers. a strong guard.
"In the struggle that followed the
attempt to hold up the train, the rob
bers soon saw they would be over
powered, and sought to make their es'
cane. To create confusion and to make
it more difficult for the guardian the
express car to shoot. they had plunged
through one or two Of the other cars.
and so off the, train. My car had been
one through which they had rushed
and it was this band Of desperate men
that 1 had followed in the alright OF
my awakening.
The train had been brought nearly
to a staudstill, and that is why had
no great difficulty in getting off. OF
course when the robbers reached the
ground they scattered in all directions.
and hence l saw no one beside the
tracks when the train had passed.
You can imagine the feelings with
which I heard the operators. story. Ii
was a relief to know that [ had not
been the victim Of a sleeping delusion'
but when I thought of the night. the
lonely prairie. and the desperate men,
a new terror took hold of me.
.The rest of my journey was without
incident, The anxiety in regard to my
mother kept in check the nervous re
action that might have followed the
terrible experiences of that night
When I reached home I found the
critical point in my mothers illness
past and the danger over. 1t was theu
that the reaction came, and for days
was almost Frustrated Even o
the terror and haunting unreality OF
that night on the lonely prairie viii
seize upon me, and 1 imagine 1 shall