The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-04-01

mean / heard the signal for my tar.
get as it swung around the curve
into sight. It struck me as being
exceedingly strange that No. 48, a
freight train, was running to IN"
regardless of the limited, and / con-
Guided to inform the dispatcher Of
the unusual situation, telling him
mo. 4S is coming He answered
20. K" and then | gave them my
signal to go ahead. Just as they
were rounding the east curve, the
caboose just disappearing, SsM."
called me and asked, els No. 48 on
the siding?" l told him mo-" that
they had just left the station, Civ
ing the time they had passed.
His reply: ssMy God! Has No.
4S gone? No. III is pulling out.
They will collide. Can't you get
No. ASP" My hair felt as though
it was rising off my head, chills
chased themselves up and down my
spine, and the cold perspiration
poured down my pallid cheeks as /
rushed with all speed and less grace
from the office and frantically
waved a white apron | wore and
which l tore off as l ran, but the
crew of the freight failed to look
back as the caboose sailed round
the curve, and my heart almost fail
ed me as I realized that the only
hope now was to catch No. Ill be-
fore they left ON"
| ran back into my office and
sank into a chair, no longer able to
stand on my feet, scarcely breathing
until in a few-hours it seemed to
me, but in reality seconds the dis
patcher called me, saying, "We've
got No. ILL.," We're ever words so
sweet to mortal ears? The tick Of
that little brass sounder as it rang
those words through the room was
like sweet music, so welcome were
they to me.
How did they get No. Ill? l
will tell you. When I told the dis
patcher that No 48 was beyond re-
call, he opened a window in mad
haste and screamed to the people on
the platform below him, ''For Gods
sake, stop that train!" And they,
realizing that something was terri
bly, wrong, rushed after the rapidly
disappearing train, frantically wav-
ing handkerchiefs and umbrellas,
screaming like madmen, finally at
tracing the attention of the rear
brakeman just as No. Ill was going
out Of sight and hearing. They
backed up on siding and waited,
and soon the freight train pulled
into ''M." station, the crew as I'M
concerned as though they had not
just escaped smashup and the pos
sibilities of instant death few mo-
ments before.
A white faced operator, with
trembling lips, leaned out Of the
window and asked them, Haven't
you forgotten something's" And
the forgotten order was suddenly
remembered, but too late for them.
The whole crew was Of course
discharged, and well, when those
welcome words were licked off that
dear old sounder, telling me that
No. Ills crew. and passengers were
safe, l lost consciousness and only
came back to life in time to hear
the conductor of No. Ill say to his
engineer: ssPoor girl, she has faint
ed! She is almost frightened tc
DEATH"
Had I not warned the dispatcher
in time for him to catch the passen-
ger train there would have been q
horrible collision, and we can only
picture to ourselves the horrors &C
companying such catastrophe.
My reward was a position with
the company and handsome gold
watch. | stayed with the company
but short time, however, for /
never could cure myself Of the hor-
TOR l had of railroad telegraphing
produced by my terrible experience
that wintry day in January, and as
l write this story sitting here in my
coy little sitting room by bright
coal fire watching the flames creep
ing around the black diamonds in
the CRATE as I go over the scenes
and situations of that dreary after
noon | shudder and wonder if old
Father Time will ever enable me to
forget that dreadful experience, SO
that / can speak of it all without q
shudder.-Northwest Magazine.