The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-01-27
BILLS GHOST.

'sThe men were grabbln' after biH
stekney's run after be was killed an
they were lettin 80 81 70 aeain as II 10
was 4 phony poeketbook on April tool
day." said the rat engineer 10 was a
good run. too. The man that had itonl!
had 70 work six or seven hours every
other night. an it was considered the
juiciest kind Of cherry pie
Every body envod Bill while De was
Twin an had the run. But soon S he eol
Killed one man'd take the train. run II
for week or so an then let go sudden.
Pretty soon Il commenced % be noised
aroun' that engine ilS, that hauled BiA S
train. was haunted by his ghost
You see poor Bill was killed IN rather
peculiar way He run into a trolley car
n a grade crossin' one eveuin' ana in
he mix-up the feed wire of the trolley
busted, one end Of IL hittin' BIZ. an send
in a charge OF electricity through his
body that Killed him. They said thatthe
electrical display when that feed wire
swipe6 the locomotive would a made the
towers at Coney look Ike @ tallow dip.
when the noisin's were gettin' pretty
loud the master mechanic sent for me
one day. DO you believe In ghosts
PortlyY says he 20 me.
"'Not SOS you can notice it, says l.
"Well. 10 tell the truth. De says.
there's some pretty tall stories goin'
round as TO how poor BIZ stickney5
shade IS hauntin' 413. an it's cot so that
we can't keep a regular man on the
train
81 don't blame Bits ghost for butt
tin in says l. seem the bad fist the
fellers that took the Job are maxim
at keepln' up 10 time. l don't see how
any self-respectin' ghost could keep off,
"The outcome Of my interview with
the boss was that was detailed TO the
train. An the men that had been on the
run came aroun' 70 see me with faces
that'd make a lily look ike a piece Of
tar. tellin' Of peculiar rappin's an sich
tantrums as ghosts have been supposed /
TO kick up ever since the days when true
knights went around lookin like one OF /
the 81 varieties an horses wore kmonos /
"'Oh. shucks, I'm from Missouri /
You've got to show me- says. 4 guess /
you fellers couldn't keep up to the time |
n swung bluff to be taken of
Il went on the run. feelin' pretty well /
contented with myself Everything F.
went lovely that night.
''The second night bein' nasty rainy /
night | shut both the back m front /
doors on my side Of the cab to keep as /
dry as possible. Comm into the first .
station, as l was slowin' up. glanced .
ahead. an holy couplin' pins If there .
wasn't Bill Stickney perrin right In the
front window Of the cab at me with both .
HIS arms raised at full length over his
head
well. Il fabbergasted me so that I
come within an infnitesimal recess Of
runnin' by the station an into a switch
engine right ahead. There was no deny
IN Il; Il was Bill. didn' holler out TO
the fireman; an when we got away from
the station Bills ghost faded from view.
Now never believed in ghosts. but
III admit I was puzzled, an so ratified
that I forgot TO shut Of the injectors un-
til reminded by my fireman that we
weren't runnin' a sprinkiin' cart for
the commuters gardens.
well. sir, Bills shade came again.
II seemed to have a likin' for habitation.
He didn't show up 'cept at the depots.
Once in awhile he'd make a leetin' ap-
pearance goln' roun' turns; an at the
end Of that run was nearly out Of bust
ness.
81 didn't say anything TO anybody. ! /
iidn't want EN- to get the laugh on me. /
One OF the boys came around an kinder
asked me IL I'd noticed anythin'
Nope I says. Z was too good a friend .
% Bills for him TO chase after me. any
way. He knows I never did any anvil
Tarmin' on him, an that I'll look after
he 413 same as he would hisself'
'Bnl's ghost failed to show next night.
L was warm and clear Soitwent along
or three or four nights. Then We had
i dreadful storm, an had TO keep al
ne windows closed 'cept the one on the
ide out Of which had to stick my COCO
to get signals.
I'D most forgotten about the ghost.
But great strippin' eccentricsl When
We slid into the first station m looked l
head. there was Bills shade perrin at 1
ne through the front window again.
"'Now. Bill says, go away n be
good boy. Don't come round posterln' ]
ne. Amt dom all can for the 413.
ust the same as you would? An ANTI
DIN IN right on the card every night
anne as you did yourself?
But though talked TO the sDecter
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