The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-08
IN THE sNOwBEDS.
BY V. 0. REED.

nI Fs V. HEED.
 Copyright, 1905. Daily Story Pub. Co.) Tilted back in his old round chair, the night operator at Devils Butte gazed absently at the light from his smoky lamp glimmering over the rails tWyathiout. Save for the ceaseless, jerky relgned In the inky blackness of the showsneds, whose tunnel-like sides shut the station from the desolate ders penetrated the cold night air and the sooty stanchions of the sheds cast gIoomy shadows across the further track. But the man in the station house cared little for his isolation. The chill of the snowdrifts could not cool the warmth of his happiness, nor could the heavy silence still the singing of
 He was a slight young fellow, with a thin, dark face, and eyes which were almost too thoughtful. The hand that him was iong. angular and sensitive. Years of unceasing labor had made him what he was-years in which he had risen from the drudgery of a section hand to a position whence all the fu- ture lay bright before him. The world had not been unkind to him. though he had received. yet his labor had never been struggle. He had never had reverse, never had to retreat one rung ter all that life had done for him. ha was Respondent of his own powers; he was ambitious, but he had little conti- dence in himself.
 Tonight. a throbbing happiness. such as the man had never known before, filled his whole being. There was a warmth about his heart, light in his eyes, and a look on his face, which made 1t almost handsome For this was the eve of his wedding day. the very dawn of the iappiest day of his life, and the train, which far down the grade was speeding eastward, was bringing his bride. His was the right to clear the way for her. to hold all the could pass. nothing go wrong with his eyes on the semaphore and his hand at the switch. He thrilled with the pride of power, of the trust 1t was his to full fill
 A sudden distant sound in the sheds reused him. The westbound freight was due..He had his orders to hold 1t bound passenger, and its precious bur den. For a moment he waited, listen- ing tensely.. CouLt they ..have forgot. Strange that he had heard nothing put the faint humming in the sheds, which could mean only one thing-the coming of a west bound train. Then his ears caught a familiar click of the instru ment.
 Operator Devils Butte" tieksd k the the Falls Close the block"
 "Only five minutes more and she'll be here," sang the man heart as he picked up his lantern with its jngling weight of track explosives, and ran out into the darkness.
 The humming sound, which had died away for the moment. came on again with a rush as the swift moving freight rounded the bend. In an instant the operator felt that something was wrong. They had not slowed up. They were passing the switch without sign of needing the warning of the sema- phore or his own swinging lantern. What could be wrong? cold dread clutchcd at his heart as he shouted frantically at the oncoming locomo- tive.
 There was a blinding glare from the great headlight. a whirl and roar, and the iron monster flashed past him, lurching like drunken thing in the mad haste of it's passage. One horror- stricken look he gave. and then, shout ing despairingly. ran up to the track | like one possessed For. leaning in the window of the swaying cab. sat | the engineer, asleep.
 The railroad man Is creature "t | ready action, and it took the operator | but an instant to grasp the situation. | Yelling like a fiend, though his voice | was almost drowned in the roar of the | iron trucks. he raced along beside the | train He knew that his only chance j lay in being seen by the man in the | watch tower of the caboose. Forty l cars swung by him in a choking whirl | of dust. Then came the caboose, sway | ing on it's heavy trucks, and in mo | ment 1t. too. flashed past him.. But l that moment was enough, for by the