The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-01-18
When They Met Again

liams and Sarah Lee. George was q
brakeman on a freight train, and So
rah was the daughter of his landlady.
Sarah fell in love with the brake
man, and they were married. He had
saved enough money to go to house
keeping on, and for a year they were
happy couple Then two things hap
pened. George was promoted to ran
on q passenger train, and the engineer
of freight was introduced to the wife
and was at once interested. Other
people soon began to see, but the hus-
band was blind. Other people soon be-
! gan to hear, but the husband was deaf.
The mother had something to say for
the daughters good, but was met with
protests and tears and finally with hot
| words Of anger. One day it became
known that the wife and the engineer
| had disappeared together. Williams
came home to find his cottage deserted.
| They expected to see him fly into a
fury and hear him utter awful threats,
| but they were disappointed. 1t could
easily be seen that the iron had en-
tered his soul and that he was gnaw-
ing his heart, but he said very little,
and even the mother of the missing
wife was not taken into his confidence.
One day three months after the event
he quietly dropped out Of sight, and to
this day there are plenty Of men in the
railroad yards at X. who have heard
o$h}n~ P,1r<hov. from, hin,
When the deserted husband set out
on his quest he might have turned to
any point of the compass. No one
knew which way the wife had gone. A
sort of intuition took him to Chicago
and kept him there. Under another
name he found employment of DIFF
ferent sort, and in his spare hours he
walked the streets. At the end Of two
years he met his faithless wife. They
came face to face on the street. and
before they had looked into each others
eyes he knew that the man had aban-
doned her and that she had become a
social outcast. When she recognized
him she would have run away, but he
quietly said:
"Sadie, you need have no fear Of me.
All want is to ask you a few Ques-
TONS"
George, are you going to kill me?''
81 haven't the slightest idea of it,
"But you won't forgive rue and take
me back"
'Never"
"Then what is it?''
"Only the name Of the place where l
can find the man.
But don't know. After year he
cast me off,"
''Then good day to you
Williams did not go back to his work,
but Travelled here and there for week.
One day he located his enemy in
town a hundred miles away. 1t was
in the far west. The engineer had be-
come station agent and was married.
1t was o'clock in the morning, and he
sat at his desk when stranger walked
In and sat down opposite.
"Well?" queried the agent.
do you want chance for your life.
or shall shoot you like dog?'
It was the man he had wronged. He
looked into a face in which there was
no mercy. There was not one soft line
in it. The face didn't look murder, but
it looked determination to kill. The
agent read it and knew that the crisis
was at hand
"If you shoot youth be lynched," he
finally said.
"Have you got gun?"
"Y-yes."
"Then get it. l will not open fire IN
til you are ready. One of us will be in
hell within the next five minutes"
The agent was no coward His re-
volver was in the drawer beside him,
and as he moved his hand in that direc-
ton he hoped to get the first shot,
He would have had it but for his
haste. He snatched the weapon and
cooked it at the same time, but the cuff
Of his sleeve caught, and the weapon
was discharged. The next instant he
fell backward with bullet in his
brain, and three or four Of the yard
men came running. The killer was ct
the railroad. The girl he had married
was of the railroad All the guests at
his wedding were railroad men. Il
was the railroad men and women who
knew Of his shame. The thought drove
him mad. He turned his gun on the
men who came running and killed two
and wounded a third. Then he walk
ed to the door and saw a switchman
across the tracks. A bullet stretched
the man dead. A freight train stood
on the siding. The engineer was snok-
Ing in the cab, and the fireman was
down on the ground wiping the ma
chinery. Each received a bullet and
fell dead.
The railroad had brought about the
marriage, and the railroad had brought
about the disgrace. The railroad
should pay the bill. Williamson saw
that one of the freight cars was loaded
with hay. He touched match to the
combustible, and great fame shot up.
Thence he walked back to the depot
and fired it. Men came running, but
he waved them of. Two shots were