The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-08-01
The Night
Operators Tale

! A year or so ago i was night OPP
orator at Yankee Corners. After 81
Stebbins from the post office came
over to get the seven o'clock mail bag
] wouldn't see soul all night. | am
not naturally tlmld, but l was always
fearful lest some of the wandering
hoboes might get a yearning to see
what was in the safe and give me q
rap over the coco when wasn't look.
ing.
"To give things a more cheerful
aspect, the safe we had in the ticket
Office had three OF four holes in It.,
made by drills of burglars in q pre-
vious unsuccessful attempt to get
through the Interference OF the safe.
That was before a night operator was
installed at the Corners.
Now, It would take a gentleman of
a wonderful buoyancy of spirits to sit
In the Office night after night glancing
at those drill holes in the safe with
out getting pesslmistic' and falling to
speculatlng as to whether the burg.
lars were strong men with scars on
their faces, etc, and how long 1t
/ would be before they would think 1t
necessary to call again.
Yankee Corners was flag stop for
the midnight express. II wasn't often
that anyone travelling in the direction
OF that village was out so late at
night; therefore | was surprised to
see her slow up one night and, stop
ping observe the brakeman carrying
OF an inanimate object. They raped
on the station room door.
Here's dark man with a pack
age for you, Bill said one of them as
] opened the door. 1 suppose it's
against your rules, but If you leave
this one outside he'll be chawed up
into stew beef by morning
II unlocked the waiting room door
and they laid the man with a thirty
snake jag on one of the benches. He
just lay there and shored while l
traipsed back to the ticket Office to
renew my vigil by the drill holed safe.
Say, II you ever want real hard
Job just try to keep awake while lis
tening to some one else snore. It's
the surest cure for insomnia you ever
tried. just sat there and wlnked and
bllnked.
"All OF a sudden the snoring ceased,
the ticket Office door swung open with
crash and before / could wink an
eyelash was looking down the bar
rel OF 40 horse power pistol and be.
hind 1t was the man with the souse
He was sober enough now.
"'Come across with the combina-
ton o. that cake box, SON. he said or
I'll make you look like the Hoosic tun-
mel with the pip. Be good, Chester
and | won't harm you
"He played the game well, got in
side the station on phony jag and
now was going after the safe. did
some rapid fire thinking and decided
to simulate fright didn't have to
do much Stimulating at that-and give
the wrong gig on the safe.
HE might play with It for a while
and maybe some freight would happen
along and come to my rescue The
signals were set at danger and they
would have to stop. | managed to
gasp ont some figures and turns.
NOW, Chester remarked my mid
night caller, I'll just tether you here
in the corner where | can look at you
while | go south after the money.
with that he stood me up in a cor
ner with my wrists and ankles bound
so tightly that twlnges of pain ran
all through my system He fused and
fumed around that safe, but of course
couldn't get 1t open, while l hoped
and prayed for the freight that didn't
come. Finally he gave up with a
curse.
Now, papa's little man, he said to
me, you've not been playing fair. You
tried to buffalo me, but 1t won't work.
I've wasted so much time that I've got
to work fast now and blow the safe
open. I'm going to leave you tied in
that corner. You'll resemble Hoboken I
after a premature explosion in the
tunnel when it's all over
Then he unlimbered his kit OF tools |
and began working at the drill holes
where his predecessors left off. 1t |
didn't take him long to finish drilling
and then he set the charge.
Farewell, Chester, was his part.
ing remark. You're about to go to
your reward. There will be vacancy
on the night force at Yankee Corners
tomorrow
After he had lighted the fuse the
cracksman sldestepped to a safe
place. | wriggled and squirmed and
twisted while the fuse burned nearer
and nearer, but the cords ON my wrist
only seemed to get tighter and tight |
err The fuse was at the end
Bang! bang! bang!
Say there. you dope, If you don't
pull back your signals and let me go |
I'll report you at the supeAs Office. Do |
you know you're holding No. g.? shout (
ed some one.
And | recognized the genial voice
of Mat Fuller the engineer of Eastern
Express No 6. Listening to the snores
OF the drunk in the waiting room had
been too much for me and dropped
of to sleep and dreamed the rest / |
was all In dripping perspiration.
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