The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-12-04
ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH.
George Hoey.)


The first thing that I remember was
Carlo tuggL1g away
With the sleeve of my coat fast IN MS
teeth, pulling, as much as to say:
Come, master. awake, attend 10 Ine
switch; lives now depend upon you;
Think of the souls N the coming train,
and the graves you are sending
them TO.
Think of the mother and the babe at her
breast; think of the fater and son;
Think of the lover and loved one, too;
think Of them, doomed every one
{ To fall (as it were by your very hand)
into yon fRthOmless ditch,
Murdered by one who should guard them
from HARM who now lies asleep at
the switch"
I sprang up amazed-scsrce knew where I
stood, sleep had O'ermastered me so;
1 could hear the wind holloway bowling,
and the deep river dishing below.
could hear the forest leaves rustling, as
the trees by the tempest were
famed;
But what was that noise in the distance?
That ! could not understand.
heard it at first indistinctly, like the
rolling Of some muffled drum,
Then nearer and nearer it came to me,
till it made my very ears hum;
What is this light that surrounds me-
and seems to set fire to my brain?
What Whistles that, yelling so shrill? All!
1 know now; it's the train.
We often stand facing some danger, and
seem to take root to the place.
So / stood-with this demon before me,
its heated breath scorching my face;
It's headlight made day of the darkness,
and glared like the eyes Of some
witch,
The train was almost upon me before
remembered the switch.
1 sprang to it, Selling it wildly, the train
dashing fast down the track;
The switch resisted my efforts, some devil
seemed holding it back
On, on came the fiery-eyed monster, and
shot by my face Ike a flash;
I sWOOned to the earth the next moment,
and knew nothing after the crash.
How long 1 lay there unconscious twas
impossible for me to tell;
Ny stupOr was almost a heaven, my wax
ing almost a hell
For 1 then heard the piteous moaning and
shrieking of husbands and wives,
And I thought Of the day we ali shrink
from, when L must account for their
lives:
Mothers rushed by me like maniacs. their
eyes glazing madly and wild;
Fathers, losing their courage, gave way
to their grief like child;
Children searching for parents, noticed,
as by me they sped,
And lips, that could form naught but
mamma, were calling for one per-
haps dead.
Ny mind was made up in a moment, the
river should hide me away,
When, under the still burning rafters,
suddenly noticed there Law
A little white hand she who owned 1t
was doubtless an object Of love
To one whom her loss would drive fran
tic. though she guarded him now
from above.
1 tenderIy lifted the rafters and quietly
laid them one side;
How little she thought of her Journey
when she left for this dark fatal
I lifted the last log from off her. and
while searching for some spark of
life,
Turned her little face up in the starlight
and Observation-Disclosures, my wife!
Lord! thy scourge is hard one. at
blow thou has shattered my pride;
My life will be one endless nightmare.
with Maggie away from my side
How often I'd sat down and pictured the
scenes in our long, happy life;
how I'd strive through all my lifetime
to build up a home for my wife;
How people would envy US always in our
coy and neat little nest;
How I should do all of the labor, and
Maggie should all the day rest:
How one of Gods blessings might cheer
US; how some day p'raps should be
But ali Of my dreams have been shattered
while j lay there asleep at the
switch
I faucied ] stood on my trial; the Jury
and judge I could see:
And every eye in the court room was
steadily fixed upon me;
And fingers were pointed in scorn, till
felt my face blushing biOOd-red.
And the next thing / heard were the
dead"
Then 1 felt myself pulled once again. and
my hand caught tight hold Of a
dress,
And I heard, whats the matter. dear
jim? you've had a bad nightmare. /
guess"
And there stood Maggie my wife, with
never a scar from the ditch.
I'd been taking nap in my bed, and had
not been ASLEEP at the SWITCH