The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-12-20
A Mystery In
A Freight Car
By ADOLPH SNYDER
Copyright by American Press Assoc
citation, 1871.
By ADoLPH SNYDER

when we had come TO stop, ! was
walking alongside the train and saw
n thin smoke coming out from under
one of the cars. Thinking It to come
from a hot box, stopped to examine
the truck, but the running gear was
as cool as cucumber. Then, looking
up, noticed small tin pipe protrud-
ing from the bottom Of the car,
through which smoke was coming in
little puffs
well ri be Hinged" l said to my
self. Here's a freight car. sealed with
lead. that hasn't been opened since 1t
started three days ago, and steam
engine in it. Am | in my right mind
or have | tumbled Off the brake wheel,
where ! was sitting a spell ago"
stopped a tribe lower and craned
my neck in a little further in order
10 get a better view. There was the
pipe. evidently part OF leader from
n gutter belonging to the roof Of a
house. 1t extended a few inches
downward. then turned with an elbow,
the second part extending about a
foot rearward, AS | looked the puffs
continued as regular as those coming
from n locomotive making steady
gait.
What to do | didn't know. was
afraid to notify the conductor for fear
I'd find out that I'd had stroke and
saw things that didn't exist. Some
thing occurred just then that made
me think I'd surely gone daft heard
a girls giggle.
There wasn't any connection between
steam engine and a girl shut up in a
box car. especially a sealed box car,
but there was good deaf to excite
curiosity. | stopped worrying about
myself and began to wonder what
there was inside that car. ! stood of.
looked at it and walked all around It,
A freight train is made up Of differ.
ent kinds of cars, and this car was es'
pecially different from the others. 1t
looked as though it might have been a
caboose turned into a box. The thing
most noticeable about 1t was a door at
one end Why ! hadn't noticed this
before don't know unless II was be-
cause the end was only about two feet
from the end of another car.
saw that there was or had been a
lock on the door There wasn't any
knob, but nail had been put through
the screw hole Of the steel piece on
which the knob had been fixed. |
climbed up on the coupling and tried
to turn the nail to open the door. |
didn't succeed. listened, but every
thing was still But | didn't forget that
giggle. and pretty soon knocked. In
a few moments heard whispers with
in. Then all of a sudden the door was
pulled open. and there stood boy and
a girl.
Besides these. l got view Of the
cur. There was a carpet on it, the
worse for wear; in one corner was a
mattress with bedclothing; in the cen
ter was a pine table, and at one side
was a cook stove And | noticed that
the stoveplpe was run down instead Of
up OF horizontal and passed through a
hole m the floor"
"Please don't give us away" said
the girl, going for me with pair of
blue eyes not many could resist.
YOU'D better let me come in" an.
swered If the conductor or any of
the train hands should come along
there'd be no need Of giving you away"
] went inside and shut the door after
me. Then | asked. 'Will you be good
enough to tell me what this meansP'
Were bride and groom said the
young Teller. who couldn't have been
over seventeen years old
ION our wedding trip" the girl
added
"A bride and groom on your wedding
trip 1 exclaimed. How did you git
In herer
'Ill tell you all about it." said the
boy. Were not only on our wedding
trip, but we're runaway couple"
Are you sure you're not pair of
escaped lunaticsY
The girl laughed; the fellow looked
kind Of queer and talked on.
I'VE were engaged, but neither her
dad nor mine would let US git mar
ried till we were older | had a clerk
ship in a railroad freight house. and
/ managed to git hold of this car. and
one night when you men were making
up this train give the engineer
signal to hook up against it, and the
next time be backed up against a car
this was in the train. I'd fixed the
door and put in the bridal furniture"
'9rhe bridal furnitureP' said. look
ing around. $50 this is bridal cham
Der, is ito"
well, it's all we got" he answered.
what have you had to eat?"
asked
Bread. bacon, eggs and few other
things. There's our stove We get
good enough draft when the trains
moving"
"And when it isn't moving you fan
the fre?"
"Just so'
Hearing some one coming, / put my
finger TO my lips, and when the sound
had passed went out and shut the
door. That was The most original
wedding trip l ever saw or heard of,
and | wouldn't have given the chill
dren away for a farm. | couldn't