The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1911-06-02

near AsueVllle,
girl was covering at the~window. She
was all alone. Her parents were away
IN a visit and could not return until
the storm abated.
Mamie Gibson, being only eleven
years old, was "skeered." Below her
roared the river, now swollen to a
mad torrent. Along it's bank, peril
ously near, ran the tracks of the
southern railroad. Suddenly, writes
John s. Lopez, in Harper's Weekly,
with roar that rose above the storm,
the side of the railroad cut tore loose
and swept down.. an avalanche of
earth and rocks and trees, brushing
aside the tracks and leaving great
boulders piled in the right-of-way. The
child watched it for a moment, fas-
cinated, half numb with terror. Then,
borne down on the sweep of the
storm, came the dull shrek of loco
motive whistle. That whistle heralded
the coming of the Southern Express.
Mamie Gibson was only an ignor-
ant mountain child, unable to read or
write, but intuition told her what
would happen if the train were al
lowed to run on unchecked Red was
a danger signal-Nannie knew that
much; but where was she to get some
thing tbat she could wave? She
searched the poorly furnished cabin,
hurriedly, but found nothing that
would serve in the emergency. Sud
denly her eyes fell on little dress
hanging In the corner, carefully COW
cred with an old sheet 1t was the
chlld's new Sunday dress that her
nanny had given her a few weeks
before, and was made of some cheap
red material with white dots scat
tered over it's surface,
She ran from the cabin to the rail-
road cut-ran madly, though the
stones bruised and cut her bare feet,
and the lightning flashed about her,
aud fallen trees barred her way. The
only chance to save the onrushing
train was to signal it at the end of
the tunnel. She sped up the track,
waving the dress frantically.
Suddenly the big engine thundered
out OF the tunnel and bore down upon
the child. Peering from the side of
his cab, the engineer saw her. There
was roar of steam and the shrek of
air-brakes ruthlessly applied, and the
heavy train came to grinding, shud.
dering stop within a few feet Of the
child.
The startled passengers and the
train crew found her sobbing beside
the track. OF course they made
much of her, plying her with questions
and heaping praise npon her.
weren't you a2raid?" asked one of
the grateful passengers.
90 course l was" replied the child,
bashful under the attention she was
receiving. "But just had to stop
yuh-all.'
When the express finally resumed
It's journey, most of the passengers
carried lighter pocketbooks. Not that
the child was interested in this. Just
what was uppernOst in her mind be-
came manifest when one of the pas
sengers asked her if there wasn't
something she could send for. Mamie
wriggled her toes In the dirt, Put her
finger in her mouth, and finally num-
bled, shamefacedly;
"Well, maybe yuh-all could send me
a new red dress, cause l done spoiled
mine a-stoppin' the train!"
This is the story of one child's he
roism, and the railroad was properly
grateful. Down to Graphite journeyec
an official 1t was hard for him to
get her to tell him what she really
desired most in the life that his COM
pany could give her But he finally
succeeded. And what do you suppose
it was? She wanted an education.
Mamie got her wish and is now
studying hard in tie Normal and Col.
legiate institute at Nashville