Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1912-11-21

| train came 10 Rdlt.
Thank God, we stopped in time!"
Mallory gasped, as he tried to Olsen.
gage himself and Marjorie from Kath
leen
The passengers began TO regain
their courage with their equilibrium
Little Jimmie Wellington had flown
the whole length of the car, clinging
to his wife as II she were Francesca
da Rimini, and he Paolo. Hitting
through Inferno The flight ended at
the stateroom door with such n thump
that Mrs. Fosdick was sure a detec.
tive had come for her at last, and
with a battering ram.
But when Jimmie got back breath
enough to talk, he remembered tho
train stopping excitement OF the day
before and called out:
Has Mrs. Mallory lost that pup
again."
Everybody laughed uproariously at
this People will laugh at anything
or nothing when they have been
| frightened almost to death and sud
| denly relieved Of anxiety.
Everybody was cracking a joke at
! Marjorie's expense. Everybody felt a
good.natured grudge against her for
being such a mystery. The car was
ringing with hilarity, when the por-
ter came stumbling in and paused at
the door, with eyes all white. hands
waving frantically. and lips ilapping
Ike flannel, in a vain effort to speak.
The passengers stopped laughing at
Marjorie. TO laugh at the porter Ash
ton sang out:
What's the matter with you. por-
ter? Are you trying to crow"
Everybody roarcd at this, till the
porter finally managed to articulate:
"T-t-t.train rob.rob-robs ers!"
Silence shut down as II the whole
crowd had been smitten with paraly-
sis. From somewhere outside and
ahead came a poppopping as OF fire
crackers. Everybody thought, Re
volvers!" The reports were mingled
with barbaric yells that turned the
marrow in every bone to snow.
These regions are full Of historic
terror. All along the Nevada route
the conductor, the brakemen and old
travellers had pointed out scene after
scene where the Indians had slaked
the thirst OF the arid land with white
mans blood. Ashton, who had traV
eled this way many times, had made
himself fascinatingly horrifying the
evening before and ruined several
breakfasts that morning in the dining
car, by regaling the passengers with
stories OF pioneer ordeals, men and
women massacred in burning wagons
or dragged away to fiendish cruelty
and obscene torture, staked out supine
on burning wastes with eyelids cut
OFF, bound down within reach OF rat
tlesnakes, subjected to every misery
that human deviltry could devise.
Ashton had brought his fellow pas
sengers to a state OF ecstatIc excit
ability. and, like many recounter o.
burglar stories at night. had tuneC
his own nerves to high tension.
-, The violent stopping of the train
the heart-shaking yells and shots out
side, found the passengers already ap
to respond without delay to the ap
peals of fright. After the first husi
| VI vi eau, lbt ItdNliOu pdhiC
: Each passenger showed his owl
= panic in his own way. Ashton whiriet
. round and round, like a horse witt
the blind staggers, then bolted dow
the aisle, knocking aside men ant
+ women. He climbed on a seat, pullet
{ down an upper berth, and, scramblinl
into it, tried to shut 1t on himself
j. Mrs. Whitcomb was so frightened tina
: she assailed Ashton with fury an,
u selling his feet, dragged him back IN
to the aisle. and beat him with he
d fists, demanding that he protect he
3 and save her for Sammy's sake.
y Mrs. Fosdick, rushing out OF he
II stateroom and not finding her lus
Is cious-eyed husband, laid hold OF jim
- ME Wellington and ordered him I
e go to the rescue OF her spouse. MIR!
Wellington tore her hands loose. CT!
n ing: Let him go, madam. He has
u wife of his own to defend"
?! Jimmie was trying to pour out d!
ct ing messages, and only sputtering, TO
getting that he had put his watch /
N his mouth to hide it, though its chat
h was still attached to his waistcoat.
O. Anne Cattle, who had read niue
er about Chinese atrocities to mission
Id aries, gave herself up to death, yet r.
g. joiced greatly that she had provide
lie timely man to lean on and shout
not have to enter Paradise spinste
r. providing she could manage to col
n. vert Ira in the next few seconds, b
ID fore II was everlastingly too late. ST
ty was begging her first heather to loi
II her in a gospel hymn. But Ira wa
at roaring curses like pirate captain
er a hurricane. and swearing that II
villains should not rob him Of n
bride
Mrs Temple wrung her twitchir
hands and tried to drag her husbar
70 his knees, crying:
in ION, Walter, Walter, won't yC
ed please say a prayer?-a good stror
n prayer"
pit But the preacher was so confuse
TO that be answered: What's the use
rs urayar in an emergency like this ?"