davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24
CHAPTER xxxlII.
Pullman,


"Come inside" Law suggested, land
introduce me to the brakeman. pre-
sumo I've got to fix things UP with
him"
IF there's really any doubt in your
mind as to that" Barcus said, rising,
Il don't mind telling you you're right"
He paused as Alan entered the car
before him and was greeted by storm
of vituperation that fairly blistered
the panels of the Pullman Mr.. Seneca
Urine, helpless in his invalid chair,
thus celebrated his introduction to the
young man whom he had never before
seen whose life he had schened to
take these many years. His heavy
voice doomed and echoed through the
car like the sounding of tocsin.
Alan made no effort to respond, but
listened with his head critically to
one side and an exasperating express
sion of deep interest informing his
countenance until Mr. Urine was
out of breath and vitriol; when
the younger man bowed with the slight
est shade of mockery in his manner
and waved a tolerant hand to Barcus.
He has, no doubt Alan inquired,
This own private cell aboard this carr"
Vas, subj" Barcus agreed, aping
well the manner of his apparent caste
and color. 'Ain't dat de troof?''
take him away, then" Alan re-
quested wearily-''if you please"
Voo IL d., 10 Il
nimble alacrity seizing the back of the
wheeled chair and swinging it round
for spin up the length Of the car.
Before Urine had recovered enough
to curse him properly, the door to his
drawing room was closed and Barcus
was ambling back down the aisle.
His grin of relish at this turning of
the tables on the monomaniac proved,
however, short-lived 1t erased itself
in twinkling when Judith shouldered
roughly past him, wearing a sullen
and forbidding countenance, and flung
herself into the drawing room with
her father
The cause Of her temper was not
far to seek: at the far end of the car
Alan was bending solicitously over the
chair in which Rose was resting. One
Of his arms was around her shoulder.
Her face was lifted confidently to his.
Barcus unused morosely on his APP
prehension of trouble a-brew, simmer
ing over the waxing fire of that strange
woman's jealousy. He didn't like the
prospect at all. If only Alan and Rose
hadn't been SO desperately in love
that they couldn't keep away from one
another! II only Alan had been SEN
sible enough to outwit the woman and
leave her behind when he started in
pursuit Of the special! II only there
had not been that light engine IN pur-
slit-as Barcus firmly believed It must
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24
Oopyright, 1914, BY Louis JOSEPH Vance

went over backwards, taking Mr.. Bar
Gus with him to the ballast.
At almost the same moment Mr..
Law, attempting to restrain the engi-
neer from going to the assistance OF
his fellow-worker, ducked In under a
vicious swing for his chin, grappled
with his foe, tripped him up-and went
with his to the ground on the oppo-
site side of the locomotive from that
occupied by Mr. Barcus and the fire.
man.
For the next several seconds he was
very busy indeed keeping his face out
of the ballast The engineer was a
heavy man, but active and Infatuated.
He fought like a demon unclaimed It
was all very exciting. Mr. Law was
even beginning to enjoy it when he
heard woman shrek At the same
instant revolvers began to pop.
Mr.. Law released his foe almost as
quickly as he was released Both rose
as one man, to find Judith Urine be-
side them little smile of excitement
playing round her lips as she looked
up the track and watched the special
slow down to stop-several persons
on the back platform plying busy trig-
ger-fingers all the while.
As these last threw open the plat
form gates and dropped to the ballast,
still perforating the air with many bull
lets, Mr.. Law, Miss Judith Urine, and
that late be1ligerent, the engineer,
turned simultaneously and sought the
rear of the tender.
On the opposite side they found
Rose Urine and Mr.. Barcus standing
uncertainty above the body of the fire.
man, who, it appeared, had stunned
himself in falling and remained in
sensible.
The appearance Of Law and Judith
from behind the tender, closely pur-
sued by the engineer, who was in turn
closely pursued by gentlemen with re-
volvers, stirred Barcus and Rose to ac-
ton. Alan passed him at a round
pace, pausing only long enough to seize
Rose and drag her with him toward
the special. Judith flung him phrase
of well-meant advice in passing:
"Come along, you simpleton-unless
you want to be shot down where you
standi"
Mr. Barcus acted on that advice, as
Immediately as resentfully. Judith
Urine was little before him at the
steps of the Pullman: Mr.. Law had al
ready assisted Rose aboard. Mr.. Bar.
Gus ungraeiously gave place to the
lady: his ingrained chivalry sorely
strained by bullets that kicked
among the ballast round his feet.
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24

hands for the purposes of his mas
Notwithstanding them shade of
ebony upon which soap and water and
scrubbing had no effect whatever And
he had invented most excruciating
method of revenging himself upon the
druggist who had taken advantage of
his confidence and sold him the in
eradiable dye-when he was reused by
the sudden fight of magazine across
the car, missing his head by a bare
two inches, and the bang of chair
overturned by Judith as she Jumped
up and flung herself furiously toward
the door.
Just what had happened on the OBJ
servation platform Barcus didn't know,
but he could readily believe that the
lovers had just INDUCED in some espe-
cially provoking and long-drawn-out
caress.
He overhauled Judith none too soon.
In another moment she would have
had her sister by the throat-if her
purpose had not been to throw Rose
bodily overheard, as Barcus suspected
Happily, he was as quick on his feet
as Judith on hers; and almost before
he had grasped the situation, he had
grasped her-had seized her arms and
drawn them forcibly behind her back,
at the same time swinging her round
and endeayoring to propel her back
through the doorway.
It was man-size job For the ensu-
ing five minutes he had his hands full
of violently resentful and superbly
able-bodied young woman. Only with
the greatest difficulty did he succeed
in wrestling her up the aisle and to
the door Of her compartment. where
an even more furious resistance for
some additional minutes prefaced the
ultimate closing Of the door upon the
maddened Judith. Even then he might
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24
CHAPTER xxxiv.

Hand Car.
WE'LL" Mr.. Barcus broke silence
whose eloauence may not be translated
in print-"can you beat it?"
mot with this outfit" Alan admit
ted gloomily..
But damn it!-we've got to-"
Profanity yours, my friend
won't make this Pullman move without
an engine"
All the same, we can't stop here
like bumps on a log, waiting for that
gang Of thugs to sail up in the light
engine and cut our blessed throats."
Mr.. Law answered this unanswer-
able contention only with shrug.
Then, stepping out on the forward
platform of the Pullman. he cast a
hopeless eye over the landscape.
Raw, rugged hills hemmed in the
right Of way, hills whose vast TANKS
were covered with dense thickets Of
mesquite, chapparal, sagebrush and
cacti, the haunt Of owls and rattle
snakes and-solitude. No way of es-
cape from that pocket in the hills 9TH
er than by the railroad itself
He lowered his gaze to the tracks
and siding and started sharply.
Eh-What noW?' Barcus inquired
with interest.
Some thoughtful body has left an
old hand car over there in the ditch"
Alan replied. Maybe it isn't beyond
service
With me supplying the horsepower.
I supposed"
Horse isn't the word" Alan cor
srected meticulously; and escaped the
others wrath by dropping down to the
ballast and trotting over to the ditch.
where the hand car lay.
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24
CHAPTER xxxv.
caboose.


For once, in a way, it fell out pre-.
cisely as Mr.. Law had planned and
prayed
Constrained to pull up In order to re-
move the obstruction from the track,
the train crew of the freight choked
down its collective wrath on being pre-
scented with a sum of money. In the
hopes of further largesse it lent its
common ear to Alans well-worn tale
which had SO frequently proved useful
In similar emergencies, Of an clipping
couple pursued by an unreasoningly
vindictive parent; and had its hopes
rewarded by the price Alan bargained
to pay in exchange for exclusive use
Of the caboose as far as the next town.
So that it was not more than ten
minutes before Rose was settled to
rest in such comfort as the caboose az
forded, while Alan and -Barcus sat
within its doorway and smoked.
Neither he nor any other aboard the
freight suspected for an instant thar.
in the box car next forward Of the ca
boose, woman in mans clothing lay
perdue, now and again chucklinG
lmpishly to herself in anticipation OF
the time and the event she was hiding
with such patience as she could mus
ter
The whistle of a locomotive over
taking the freight sounded the signal
for her to take action on her cherished
plan.
Rising, she glanced out of the open
door. A curve in the track below the
freight, laboring up steep grade, en-,
abled her to catch glimpse of head.
light, followed by a string of lighted
windows, indicating single car: this
special, beyond a doubt.
Without hesitation, since the train
was not running at speed, she dropped
out to the ballast, wheeled smartly
about, caught the handbar at the end
of the box car as it passed and swung
herself up between it and the caboose.
A trife later the freight gained the
summit of the grade and began to run
more smoothly.
Climbing to the top Of the box car
she peered keenly through the gloam
ing, which was not yet so dense that
she might not discern two heads pro
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24
Continued from last week.
CHAPTER xxxlI.
Liqht ENGINE.

GtSH% k-ttSiuSs
Toward the close of that summers
day it was the whim of that arch-mal-
ager of theatricals whom men call
Fate to stage an anticlimax in the
midst of vast and hilly expanse of
desolate middle western country-a
rude and rugged disk of earth which
boasted no human tenancy within
circle of it's far-fung horizon and was
bisected not neatly, rather irregular
ly, by the flowing double line of steel
ribbons which marked the railroads
right of way over the old Santa Fe
trail
So much for the stage: the light eff
crimson and purple and gold of a por-
tentous sunset; the properties en-
ployed were simply special train and
what is known as light engine (mean-
Ing a locomotive unhandicapped by
cars; audience there was none, if one
except the actors-who were one and
all far too deeply preoccupied with the
Interpretation of their several roles
to be aware of the show
They were not many in number:
perhaps half a dozen aboard the spe-
cial train-which was making away as
fast as it could run toward the glory
of the sunset; as many more aboard
the light engine.
1t was the engineer who started the
trouble. After bringing his monster
to a full pause, he turned upon his
passengers and-not without plausible
excuse-violently indicted Mr. Alan
Law for abuse of his and his fire.
mans trustfulness. This the said fire.
man climbing forward over the ten
der vigorously applauded.
They had been engaged, both gentle
men asserted vigorously, for nothing
more dangerous than quick run
across the prairies, in furtherance of
the inspected plans of Mr.. Alan Law
and his companion, Miss Judith Urine.
After starting out, they had wickedly
and maliciously been bribed by the
said Law to put on speed and catch up
with the special, in order that he might
rescue from the latter young woman.
his bride-to-be and the sister of Miss
Urine.
But-and here was the grievance
they hadn't bargained to be shot at
with pistols. And precisely that out
rage had been put upon them during
and subsequent to the moment of res
cue.
1t was unhappy Mr.. Barcus who pre-
cipitated the affair. This gentleman
was suffering from severe sprain to
his sense OF decent pride. In the serv.
ice of Miss Rose Urine and her be.
trothed, Mr.. Law, Barcus had black.
ened his face and hands to the hue OF
ebony and had garmented himself in
the garb of a pullman porter, surren.
dering himself to humiIiating service
to those aboard the special, suffering
their insolence and scorn without a
murmur, but, with the tides of wrath
mounting ever higher in his bosom.
And now, when at length he had
won his freedom from that ignomini.
GUS servitude, it was only to be sworn
at and vilified, as a common niger, by
railroad hands!
1t was the fireman Ito be iusD who
brought the row to a focus by slight.
ing reference to that "shiftless and
misbegotten- dinge."
He repented quite promptly Mr.
Barcus jumped for his throat with q
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24

Judith Uncouping the Cahoose-
truding from the window of the spe
cia1's engine, one on either side.
At venture, she snatched off her
coat and waved it wildly in the air.
An arm answered the signal from
one window of the pursuing locomo.
tive.
Marrophat, of course!
She turned and peered ahead The
freight was approaching trestlo that
spanned wide and shallow gully.
So much the better!
Dropping down again between the
cars, she set herself to solve the prob.
lem of uncounling the caboose.
In this she was successful just as
the last car rolled out on the trestle
Its own impetus carried the caboose
to the middle of the trestle before IL
stopped.
AS this happened, Alan and Barcus,
already warned of an emergency by
the slowing down of the car, and for
some time alive to the fact that the
special was again in pursuit, leaped
out upon the ties and helped Rose to
alight
Already the last of the freight was
whisking off the trestle, it's crew thus
far unconscious of their loss
And behind them the special was
plunging forward at undated speed
There was no time to execute thefE
plan of the first desperate instant-to
run along the ties to safety on the
solid earth: the distance was too
great; they could not possibly make it.
With common impulse the two men
glanced down to the bottom Of the
gully, then looked at each other With
eyes informed by common inspiration.
Barcus announced in breath:
Thirty feet-not more
Alan replied Can you hold the
weight Of the two Of us for half a min
ute?'
Barcus shrugged: Il can try. We
might as well-even If can't"
While speaking, he was lowering
himself between the ties.
All right" he announced briefly.
With word to Rose, Alan slipped
down beside Barcus, shifted his hold
to the body Of the latter. and climbed
Z If.nnfinuAd an maze "a
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24

be-loaded to the guards with Trine's
INSCRIPTIONS hfrelings!
No telling when they might catcl
up!
The fear of this last catastrophe
worked together with his fears of Jul
dith to render that night sleepless
one for Barcus. He spent it in a chair
whence he could watch both the door
to the compartment Judith had chosen
for her own formerly Marrophat's
quarters) and the endless ribbons of
steel that swept beneath the tracks.
But nothing happened. He mapped
uneasily from time to time, waking
with, a start Of fright, but always to
find nothing amiss. Ever Judith
stopped behind that closed door, and
ever the track behind was innocent OF
the glare of a pursuing headlight
Nor did anything untoward mark the
progress of the morning-unless, in
deed, Judith's protracted sessions
with her father behind the closed
door of the drawing room were to be
counted ominous.
Ever since lunch-time the gir4 had
been closeted with her father; Barcus
had been getting some well-earned and
sorely-needed rest in his quarters;
Alan standing his watch on the obser-
walton platform. in company with
Rose; and the train booming along
through an uncouth wilderness of arid
mountains, barren mesas, and sun
smitten flats given over to the desolate
genius of sagebrush.
Whatever had been the tenor of the
communication between father and
daughter, Judith eventually emerged
from the drawing room in an ominous
temper. Barcus, coming drowsily
away from his compartment at the
same time, was Jared wide awake by
sight of the foreboding countenance
she wore; and after moment of doubt
followed her back to the lounge at the
rear of the car.
He got there in time to see her at
rigid standstill, staring steadfastly at
the two figures SO close together on
the observation platform. But on
his appearance Judith shook herself
together. snatched up magazine, and
plunged wrathfully into an easy chair,
burying her nose between the pages of
the publication with every indication
of deep interest in it's text.
Mr.. Barcus, however, had. learned
the lesson of bitter experience to the
effect that the outward bearing Of
Miss Judith Urine was no sure index
to her inward humor-unless, that is,
1t might be taken to indicate the di-
rect contrary of its semblance;
though even this was no reliable rule.
Reminding himself of this, he there
fore invented morbid interest in an
other magaZine-round the edge Of
which he kept wary eye upon the
young woman.
For all her evaporation, Judith con-
tanned herself longer than might have
been expected. Her continued show
of placidity, indeed, lulled Barcus into
dangerous feeling Of security Per-
suaded that she meant to behave, he
gradually ceased to watch her as mar
rowly as at first, and lost himself in a
morose reverie whose subject was the
seemingly permanent mourning into
which he had plunged his face and
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24

not draw a free breath: there was no
way Of locking that door from the out
side; and he dared not leave go the
handle, lest the girl again fly out and
renew the battle.
s Waving aside Alan's proffer of as
sistance, he acidly advised that gem
tleman to return to his post Of duty
and not let his infatuation blind him
to what might at any moment loom
up on the track behind them, Barcus
stoutly held the door against the girls
attempt to pull it open and through
another period when she occupied her
self with kicking its panels as If hope
full Of breaking way out A long
pause followed. He heard no sounds
from within. And wearying, he won
iered what the devil she was up to.
Then her voice penetrated the barrier,
Its accents calm and not unamiable:
"Mr. Barcus."
"Hello!' he replied, startled. What
is 1t, Miss Judith ?"
Please let me out"
mot much"
"Oh-please!"
Struck by the fact that she hadn't
lost her temper on hearing his refusal,
he hesitated 1t was very true that he
couldn't stay there forever, holding on
to that knob.
"Will you be good If let you out?"
Perfectly"
"No more shenanigan?"
II promise"
Word of honor?"
IF my word Of honor means any.
thing to you--you have it"
well i" he said obviously.
In the same humor he turned and re-
leased the knob; promptly Judith
opened 1t wide and swept out into the
corridor, her mood now one of really
fetching mockery.
Thank you so much!" she laughed
into his face of discontinue, and drop
ping him an ironic curtsy, she turned
forward and swung into the drawing
room occupied by Urine.
wonder what she put that on for 2"
he speculated, with reference to the
ankle-long Pullman wrapper which Ju-
dith had seen fit to don during her
period of captivity. Heaven knows
it's hot enough without wearing more
clothing than decency demands !. .
But you never can tell about wom-
an .. / bet a dollar I've made a
blithering ass Of myself-letting her
loose at all
He took his doubts aft, communi-
eating them to Alan and Rose.
And his long conference with Alan
and Rose on the observation platform
afforded Judith ample opportunity in
which undetected to suborn the train
crew to treachery.
Whether she did or not, this is what
happened in the course of the next
hour: the special was forced to take a
siding to make way for the California
limited, east-bound; and when this had
passed, the engine Of the special
coughed apologetically and pulled
swiftly out, leaving the Pullman stalled
on the siding.
From the rear Of the tender the
| brakeman and fireman waved affecting
farewells to the indignant faces OF
Alan and Barcus when they showed in
| the front doorway
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24

One Of His Arms Was Around Her
Shoulder.
below of rage. The brakeman leaped
for his shovel and brandished it threat
eningly. Mr.. Barcus made nothing OF
that: he closed in without hesitation
and got the fireman by the throat, pro-
eeeding to shake the breath out of his
body with the greatest good will and
dispatch. In the course Of this enter
tainment the fireman slipped on the
cab platform, trod on nothing. and
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1915-02-24


switch of spur line that shot off
southwark into the hills furnished Alan
with his independent inspiration
Stopping the hand car after 1t had
jolted over the frogs, he jumped down,
set the switch to shunt the pursuit off
to the spur, and leaped back upon
the car.
Hardly had they succeeded in work
ing the hand car up round the shoulder
of the next bend when the special took
the switch without pause and the roar
of its progress, shut off by an inter-
vening mountain, was suddenly stilled
to murmur
But even SO, there was neither rest
for the weary nor much excuse for
self-congratulat.on; the rumble Of the
special was not together lost to hear.
ing when the thunder Of the freight
replaced and drowned it out.
OF a sudden, releasing the handle
bar, Alan stood up and signed to Bar
Gus to initiate his example.
Well" this last painted, when he
had obeyed.
Jump off-leave the hand car where
it is they'll have to stop to clear it off
the track"
And them"
"I'll buy lift from them If it takes
my last dollar in the world" Alan
promised. ITS our only hope. We
cant keep up this heartbreaking bust
ness forever-and It can't be long be.
fore Urine and Marrophat discover
their mistake {"
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-05-22

and Mr.. Murphy, but the most direct
evidence OF the attempt on the part of
Mr.. Barnes TO defeat Mr.. Murphy at
every point
The situation would probably never
have arisen If it had not been for
President Roosevelt's attempt to
dominate the politics OF the state in
1910 and under such conditions as to
secure the election OF the democratic
administration, which brought about
the corruption complained of. But Mr..
Barnes devoted four years of his life
10 the exclusion of business and all
other considerations, for the purpose
Of restoring the republican party TO
power. in which he succeeded.
in the meantime, this part of the
procession has moved by but the issue
still remains undetermined
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-05-22
.STR0EHLE AGAIN
IN STATE OFFICE
Rock Island Delegate Chosen Member
Of Executive Committee OF Let
ter Carriers.

Eff. stroehle OF this city was elected
member Of the executive committee OF
the Illinois Letter Carriers associa-
tion az the meeting az Peoria today.
With him ou-this body Is Clyde ".
Becker OF Moline. News came in a
dispatch 20 The Argus from J. II. Lue-
beck. one OF the delegates from the
Rock Island letter carriers. The next
convention was voted 10 Waukegan.
The complete list OF officers is
Prcsideut-N. II. Peterson. Peoria.
Vice Prcisdent-F. ". Flint. Gales
burg
secrctary-CIarence Becker. Spring
acid
Treasurer-T. W. aIeCann. Rock
ford.
sergcant-at-Arms-A s. Glass. Jo-
iict
Executive Committee Clyde ".
Becker. Moline; r. P. Stroehle. Rock
Island. a. p. Parker. Elein; o. L.
Thorp. Dunviilc; II. C. Eruhn. Quincy.
George Aihcrk. Mnfto1n.
pclcFutc-at-larEe 90 national con-
vcntlou-John ~. Hopper. Chicago.