The Washington times., 1920-04-13
w yHEN No. 4 drew out from
,.W Gordopville. west bound to-
l. wv x.,.ra Tiacinnaii there Wero

wv yHEN No. drew out from
,W Gordopville. west bound to-
y w ward Cincinnati. there were
two young men on board under
widely different conditions. One
was crouched upon the second step
of a Pullman, forward, with hts
eyes fxed grimly upon the door
through which the conductor would
mass on his round OF ticket collect
ing. The other was In the obserNA-
tion car at the rear OF the train,
two seats from the end, staring al
IN open letter with eyes widened
In despair, horror and desperation.
This train made few stops. but
at the FIRST station, In obedience 10
a signal from the bell-oord, IL
slowed sufficiently for the conduc-
tor and brakeman TO thrust the
man from the second step OF the
Pullman, then II shot ahead to make
nap the few seconds lost.
3 The unfortunate man slowly rat
up where he had dropped, his face
now keen and alert and his. right
arm upraised. As II swept by, the
train brushed his clothing and the
wind OF IL stirred his rough, un-
kempt hair. Three cars passed, then
came the observation. suddenly
his hand closed like a wise upon
The rear railing. his body swung
nut and writhed for few mo-
ments in mid-alr, then his feet
caught, and he drew himself In by
sheer force OF muscle and nerve TO
the same crouching position he had
occupied on the Pullman, forward.
:: Inside the car the other man was
now tearing the letter into the most
minute fragments, as IL striving to
annihilate it's contents. When tho
Vieces were too small for further
reduction. they swept through an
open window and were scattered
thinly over a half mile OF the road
bed.
a swift glance over the car. II was
almost empty and the other pas
tengers were buried in papers or
Books. He turned quickly. opened
the door, and sprang from. the step
himself out suddenly, with moth
ing but his left hand grasping
the rail. As the two bodies came
tpgether the tramp's right arm
closed like a steel band around the
other, while the weight of II bore
them down until their legs almost
swept the mocking rails Of the
rpadbed.
e. Not many men--not one in q
thousand. perhaps-could have sus-
tained such a weight in such
1osition. swinging from side to side
under the motion of a train going
Rt fifty miles an hour; but gradu-
ally, little by little. the left arm
contracted and drew them up. up.
until finallyswith a last desperate
effort they were both crouching
Upon the rear platform, white. gasp
3ng. too exhausted to stand or
speak.
.The welldressed man recovered
Hrst. The horror was still in mis-
eyes, but with II was something
more. Perhaps that instant in mid
nir. with death in. front. had made
him see more clearly. Perhaps his
miraculous rescue had made pos
sible the greater rescue from him.
self. As he r.se staxger'ngly the
tramp's h@S weHt out in feeble
protest, but another hand fell upon
1t gently.
!. mo need of that now. my friend"
the still white lips whispered. II
am awake and in my right mind.
j shall never attempt anything
like that again."
:: The train began to slacken, and
at that moment the door opened
and the conductor came out. They
@ere passing over short piece of
rpad. where repairs were being
made. and slow speed was neces-
sary. The conductor nodded to his
passenger, but seemed surprised at
his disheveled appearance. Then
his gaze fell upon the tramp and
his face darkened.
"You" he exclaimed. after be-