Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1921-06-24


X, and expected to see No. 20 side
tracked here. Not seeing anything on
the siding, pulled up to investigate.
What's up?'
"'Didn't you smash into 23T
gasped.
"'Sure not he replied. What's the
matterP Did you strike your headT
my heads all right / replied.
'Twenty-three passed her In blaze of
glory some time ago, and If you didn't
see her, where Is she2'
"'Come. man, coaxed the engineer,
get word along the line and find out
when she is due. don't want to stay
here all day.
"'But tell you she passed here
insisted, and in desperation I rushed
to the key and pounded off an inquiry
to the fellow south of me as to wheth
or % had passed.
''The reply staggered me. He an
swered In the negative.
"'Where's that trainT l shrieked.
1T passed here at 7 &c., persisted.
Ouot tACh thC ACaA bAuhCAiah NahN
running up the track with cap in
his hand. Found this down the track
he said. That's old Jim Bludsoe's
cap; and If his cap is here, he must
have passed here himself
"'That's So rejoined the engineer.
But what am I going to do2 I can't
hang around here any longer
swell, I wired to the northern end
for Instructions, and got word to send
the passenger along. Then the word
went over the line to the next station
south to send out searching party for
the missing train. The track between
my shanty and the next one south was
closed to traffic pending the arrival Of
the searching crew. In due time they
pulled In on hand-car, and reported
that they has seen nothing Of the miss
ing train. wired the information to
headquarters, and asked for INSTRUCT
lions.
"'Open up the road for traffic and
send men on foot to make q thorough
search for that train; we need It, came
the answer,
IT did as directed, and sent the
searching party down the track. Told
them to spread out on either side Of
the track and work along until they
found the wreck, for felt sure It
must have run off the track some
where.
after they had been gone about
fifteen or twenty minutes, and l had
rnked my brain for a solution of the
matter, / heard a whistle away off
In the distance. It sounded low, ap-
pearing to come from the south.
There was nothing due at my place
for an hour or so; so thought at first
II was q relief party coming up to
help solve the mystery, but as the
sound continued, and did not get any
louder concluded that, whatever 1t
was, 1t was stationary.
'"The sound kept up for about ten
minutes and then stopped. | waited
for about half an hour, and then l saw
one of the searching party returning
on the run. In the meantime head
news Of the engine.
"When the special courier arrived,
he was winded; so saw 1t was no use
trying to pump anything out of him I'M
til he got through with his breathing
exercises.
"When he got his bellows working
egaln, learned that they had found
Jim Bludsoe and his train about three
miles down the road, about mile and
a half away from the track. Several
of the cars were standing on end but
the engine and the balance of the
train were right side up, scattered
over the face Of the virgin prairie.
"The searchers had heard the whis-
tie, and proceeded to investigate.
They had found the wreck as reported,
with old Jim standing In the cab,
scared, wild-eyed and battered"
"How the heck did they get there?"
asked the watery-eyed one.
"Well, they couldn't get anything
out Of Jim. He seemed plumb locoed.
When I sent In my report over the
wire they sent down lot Of experts
to try and salvage the train. Jim
Bludsoe was the only living critter left
Of the crew.
"They figured that the cyclone had
caught up to the train on Its wild
whirl down the track, picked 1t up
bodily, like blooming airshlp, and
carried It across the country to where
~
by the crew, who came straylng In
like lost sheep from the prairie
whittier they had blown.
ut was learned from them that the
engineer had developed crazy streak
some time before passing my station
and chased the fireman out Of the cab.
That explained why they gave my sig
nal the go-by. However, jim Bludsoe
never had to answer for his crazy act,
for the last I heard OF him he was
in dlppy domlcile, quartered In an up
holstered boudolr"
"And what became of the locomo-
tive and cars?" inquired the watery-
eyed one.
"Oh, they built mile and half
Of track out to the scene, and the
wreckers salvaged the whole outfit
The strange part Of 1t Is that pros
porous settlement, known as The
Lost Freight, sprung up at the
terminus
THAT'S So" replied the watery-
eyed one "YOu don't happen to be
related to Amer Mas, do you"
mo" replied the loose Olnted In
dIvIdual. "My famlIlars call me
Monk Hansen. so long, pard. Thanks