The herald., 1922-10-26
In the Signal
Box
20. 1922, Western Newspaper Union)
By ERNEST LEVINE


Three Points was Il responsible sta
ton, though fewer than Il dozen trains
passed through it each day. Carter
was. u white-iIaired fellow of thirty
fve-yes, snow-white. Turned white
in an evening.
The Westbound Limited passed
Three Points at SIX Oh winters
night Passed at full speed, though
with a touch OF his hand Carter could
have raised the signal against her.
That couldn't be done. She had to
| pass to take the siding 10 permit the
East Special to thunder Oh its way
along the single track. The dispatch
er had handed Carter the telegram.
| Happen what might, the Westbound
must take that siding, half a mile
| down the track, and To pull up meant
| to smash into the other train, whose
echoinS thunder over the bridge, two
miles back in the mountains, was al
ready audible.
Good, ST. far. Carter was n mar
ried man. Little Minnie was an ell
thusiast, at six, on railroad manage
ment. she had box of toy rails
not the little circular track around
| which miniature tram of an engine
and two coaches whirls till the clock
! work apparatus stops, and then gen
orally falls off the line. No, sir. Car
ter was as much of an enthusiast as
Minnie Besides, who knew that WON
| In hA
freight superintendent by the time
Minnie was grown?
Minnie's toy rails reached the full
length of the room. There were juno
tons and sidings, a toy station and
toy station superintendent. The en-
CINE ran by clockwork, it's true, but a
glorified clockwork that took five min.
utes to run down. The coaches never
ran off the line-their wheels were
Hanged. And Minnie played and
This is fathers box" she said, in
dicating the toy signal box and setting
the signal against the engine, which
could be stopped full tilt by touching
lever. And this is the WestbOund
Limited"
Carter grinned and went off to his
post that bitter night He looked out
of the window OF the signal box, wait
ing for the Westbound to pass. And
then, through the dark, he saw some
thing white on the line.
The fiutter of tiny white dress,
right On the metals. Minnie's voice.
MY foot's caught, daddy, daddy"
And the thunder of the train in Car
ter's ears. And the roar of the other
train across the mountain bridge.
The train must make siding, Or
goodnight to several score of human
lives. On the other side? One life,
child's, but his own!
Yes, Carriers hair was snow-white
the next morning.
He stood In the signal box, listening
to the thunder of the On-cOming train.
There was still just time to yield to
that almost irresistible impulse. To set
the signal, run out of the box, snatch
his child from the rails and
And?
The traditions of the railroad serv'
ice prevailed over the instincts of the
father. The train came into sight, a
fiery monster, bearing down upon that
patch of white. The little voice-was
1t imagination ?-seemed to ring In his
ears.
Daddy My foot's caught, daddy Y
Then the train rolled over the place
No cry reached Carriers ears. 1t was
gone to the siding, and minute latel
the second train passed In the opposite
direction.
) Then Carter left the box.
, Two trains had passed over the
! place, and in the dark Carter could see
nothing, no sign or trace of evidence
of what had happened.
Quietly, because he had suffered al
that a man may endure without losing
his sanity, he made his way toward
his cottage near the nne. And ever!
step he took he was thinking, "HOv
, shall / tell Ella1 How shall tel
Ella2"
He remembered the strong scent O
| the vines upon the porch. He wen
. with haggard mien up the three wood
, en- steps. His wife came to the door
"Dear-what's the matter2 oh
, what's the matterT
Z "Aiinnie-" He tried to tell her, bu
} all he could say was Minnie
Minnie"
. minnie? She's inside, playing witt
/ her railroad"
"WhatT
: Carter ran into the house, incredu
, lous. There on the floor sat the child
, winding her cleckwOrk engine. HI
snatched her Into his arms. minnie
r child, have you been here all the
timer
: "Oh. a long, long time, daddy. An
what do you think1 The points of tn
rails ran into my boot, and l cOuldn'
get them out for ever SO long. An
|, wished you were here to pull m