Told in the Code.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 47, 24 February 1906, Page 10

Told in the Code.

\ Awayi to tho west was "the Mil," tho last spur of the Bookies, black and threatening In the dsepening twilight, with a path of steel dinging to its sldo .to the very top, and a double my of (iwitoh-Ughta shining on 1 the rails through, the yard. It was a stiff climb to thq aumrnie, a grade 'of one hundred and »lxty v feeb to tho mile, where drawhe&ds mi pins strained and groan&d, with the eoul-tryitig pull. Where motnl, weak and oi'y»t(illi«e.d like an, old man 1 * b,oiwß, would give way, and all behind would go down tho singing, rails faßtor, faster, faster, until, .(porhapa, the roaring dtisti cloud, with its' core of Jumping, Jostling oarg, would refuso the road and take tho ditoh. Moro tractablft ib migJit, if fates mn propitious, trundle along the flat at the foot of tho grade with diminishing speed until ib stopped with blazing jour-nftl-box<si> -in MUsoula yewd.. Or? jnost dreaded flnftlHy, it might, find a train labouring up' the. hill buhind It— then imrgoofl* aa, well as moohanics would be called go with the wrecking outflu , Jaojc . Eyewtb grimly regarded this TbUok rampart m, tolling, the 32's bell, th»y rumbled through Hhe yard to the upper end, where, they would wait the of No. 1. , IV* yetwi b«f<*6 h© had been the crack traln-despatchw of the' road, Then >hla mothep dfe^i «nd not lona after,' without a uirord of warning, he handed in his resignation and left for ports un< Jflidwn, Sonw> said it was because of a girl's indifference, Jook safd never iv Vorjd, 'and long 'after the men bewailed hk, flirting, <th\A' told of what he ,had don* and who* to could do. Ev^n jiow, 'sOme oranky old "eagle eye," laid 6ub, at a, blind .siding, through a train-dflg. patqher'fl,poor mflthematice, would sayji /'Well, Jack Everett never messed thing*' .llJmi fihftb. Hei was a train-degpatoher 'and not a dude train-delayeri" and &N this, might have plowed Jack if he had kntyrn ft. , , : : Poor follow, ho had otia«od hard times' tp the Atlantic slope, through the South, '(vndibcck again to the shadow of the "Itookteg,. only to find a superintendent and traJn-mt^ter who didn't know him and didn't .want to, Moreover they had do work for him. . ' . 'He had comeback willing, to play his parb In the .Prodigal Son, bub his friends had \ gone', and thY fafeted l calf had not been' roped. He had come to stay.. Just thd sank- If (he might wot direct th« • mot«m9nt#.of tralnn, he could ,ftb least iflrd an engine, and to the motive powor. department he wont and' heated' up Ms own, welcome, ' > , » Noy the .thought of the miles of mountain grade to be. olimbed and the appetite the 32 had for coal 'gob on his nerves flßd whispered of th« backache to >come; and he sputtered to himself s /'Niod stato of ftfTairs; Fine \wiy to rise.to'the vorld, • this toliogganlng from train-despatcher to be wet-nuM* for a Hinkley hog/ >>. ■ , ■ , > Then the air-brake olghtfd pond'erotisly,, and the big machine, halted 'just clear of the «tre«* crossing, whef* the oil-soaked ties told of engine* thab had waited thoie ,befor«; il',i I ', . • \ Old Barney M'F^o Jamniod the throttle tight, pulled tli«,'i;ev«rße lever to the centre, and, kicking' open the cylinder cockif/' swung, to 'tho ground with 'torch 'and oil-can, while Jack hauled tho slashbar from the bender, and broke open his fire, , f *!■ . ■ The,, baked crust of coal shot out tongues of flamo as he poked and prodded, and, cqaxed.by jtho draught of the blower, the liory tongues Joined and ecuttled, through the flues until the blaze spread ' evenly , and • the hand began <to ereeii slowly up the fiwe of tho steam.gauge. ' ' iTnck pulled oub tho smoking bar, toajed it on tho tend**, and stood Ih the wuigway; " cooling blfl burning face in* tho breeze. ,The flaS^-rhlgh-bredand speedy, whioh, with, the moro cumbrous 32, was ib ,'take No. 1 pub ot town— was impablently hissing and sluing while her i fireman touched up her brass here and thoue. Beyond her, faf <Jown,the traok, the headlight of \No. 1 glimmered through ■the eottonwoodi fringing the EattwSflftk4. Faintly M«ndghati'<j whistle reached Mb ears blowing for a eroding,' the kei, bn« on the run, While ' Jack was leaning there getting Ms breath, Barney had worked around to the l«fb hand, and paused, torch in hand, to read a note, whilo two young women and a man stood at his elbow. Tho , fireman , looked down Just' as the ; engineer grumbled. '•< "If the' 'old man' «ays so ib goes, I s'pose, Qefc up i\n>rt> on. the loft-hand side, and don'b fall oub of tho window." Raising hid voice, h© called up, to Jack i , "Gob your oil-cans otltt of the, way so these folk* won't get grease on their olobhes. They're going to tide over the Mil with 'in. 11 Ib had been a little over two years since Jack had parted with Kitty' Farley, ■—the dainty telegraph operator; of the , upitown offleo— ln a foolish tiff, arid had left the olty and county and State witho'tib^saying the -word which would have mended their difference. : No\r here she was. To quarrel with a charming girl, leave her 4t{on'g in a dignlflod , sonse of his own, righteousness, and never for a minute forgetting, meet her faco to face months, after On an unromantloally greasy engine whioh he vras firing, was a situation Calling - for ' solf-poMossion Jack lacked. , Ha picked ,up the eaiw, and,' slipping out/ Of the oubbyt holo bosido' the. boiler,; made way lay his pssengers by shrinking out of light in the shadow abtbo.pthv side, i The. »ame Kitty hehad loved so well— tho standoff, 1 gracaful figure, - the soft golden haii 1 . pilftd flufflly, tho blue eye* with fotig lashon thab served tho merry glance* in their game of Jildo-ond-scek— not flvo feet' from him, and ho gassed, safelv , if ' hungrily, us she stepped Jlghtlyi to the engine deck. To be-, sure, Diok Summers And Belle Loonard wore iVJfch hor, bub Bella w«j her dearest friend and Ulclc was Bejlo's shadow. They made no difference^ and dldn'b count, ojtcopt to show tliat Jack's old place in the quartet had not been filled. That thought gavo him a glow of,hopo, but altogether it wao, «n exasperating .stato of nffalrs for tho sooty lovor, ana darknost seemod his bast friend. , ,N, N ' ■One* or >twlce ho thought that rcdognl-, tlon was at hand, bub No, 1 pullod In to save him, i'ossengers gettlns on and off i the loading, and unloading of bnggngo And' ■exprosiT matter) changing of engines find testing the air, all served to turn the trio's attontionto the station platform and away from Jack. When, at last, Barney and Daggetb came back from the dispatcher's office with their orders, and tho lights /lashed "all aboard" down 'the length of tbo train, his sigh 'of relief answered the low whißtles'of the engines. As tho first chug* of tho exhaust sucked up tho flnnujs, he pulled opo'n tlio fire door and dropped sooopful after scoopful of coal wher« the white gjaro «hon« fiercest, then stepped into the gangway to watch tho, black smoko roll from the stack. '- , ',' Barney had notched ,har up, and tho shallowing coughs qulcke^od into nn uninterrupted roar. *The town with its lights dropped behind, and only nn oq,cmlon»l raneh-houie ihono llko a ilraj

firefly through the night. Not a star was in sight in the overcast sky. In thd darkness of tho cab, within reach of his arm, was Kitty. What would sho say, or do, or think, If sho knew that ho was standing there? ' Tlie black Amoke changed to brown, tho brown thinned to white, and once moro the door wntt pulled, epon with a clang, and tho aloud from the stack glowed with the light of the furnnae as it rolled out ln'<y black again. Back and forth between ooftl-gffto and fire-door he swung the scoop until, shielding his eyes with a twist of its blade, ho saw a levol bed from s|de to sldo and from door to fluo sheet. The passengers had ceased talking. Darkness all around, the big boiler surging like a living thing beside thorn, the din of pounding inotal, the roar of tha oxhauit, and tho occasional (loop tones of tho whistle over their headsj awed thorn. They knew that hero a bluff rose straight up a hundred feot or more with a faoo of treacherous, slippery, 'sliding clay j that there a precipitous slopo fel) as far again on tho other sido to tho pines of tho won j horp, from tjie sound, they were crossing a long trestle with a roqk-bedded creek far below between its spidery bonts, and, knowing these perils qnd seeing none of them, fear shook hand? wjth evory wimber of the party. , The grade grew steeper and the work of the engines moro laboured. Tho cab nod and creaked crassily as the train ed up the hill. Hungrily the 5£ nto up the coal, and Jack's efforts rddoAtotod, ' Taking, a minute's breathing space, h^ lopked, up tho mountain past Barney's board shoulders. l?ar, far awa^ two little red stars winked at him. He brushed tho glare of the furnace from his eyes and looked again 1 , He could not brush them away, There they were, 'tho wloked-looklng littlo pinpoints, danoing like •wlll-o'-Wisps, ' ' They grew larger and larger, disappearing for a second flu though snub out by a. curtain, but never fotf long. ' .He caught, Barney I ';* arm, and silently pointed. •' " There was no need for oxplanatlon. An imperious signal sounded from the 32's whistle, and, as Dagjett saw the' phantom bearing down upon them, the 428 respond* l ( od with a frightened scream. .Barney pulled tho old hog over into the breeching,, nnd threw the air Into tho emergency notch. The 428 pawed for a second, then responded to TDnggett's hand, and flre flew from her drivers. The train slowed down, stopped, and, in the catch 'of a breath, as a deer whirls when it sees danger in its path, started back down tho slope, , - Tho rod spots were tho markers of a freight train, and their dancing told that the train had broken in two on the grade, ■arid Us hind cars, unrestrained, wero bringing destruction to everything in their ptith,' i Bnniey, knowing they could not outraeo tho runaway thab was gaining speed and momentum every second, yelled to his companions to Jump for their lives, and looped oub into tho darkness. Kitty,. Belle, hnd Diok, huddled together against tho. protecting bulk of the' boiler, w«r« too dazed to act, and before Jack could get them to the gangway, tho train thundered buck on to the Marenb trestle, two hundred feet above the rooks of the gorge.' ■ There was one waV to save the girl ho loved and the , train 'itself, and, desporato as Ib was, he could nob hesitate. , "We must got the girls back to the other engine. Bo quick and bring Belle," he shouted to Dick, and, catching Kitty in his arms, leaped up over tho tumbling coat, with the others close behind. He paused at tho dickey of the tank, and pointed down to tho 428's .pilot, swaying beneath its headlight, ■ ' < "Climb down'thoro. Catch tho girls as 1 swing over to you. " Then pull the ,p,ln ( turn' thode^ali? cooks, 1 and get Kitty and Bolle into Daggett's cab. I can save you and the train," he said, adding impatiently i "Yes, yfes j I'm Jack Everett, bub' never mind that. Be quick." 'Dick swung himself down to the tank" casting, -then leaped' to tho narrow, triangular platform* Belle was passed into his arms, and Jack turned to the girl who knelt bositle him. ' "Kitty, my darling 1" Ib was only for a) second there in tho glare of the 428's headlight. Her arms were flung around his nock, nnd brought his fate to hers. Sho could nob, speak. 'He kissed hiir and strained hor closo as they, swayed there} then, wltli an effort of' will, uneltt'sped her arms and swung her across the gulf to Dick, who atoort braced on the quivering pilot, 1 Then, . in an instant, the coupling-pin was out, the him Was out, and Jack waved a farewell and stumbled back over tbe slippery coal to the cab of the engine,* "Now, old girl, our work is going to bo pretty florco,? he muttered, as he threw the engine into forward motion and opened the throttle. The driver* spun,, held, and then, with a ierk, the* 32 stared back, with Jack goading her on t6 meet the down-rushing cars. She roared ovon the trestle, and nearer came th* monster with tho staringi bloodshot eyes, gloating over its proy, > ■ 'It Is awful to die in the night llko this. NO' ray of sunshine to cheer the heart. 'Nothing around bub tho black pall. He shivered, and his mind seemed to ohfll. The balance trembled between tho hero and the coward, -and, as If In answer to his need, thero rang up tljrough tho pass the voice of the> 428, in short and long blasts thab said to him in the old Morse codei "''(l ,Vt "1 love you;' 1 "' '!•■. < It was Kitty, tmv 1 operator, speaking for tho Kitty'lie' loved, and hor mo»sngo to him. tuinod tho scale in his favour. 1 The cars were almost upon him, but, with, her last breath), tho old 32's whistlo sounded his" farewell i "CJo6d.bsr,» Kitty. ' Tho notes echoed back from the sides of tho oanon, and^mhigled with a crashing r w>ai? which told of the end. Down Into the gulf rolled the 'mass of splintered wood and twisted metal, uprooting pines and scattering' the, buukUrs like pebbles from the path, ami then— «ilonco, Way. down, hundreds of feot below, a cloud of steam drifted up through tho tree top*, hnd hung thero like a fog. With tho crash' and spasm 1 of pain Jack's' mind became a blank) to awnlfo to blistering heat -and choking, soaldlng vapor ) to tlnd himself pinned down In its 1 midst. > Ho attempted to free himself, bub > the- pain checked his ' movements, Then hw .hoard, ab flrsb faintly, ' then clears?) finally sharp and impatient, tho hoarse barking of an engine as it' surged \\p the hill with, open throttlo and \f till stroke, lifting tho fire from it» grate' bars with every rovoluMon of the drivers. As ho «a*nk back, cowed by his sufferings, shrill bub sweet Ito whistle came to him to call him back from the dead t "Jaokl Jack I Jaokl". Kitty, was coming, .and, with tine help' of tho 428's chlmO) was tolling him that help was ab hand, He stretched his hand to tho whtotlo cord to telF that, he was alive, and the gallant old 32 gave Its last breath in a responsive blow that qndod In a ' ludicrous . "whooi" a» tho steam failed; "Jusb like a dying calf," thoughb Jaok, laughing hysterically, as ho lay thor* watting for the train crew to dig him out.— A. M, Allen, In tho Argonaut.

During excavations at Abpualr, in the Mavionb district, near Alexandria (12gypt) a comotery full of ombalmod birds was unearthed.