JOKING WITH A POWDERHOUSE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1334, 16 March 1887, Page 6

JOKING WITH A POWDERHOUSE.

There was a fall of rock at one of the tunnels on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and our train was detained at a flag station for three or four hours. The passengers strolled about to pass tne time away, and a dozen of us had gone down the track half a mile towards a quarry when we came to a rough-looking shanty erected about 200 feet from the track, and partly bidden by great rocks. There was a small piece of red cardboard in sight on the building, but if it had any printing or ws'iting on it we couldn't see fi'om that distance. A passenger pulled out his revolver and observed : — 'I tbiok I can chip that card, though it's a pretty long shot.' He fired and missed it. Then a second Heed and hit the corner of the card. Tben out came seven or eight weapons, and there was a general blazing away for at least fen minutes, when the card fell. We bad just put up our pistols when a man came running up from the quarry, waving his bat and yelling: 'Stop! stop!' When he rushed up he was out of breath and pale as a gbost. ' W-what were you shooting at ?' he gasped. ' At a red card on that shanty.' He beckoned for us to follow, and led the way to the houce and opened the door. The place contained nineteen kegs of blasting powder and 150 pourds of nitro-glyderiue, and some of our bullets had ' barted ' two or three of the kegs. I don't know by what route the others got back to the train, nor how long it took 'em, but I flew, and the rate of speed beat any pigeon record you ever beard of.