HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1889-11-01, Page 2rittn4ljalli A. lir along b q t y lanes, d thep g pest d d t' t the ;poi the
ng to bine'self, The neightoredit ance signal without atnppiug. eugiva and wore just about to abut faculties, ivl.
* again. now walking with nnertsy step ,couut,ttt• Weight, and waited—only to the matter to hiw,tbey lifted the dead
t e utet coRu r sues an .low see
atiser* er train clasp as utas all carries tarn o to van
sitting de Hotodly along the roadside, without elaakening speed and pass the Deify and '.1.'om then returned to the bprw, ao the
mutters rich
mit cause to hear of his strange beliav- At length, when the days had crept the train to advance to the,ttation and become capaltia•
ior; and it was whispered that he in considerably, and time rendered .the see what could be dons 'with Arnn' kind of ltnowledit
lutist have gone out of ilia aenseat ae evenings more suitable far the carry, strong, When Tom caught sight o£ the most important
lflill)A "OVIa 1 I I, ;880,
Jriaact to Nee&
'*I will 'steed, by you
.never you fear."
What a true ring
sin these words that yeti hear.
I will befriend you,
E'en to the end"
Ohl wheat a blessing
To have such a friend:
One who comes forward,
Sunshine or rain,
Ever the same
1n lite'a pleasure or pain,
ti{ting you up when
You helplessly fall,
Dropping the hooey
Down into the gall
On the dark highway
Taking your hand ;
Finding the mile -stones
In a strange land ;
'When the glad morning
Banishes night,
Lifting the curtain
To let in the light.
Others may wander,
Friendless and cold,
Ton have a fortress,
You have at fold.
While your friend liveth,
Constant and true,
You will be deal to him,
He dear to you.
Friends of the summer,
Moura not their lose ;
Gone like the mountain mini,
Gone like the dross! •
Better than silver
One unexchangable friend,
Honest in principle ;.
True to the end,
gR11tESTRONG'S REVENGE,
•
One bright ,Tune morning not many
years ago, a big ungainly farm -servant,
bolding by a halter a large and un-
couth plough -horse, stood before ti e
strut door of a battered wooden build-
ing, the surroundinga of which it once
proclaimed it to be a smithy, although
through the "Oinks in its weather-
beaten walls no forge -fire gleamed or
sherry hammer rang. The plough
man, astonished to see the place shut
at an. hod`r long after that at which
the blaeksmith usually started work,
retired a or two and gased up at
the chimney ;.and not seeing even the
faintest sign of smoke issuing thence,
he turned and looked shout him with s
puzzledexpression on his face. A
man breaking stones ou the other side•
of road,noticing the farm -servant's be- _
wilderment, approached, and, after
the usual morning salutation, pro-
ceeded to explain what had become of
the blacksmith. We yrid give the ex
planation in our own words.
Hamilton Armstrong was the naive.
of the blacksmith in questign. His
workshop was situated: close toa way -
elide station on the main line of one of
the great Scotch railways, but a Con-'
eielerable distance from any town or
village. Being, however,, kept pretty
bnay at work for the neighboring
farmers, and being consequently,wall-
to-do, and bring, moreover; as his
female l*eightor, a very °.pretty girl,
'the daughter of the porter at the
. station, it was the moat natural ,thing,
the -world that he, should- wish to
snake her his wife. Unfortunately,
this vias more easily determined on
than done, for he had a rival..* The
rival was the driver of a goods -train
which was almast daily shunted into
• the siding near Sarah's house, to allow.,
of a passenger expresspassing, and.
who took advantage of thismomentary
respite to chat with the porter's
.daughter. Whether because he was
a far away bird that his feathers seem-
ed fairer than Armstrong's in. Sarah's
sight, or' whether he was intrinsically
.a wan of more wortli, • the gossips
for there were gossips even in those
solitudes—were not agreed. Rightly
or wrongly, however,,9larah gave him
.the preference,
Fletvin,g made up his mind to asst
Sarah to be his wife, Armstrong was
:not long finding an .opportunity for
doing so. Though he kitew he had a
rival, be was hardly prepared to bear
from Sarah that she had already
promised to marry Duffy, the engine
driver. But Arinstrong was not going
to yield without making (teems, effort
to win her. He pleaded .lung and fer,
ventiy with!lento retract her promise
to his rival, whom he was pereuaded
she had only accepted because he had
been the first to ask her. But Sarab
was quite 'sincere, Duffy being the
titan of 'choice; and Armstrong
pieat sin.
to next week or twa, the b1n ck-
.smith stoped about and did scarcely E
way work. On the day of which
Aweless marriage waa•to take place he
asnhhy in the s'eThg,anci went wander -
kg Into the eouutres retuning►lata at
>ttt .• Neste teen yitnit bit wp*:t stem
au uncle of itis ltaa done undo a simi.. ing• out of his plan, as one everting he eome one running along the lure with canoe without it all our n
es
lar aheotion, lietehed anxiously in the dusk to the a lamp in has hand. would b,, nsOptic hie.mory has been:
That was yesterday,the atone brenlc, sound of the approaching passenger 'What's) up? cried Duffy, corireotl called the store -house of the
er wound up, and he's away along the traits, a thrill of pleasure shot through Who can this be, and whet can he mite tore hiss two functions,the road by the railway this morning, hm, for he noticed it was ehnokening be wanting? asked Tom. riest a 'retaining and that of ars-
They should look after him, or he'll ;speed• Tatting the cord in hie band, : At thio point the man with the ealling' of the past, 'These vire
be lying down in front of sonne train, he ¢limapbed ridly to rho signal post, lump approaahed the envie; and where not albestowed lir equal defames,
or jumping dowu into the deep "eh' and was overjoyed to find the passer* he had come witlnn the light of the Score+ r%r`t'hin kuowiedge, bat cannot,
cutting and breasting his sneak. :ger train stopping just ou the station furnace, the twa men recognized him recap it readily; others, who knew
If llamittonArwebong had not gone aide of the distance signal. Trout'', as the signal urian. We a blessing much less, have the knack of recalling
mad as the people supposed, he certain. ingWith excitement, be turned to the you noticed. its he card, panting with what ,little they (leknow pre-
ly acted like a madman. Stung to diectiott w�tuca the.goods•trainl would the exertion of running so fast. ctaely when it is +varrted. A rtnn's
the'quiek by his rejection, he lead no come andanxioualylawaited the sound �1'oticed what? sloth men on the rnetnory is perfect then, iu the degree
heart for his work, lie shut up iiia of its approach, Several seconds, engine exclaimed simultaneously. with which it isendowedwith rheas
smithy, and went out to try to walk .which to him seemed hours, elapsed Something'.s wrong with the signal• two attributes, Experience ha*
off the fever that burned within biro, before there was any eign of the ap. It's standing et clear just now,and shown that a naturally defective mem-
Proceeding along the path by proach of the goods. train. The pas- yet the lever's right for danger, I
ory may be greatly strengthened by
the side of the railway, hie heart filled sewer train, however, still stood at helm} you passing it without elovning cultivation, and it a well-knpwn fact
with bitter,batred, the idea of taking the distance -signal, throwing up long up, and then I noticed the signal was that *nen remember with ease things
u terrible revenge upas Duffy grade• oblique lines of light into the misty wrong I'm glad yen saw the train in they find necessary to recollect habit
ally shaped in his mind. At first be air. At length with fluttering heart front in time to pull up. ualiy,• For instauee, the merchant
tried to abut his earsto the suggestions he caught the sound of ,fuffy's train Is there a train in front? Duffy has a remarkable facility for rwnens-
of the tetupter; but li
ttle byhttle he approaching, and soon the head -lights, asked. bering the varions prices and other.
grew familiarized with the idea, 'until
he got so demoralised that he began
ton think in a -speculative way how he
could hest avenge himself upon the
engine•driver. Dufly's train always
passed ' the station, going east, about
half past seven in'the-evening. Short-
ly before it came the: twenty seven
minutes past seven passenger train.
The device of placing an obstruction
on the line suggested itself, only to be
immediately set aside. At this point
in his meditations, the sonndof a sig-
nal going down suggested to him the
idea of tampering with the signals.
He returned "home and retired to.
rest. Teasing restlessly on his bed,he
was revolving in his mind his various
schemes of revenge, when a diabolical
idea struck him of a plan whereby he
would be able to accomplish his object
without leaving any trace of foul play,
so that the whole blame of the catas-
trophe would fall neon Daffy, who
would not'adrvit a to 'tell; his side of
the story, or even if he did, and assert-
ed his innocence, would not be believ'.
ed. Arinstrong noticed that if the
coveter -weight at the bottom of the
signal post were lifted tip, it would
allow the signal arm to go down, just
as if it had been lowered by .means, of
the'leyer in the a signal -cabin, and the
counter:weight remaining. motionless
all the time ; while as soon .as the
counter -weight. was lowered 'Again, no
trace would reinitin of the 'signal hav-
ing been touched. • By adopting this
mode of lowering the - signal, the ob-
jection to his "istat•mentioned plan
would bedone away with. The only
danger would be that the pointsman
might notice•that•the signal was down;
but that was not likely, as the lifting
of the counter -weight, would not affect
the lever in the signal -box, and it was
improbable that the signal -man's eye
would be drawn towards the signal
when he was not either lowering. it or
pullingit up. The plan, would enable
Armattong to get some distance away,
and so prevent suspicion fastening
over -shadowed by a cloud of steam,- . There'$the seven twenty-seven eirsumstences eonnected with .his
golden with the furnace light, began passeuger'e blocked there by a tru„ k business • and this is true of every
to twinkle dtndy,like sitars of twilight, that went off the rails..,
t'''he explanation is that in,
in the distance. All at once the whole matter be- matters of business a man is counselled
Now or never; thought Armstrong, eame clear to .huffy. Armstrong had by habits of systematic arrangement,
taking two er three turns of the cord been trying to wreck the train, and and close attention. This fact gives
around his wrist. He then 'tugged had apparently fallen down into thH the key to the improvement of mem-
lustily et the cord ; but. the counter- cutting when putting the ,hni hiug ory, and shows that attention and
weight would not rise, With an oath, touches toles trap for his enemy. association of ideas are the only
he. twisted his legs round the signal- Although Duffy thought this perfectly means of attaining that result. At -
Lida, passed the cord through the plain, he did no breathe it word of his tention properly means that habit of
lattice -work a little above him, eo as thoughts to those around him, Wes the mind, by which it coneentratea
to obtain a better purchase, seized the not his Enemy lying dead in the van? its whole force on the object immne-
diately before it, to the exclusion of
the. at nal yuan. We stopped became
everything whieh bas no direct con-
d Fp nection. with it. Pib idea can he
descended. Armstroln,g's wild laugh we saw 'titian lying on the :'up-11np. distinctly impressed on the memory if
of joy at the accomplishment of his Here the signal man climbed on to the individual is not fully cspable of
nefarious purpose was almost int- • the engine, and the up express went this effort. The want of tllia pelt.
mediately stifled by a cry of terror thundering past, creating a miniature er of concentration is the cause of
and pain. .In his excitement he hau and morneutury hurricane 118 ii went the vn>rueness with which most people
forgotten that his head was immediate- It's Armstrong, the smith, added
cord with both hands and pulled with He would let bygones be bygones.
all his *night. =The weight yielded to • No, he 'didn't notide that, he said to
this violent e0'ort• the signal arm
ly below the signal -arm, and hissow.
age tug at . the counter -weight had
brought. the signal -arm, down upon
hit head with terrible and fatal force.
His nerveless limbs' loosened from the
signal, and falling with a thud npon
the sloping embankment, he was shot
over the edge of the sheer precipice
that formed one aide of the rock-outt•
ing and landed upon the opposite
line.
Meantime the goods •train bad on
tared the rock -cutting. The signal -
arm baying been lgwered until it was
in line with the signal -post, anti hav-
ing been checked by the entanglement
of the cord in, the Lattice-workwhen
it had only returned half -way, stood at
clear. -But for this ' accident, Arm
etrong's fieudish scheme would have
been frustrated ; for :the support be
ing taken away from the counterweight
it would have descended,and so elevet.
ed thesignal .again. And now, to
gratify one main's jealousy and hatred'
and punish one man, a hundred inno-
cent men and women itt the passenger
train were to be sacrificed,
As the goods•train came on rattling.
upon trim ;sad the fact of the signal and roaring through the cutting, the
being found all rigs.t afterwards wot3ld driver and stoker,nll• unconscious of the
preclude all possibility of a suspicion imminent peril• in winch they were,
of the signal having beon tampered stood on the footplate watching the
with. , signals and the line in front of them.
Armstrong bad begun his specula- gbtaof it, showed DC" the iDufy that eeitstood
tions with the view of only discover- at clear. Hiseye then wandered
ing how he could be avenged on Duffy, downward towtlyds the rails, when sud
if he wished to avenge himself. a plThe denly it was idrredted by a dark object
sncaessfnl,iasue of them in an I in on the other line
securing at once the death to his rival lyin
surelya man lying on the up -
and immunity from detection to him• line, Tom;he remarked to -his fireman,
self was the cause of his resolving to laying, his hand upon :the regulator. ,.
go further. Thusby imperceptible Good God, soit is! cried Tom in
degrees he had been drawn tato .plot-. great excitement.
ting to murder. • Without another word •the steam
In an alnico gleesome mood he was shut o,, the link -gear reversed,
rose in the morning and hastened arid the brake applied; for the two
along the enibankcnent to the signal men knew that the up -express was
which he proposedto use for his dread- due in three minutes, and that if the
ful purpose. The signal stood at the mart who was lyingpe : the line—who
deepest part of a long rock -cutting and might be unconscious through drink
was planted on the slope of, a 'small or having fallen over --ware left, there,
embankment above the cutting. An he must inevitably meet with a horrible
examination of the place satisfied death. Armstrong that. the best plan to adopt As the train stopped with a shook,
world be to attach a long cord to and a bnntping>of puffers and clanking
the counterweight, and, taking the of coupling chains along its length,
Duffy dumped down into the six -toot
way with the engine lamp in hit hand.
'Bending over the huddled -up form, he
held then light above the blood covered
fade and peered into it. A few
seconds elapsed Wore Daffy moved ;
and Tom, wonde1ing Why he knelt so
long cord in his hand, to climb the
signal-1161lt, $o as to cotnniand a long
stretch of the line and be able to
lower the signal -arm at the right
moment; for to be a•moment too soon
or too late wotild be fatal to lois
plan.
Ilia plan was now maturfd ; but it
long period of waiting elapsed before
an opportunity of carrying it into
effect presented itself. With the
.patience end versttce of is wild
animal waltitgfri, )r .prey, he be-
took himself everting after evening to
the signal by various roundabout
routes, fie ae to ensuata that no one
knew that he went toe same 'place
xvc. r da�r, q t j4ct1 i i, pprd to the
+�4. A`
Duffy. He's dead. ,
Is that sol thea signal man exclaimed,
and then lapsed into silence, feeling
unable to say anything appropriate to
the circuiustanccs.
I'll go up with youand see what's
wrong with the. signal, Duffy ,said to
the pointsinan'after a pause.
Reaching the signal, they found
the cord, loosened it from the trellis.
work of the, Signa! -poet and let the
counter -weight fall agtlin. It bad not
suggested itself to the signal -man
that any •oonneotion• existed between
the dead man on ` the lige and the
mysteriously lowered sinal ; but in
spite -of Duffy's reticence, the cause of
the accident because perfectly apparent.
to him when he .sawthe cord attached
to the signal counter -weight, and put
that fact and the fact of Armstrong's
being found dead on the line together.
If ever anything was providential,
said the signal -man, as he and Duffy
returned to their respective duties,
this is, here's a man that intends to
wreck your train ; be falls over the
embankment just when he gete the
thing arranged ; then you - conte
on seemingly to ;a certain smash,
when you happen yto seethe body on
the litre, pull up jest in •. the nick of
time, and are. saved.
The eignal•man had not probed the
matter to the bottom for the .ex•
act purpose of the cord had not occur
ed to him any more than it , had to
Duffy. Duffy was pained at the sign-
al -man's discovery of the crime, and
said nothing.
When they had reached the train,
and the signal manhad told his ver=
siee of ,the.story to Tom and the
brakeman,' Duffy who had stood aside
while the story was beingtoid, approach
ed the men, and said: Now, lads, you
how what Armstrong was trying to
do, and why he did it; but that's no
reason why anybody else should know,
Weill not say a word about the signal;
but when we take back the corpse,
we'll say that we found him dead on the
line, and that he had seemingly fallen
over the embankment down into the
steep rock -cutting, and been killed.
The three men tolerant/ promised
to do this ; and in % spite of the post
snorter' examinati6n, iu the report
oh which considerable stress was laid
upon the peculiar nature of the wound
upon the scalp, and the procurator-
fiscala inquiry, no one over elicited
more from these then than Duffy that
night allowed them to tell.
Strangest feet of all,theenaino•driver
find their ideas imprinted on their
memories. This shoat important
power of attention can be attained by.
a
vigorous.effort of the will.
Our minds are so constituted that
one remembered fact suggests another;
this we call association of ideas. This
faculty slay be very advantageously
used, and by classifying mentally
according to some - relation existing
between these facts which we find it
desirable to remember, much less
difficulty will be experienced in re=
calling them than if no such Blatant
of reasoning were employed.
J^
Legaeles-Istoressinx Zaots. '
Feople generally read with interests
eery thing about large legacies, and
the interest is enhanced in those *sees
where the gift to the recipient was
unexpected.
Some extraordinary stories con-
cerning such legacies have lately come
to our attention.,
A Staten Island oysterman, for
example, is said to have become en-
titled to eighty thousand dollars
under a will in Ireland, ' and he has
gone to. Dublin to get the stoney.
A New York physician, retired trots
practice,. redently left twenty thons-
aud doltart to a young • man and hilt
wife, who had been his patients, but
with whom his acquaintance ,braes
comparatively alight.
.A blind veteran,in a military hospi-
tal in the West, lately received fifty
thousand dollars under the will of wa
rich brother who had lived in a distant
part of the Union, and who left that
amount to him, though he had now
heard of hits for years and feared'
that be was dead. ` •
It is gratifying; to read of such in-'
stances of.good fortune bappening to
poor men who need the tnoney,and we
are sure every reader will share this
sentiment with us.
A Scotch Prayer.
O Lord 1 what are we in thy sight
this• nicht? a wheen puir.easioosivu'
Gie us a blessin' this ae time ; it's no'
aften-we bother You. Ole us a' wee
wark an' big wages, rand a' breed aril
cheese like Bon Nevis and `v,Tbusky lilts
Loch Long. Gie ns a bull's pont,
sheep's beef, an' calf's mutton, au.' x
new born -egg, till better meats be
ready, Send a blessin' doun the luau,,
an' bless the kail pat, on' the Duke .o'
Argyle, the Lord God o' the Hielane.
Build a big via' atweeu us and too
son - Ioakin into the uncanscsous deft,, an' a far bigger ane between sur
tonnes Pack, ig jumped down beside .lists has never told his wife; that is the an' the wild rerishiment no' put
and. asked : Ig he diad, I7itfiJ7 only secret he has trom her. broken bottles on1't.
.res, answered Dufy, raising • his
head as if he had just wakened out of . Veil me, George, darling, said she, litre. Wickwireif woman. Were
a dream. . shortly after their marriage, do you given the credit abe deserves 1 dont
Who is he? continued Tom. • • , love me as much AS ' ever? Yee, in- think man would be quite fro, protp-
Armstrong the smith. deed. And do you 'find anything in meat in the world's history. Jr1.
At this moment the brakemen of the World dearer. 'then your wife? Wickwire -4 gueas you are right, If
this train same aiong to nee what was' Nothing, said George, ordeal it is the the could get *11 the credit she wanls4.
wring; and after Tel }g d explained ' house .tent. , • ' he'dd be in the poor,Iioute.
•
r
1