Locomotive Yarns

'rom Taylor's " Fast Life on the Modera Highway." ïom Potts a well-known locomotive ngiiieer iu tho New England States is lie self-aecredited hero of this wouder'ul story of 8uccessful daring. I will nárrate it aa nearly as I can ia hia own words. I huve heard him tell it ofteu. " Well, gentlemen, I'il say you'll think t's a he, but I can't help that; you have Kked me to tell it; and all I can say is, f you had been in iny place you'd have em it. "I had been driving the ' Witch ' for about seven months, and a sweet thing be was. I never was half bo fond of any other engine as I was of her. She was he kind of a machine that a man only gets once in a Hfetiine. " She made her steani quick, was easy on fuel, started off lively, and went like a ter. Her cyliuders were sixteen inch, ler stroke twenty-two; and her drivers even feet six, aud she was as kind to jandie as a baby. " To see her run off with a lieavy load, ight and gay. was enough to shame the Juno,' 'Venus,' 'Helen,' and other ighteea inch machines. Sho uever wanted fixing up. ' Venus ' was always goiug in and out of the 6hop o be titivated, aud if there is anything don't like, it's an engino that all the ime wants to be titivated. She was alvays ready and willing to work. Why, jless you ! she waa only washed out tor he sake of cleanliness- sho didn't need t a bit. " She was the tidiest thing I ever see- t seeiued as though the dirt wouldn't tick to her. '■Well, what I'm going to tell carne came off years ago, before I left the old country, and it was one of the best railroads -single track then, though it's got three now, and four in soiue spots. " Well, the ' Witch and I were put on the mail- one of the tastest trains; aud they went like sixty in those days. "The engineer waa tined a shilling for every minute he lost. He durst not go slow for fog unless he wanted to lose bis day's pay. He had to keep thiugs going right along, and see things before he got iu sight of 'em. " We were running north one darkish wintry day, and we were niaking our best streaks. I should reokon we were going about fifty unies an hour. I was saying to myselï, ' she's going her prettiest,' when we suddenly shot ahead, as if we had been shot out of a cannon. , " How we flew, to be sure ! I whistlea the guird to brake the train. How we bouuded along ! "I could make out no objects alongside, -we seemed to go laster and taster ; we must have tra veledus ast as one hundred miles an hour. " It was a straight pieoe of track tor souie ruiles. I did not shut off steain, dirpctly we broke, for I didn't want the train to run into us, which inight happen it they did not hear me whiBtle for biakes. "Itwasluokyl kept her going, for just as I had had about enough of such fiying a man started about six hundred yards before us holding a red tlag. There was nothing in the way, so I knew something must be wrong with the track. " You might as well have tned to stop n. whirlwind as the ' Witch.' in that distance. Her speed was frightful. " There wasu't much time time to think and as wo could not stop, the faster we went the better ; so 1 gave her what more steam there was. She setmed to have soine ' go ' in reserve, tor we shot past the red flag liko a flash. " I saw men standing horior-struok. " Bill,' I said, ' quick I Get on the coke, and see what's ahead.' " He looked, and turned doadly pale, tottered, and feil back iu a faint. " Bv this time I oould see plain enough what was wrong. ' There was a gap in the track where a bridge had gone down ' ' You can't fancy my feoliugsjust then. Going to death- deuth.swift and terrible - at about two miles a minute - getting nearer, and nearer ! I thought of uiy wife and child - nearer ! An instunt more - the gap ! " ' God have merey ! I shrieked. Well, would you believe it "i that engine just clearud that gap ! " It was fifeeen feet across, and about sixty feet deep. " She jumped that gap like a stag, and what's more, she struck the rails all right on the other side, and kept right along, just as if sho had not noticed the gap. " I stirred Bill up, and with both of us at the brake, we managed at lust to stop the 'Witcb,' " She was on a tear that day, but I never dreamed she'd juuip that gap - that's a f act. FOUL PLAY WITH THE LAMP. An engineer who nad neglected to display his red-lamp flagging-signal, and being reminded of the occasion when approaching the train against which he was bearing tho flag, atteinpted to prevent the inevitable collision by a mode not in the rules, made tho iollowing singular statement to the General Superin tendent : "You see, when we got the order I went to the front of tho engine, to help my #fireman to tasten on the lamp, The iron strap had got bent, and would not go into the slot made to hold it. So we tied it on with a piece of rope. It delayed usabout a minute íixing that." " Was it lighted V " Yes, sir. After so much trouble to ix a lamp on, we should not be so green as to go away without leaviug a light n it. " Well, we were a little bit behind time, and had not much time to spare to save ;he connection. I was keeping a sharp ookout ahead, and we were getting along )retty fast. "It was not a clear night, and it was not a thick night ; I had a good view of hings thead. " Well, sir you may think I've lost my enses, but I teil you solemuly that I saw a woman or a woinan's ghost, walking traight up the middle of tho track toward my engine ! " It was no use whistling, she was so lose. I crawled out ot the cab window as quick as I could, and went aloug to ward the front just in time to see the 'orín sitting on the buffer-boam, and putiug out the light in tho red lamp. " The creature got off when it saw me, and walked away in front of the engino ; and, as we thuudered along after it, it omehow disappeared. " I got back into the cab trembling ome. " I told John the lamp was out, and to go and get it and light it. " Atter he had done it, he went out and ied it on. "Iwentto see if it was burning all right, and it was burning bright. " I said nothing to Jack about what I had seen. " Well, it was not more than three minutes and we were goiug our.smartest wheu I saw the same figure walking up the traek towards the engine, as before. " ' Jack" I cried look there.' " Jack had already seen it and had sounded a long whistle, and began to put on the brake. "'To the co w-catcher,' I said; and he crawled through the window. " A few moments after be carne back, his face pale, and his eyes starting out of his head. He looked at me, and I looked at him, but we said nothing. "I poiuted ahead and there it was ! " I got out and fetched in the lamp ! "The light was out ! " ' I saw it open the lamp-door, and blow it out.' said Jack, in an awful terror; 'and then it got down and walked away in front of the engine.' "Well, I guess there never were two men on an eugine so mortally scared as my fireman and me. " However I went out again with tho lamp and tied it on. I ulso turned the ropo once or twice around the door, so it could not bo opened without sonie trouble. " ' Jack,' I said, when I got back into the cab, ' there 's going to be some dreadful thing happen to-uight. That woruan's a ghost of evil. No living being could do as that has done. "Jack's teeth were chattering with fright, and so were mine, for the matter of that. "I feit that wo had been singled out to be the causo or the victims of, soinothing awful. " Keep a good look-out, Jack,' I said ; ' we're only a mile from G , where we are flagging 174 too, and we must show the light, if all the she-devils in heil are against us. " I ordered Jack to the front of the engine to watch the lamp. " He did not seem to like it, but he went. " I wrote on the back of a time card, these words : " ' FOE GOD'S SAKE, DOSr'T PASS THE SWITCH. We are flagging No. 174.' " I stuck the paper on the end of a bit of pine wood, and kept it ready. " When I looked ahead again, I saw the shape, as plain as I see you now, sir walking toward us, and afterward get on the front of the engine. " I could see the head-light of No. 135 on the side-track, and I was sure our flagging signai lamp was out, for there was that female figure walking ahead of us on the track for the third time. " I wasn't so scared as before, so I just lighted the pine stick in the fire-box, and held it up flaming bright with the paper on it. " As I passed the engine of No. 135 I threw it toward the engineer. " It was gettiug dark, but by the engine light I Sttw him pick it up. " He read the paper as you know, sir, and waited till No. 174 had gotin; and so there was no collision. " My story may seen slrange, but it is true as Heaven ia my judge. " You may discharge me and Jack, if you like, for not showing the flag signal, as you say ; but I cau't alter what I've súcl. " When we got to the end of the trip, I found Jack had fainted away, and was lying senseless on the front of the engine ; for that she-devil had put the lamp out somehow, in Bpite of him ani the rope I tied round the door." A STR.WVBERRY grower states that to two barrels of rain water he put one quarter of a pound of amnionia and one quarter of a pound of cominon nitre, and with this solution he sprinkled his strawberry beds every night when blossoming. The result was doublé the amount of large strawberries to that just adjoining not so treated. Try it.