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“—“r HAPPY DAYS
3
x.
bee It was a lonely part of the town, how-
ever, and it was late, so that the chances
of being heard, even it be did ery out, were
- remote,
Then, too, he might attract some one as
evil-minded as those who had surprised
him, so that he would be no better and
“might be all the worse off for his pains,
“You got the best of me the other day,
Mr. Fred, ge aid Watkins, “but this time
it’s
most of it.’
“What are you going to do?” asked one
of, the others,
“Put him‘on the track and leave him
there, He's fond of the railroad and he
won't mind dying on the rail, having lived
ond it so long.”
cold sweat broke out upon the boy’s
forehead as he heard this, for he remem-
bered that there yas afast train due at
Huntington in a short time, and that it
went straight through without stop, ing.
“Put him on the main line,” said
kins, as he and the others lifted Fred tron
where he Jay on the ground. “The light-
ning southern express is due here soon and
» thatll finish him,
Fred Broaned as he realized his helpless-
ness, and the ru m be.
tween the rails with his head resting u upon
one of t
ou Shaven® t go’ a very ‘comfortable
bed,” laughed Watkins, ‘and it’s cold
- too, but it'll be warm enough by and by,
ou won't mind the roughness of it.
ang ronene to you, and when you feel the
wheels at a throat, think of me and let
that comfort
A faint whistle was heard at that o-
ment and one of the men said hurriedly:
“There she is now, Come away.
don’t want to see it, do we
“No, it won’t be very nice,”
and Wat-
L kins lau,
“The moon is trying to get out, too.”
“That w nake diference.
There'll be no one passing, and t.
neer won't be looking for ‘anything like
this.”
Again the whistle sounded, this time
closer than befo}
“Come on,” said Watkins, ‘ Good-
night, Fre You re run the fast mail for
the last time, m
Then with a scornful laugh on his lip
he went away, leaving the poor boy to his
awful fate.
Presently the moon broke through the
clouds, and Fred hoped that some one
assing that way might see and rescue
im.
He could not call to attract attention,
and he knew there would be few or no
passers at that time, so that. the chance
of being heard was indeed slight.
He did not know whether Goldie had
been bound when she was thrust into the
tool house, and he had little hope of aid
from her, although, if he had been able to
use his voice, he would have called to ber
to know if she were safe
. The moon shone with full radiance, but
not
see it, could not see the tool house, and al-
though he was nearly i in front of if, he did
not know this,
Soon he heard the whistle again, and
knew “chat the train was drawing rapidly
nearer, would soon be upon him, in fact,
the thought that he was ae there help:
Jess, being almost ma
Again he heard the whistle “and then be-
gan to hear the rails sing as the train drew
nearer,
Then he could see the light from the en-
gine stretching out beyond him, growing
every» moment brighter and brighter,
while the noise of the approaehing train
grew louder and louder each instant.
He tried to raise himself, to throw him-
self off the track if not between the rails,
but he seemed to have been bound in sone
manner as to render this impossible, and
his efforts only exhausted him without ac-
complishing anything, and he at last gave
himself up for Jost and resigned himself
to his fate,
Then he beard a scream, heard Goldie
calling to him to take courage, and then
the desire to live again-mastered him,
while the thought that after all she might
be too late to save him nearly took away
his reason.
Brighter grew the light, louder the roar
and rattle of the coming train, and then
he felt himself caught up, felt that the en-
gine was right upon him, and fainted.
Goldie, locked up in the tool house,
heard the sound of the approaching train,
my turn, and I'm going to make the | scen
t.”
climbed up to the grated window.
[eavens | what was that she saw just
below
A man bound to the track, his head rest-
ing on one rail, his form illumined by
the light of a fast approaching train.
was Fred, and as she realized this,
she uttered a piercing scream and almost
fell from the ladder, so rapid was her de-
“Cou rage, courage |” she shouted. ‘I
will save yon yet |"
Then, with a sudden conviction that her
own_stren, would not suffice to open
the door, she seized the sledge, noticed the
spot where the moonlight came in through
the keyhole, and with a strength which
she had not dreamed of possessing, dealt a
crushing blow with the heavy sledge upon
the lock.
Tt was shivered, and at a second blow
the door flew open, and she dashed out of
her prison toward the imperiled boy, the
flash of fhe headlight in her face, the roar
of the train and the flerce whistle of the
engine in her ears,
CHAPTER VI.
e-| IN THE NICK OF TIME—~-IN EACH OTHER'S
DEBI—FRED IN DOUBT—DAVE'S POSTAL
CARD.
Ir seemed to Goldie as if the train must
reach Fred before she could, but with a
bound she reached the boy’s side, lifted
him in her arms, and dragged him from
between the rails,
Something seemed to hold him, and she
tugged with might and main, and then, as
placed the now unconscious boy upon
the ground outside the rail, she saw that
a rope passing about his neck was wound
* | about the rail, Passing under and being
tiga in a knot above it.
¢ boy’s head was clear of the rail, but
there was little room to spare, and the
suction of the swiftly-moving train might
draw him under the wheels,
She seized the sledge, which she had
dropped when she had left the tool house,
and Struck the knotted rope wit:
@ train was upon her and she
threw verself upon Fred's body with a cry
of despair,
How long she lay there she did n
know, but she recovered to find Fred bend:
are you alivi ve? Are you hurt?
say something for Heaven’s
a
“e Fred 1! Youare not dead, you are sale?”
.“ Yes, but I hardly expected it, Lawo
to find you] ing across my breast wer t
was afraid t 1 zou were killed. It was
you who saved
“Yes, bnt I thought I would be too late,
the rope held you and I was afraid J coul
not Joosen it. it had slipped some but not
ough. Then I tried to break it and then
the train swept down upon me and
fainted.”
“The wheels severed it,
al
feared that you had, been killed while try-
ing to save m
“T would not have cared if I had saved
you,” she said simply, and Fred caught
her to his breast.
» “Come,” he said. “ They may return,
we must not stay here, let me take yo
home, they will be anxious when you 740
not come,
‘They burried away and then Goldie told
him bow she had rescued him, but how at
one moment she had thought | that all her
efforts would have been in vain.
otbing was said to the aunt for fear of
alarming her unnecessarily, and she knew
nothing of the night's adventure till a
long time afterward.
u saved my life,” said Fred, at part-
“ Henceforth I will devote it to your
“You saved mine,” said Goldie, fondly,
“or Leould not have saved yours, Iam
glad to have been able to help you,"
her are in one another's debt,’
said Fred, vith & full freart, . and nothing
must ever par’
“ Nothing shall.” said Goldie, and .then
they parted, oth | with the feeling that
now, more than T, there was something
in life that made | i ‘worth the living.
nm Monday morning when Fred passed
the little tool house which had not yet
been repaired, he shuddered at the thought
of the deadly peril in which he had been
and turned deathly pale for an instant,
quickly recovering Tiere, howeve!
When they stopped at Radcliffe. Brad
but thought little of it, not knowing the asked:
fiendish plans of Watkins and his accom.
plices.
Then the moonlight shone in at the
grated window over the door, and she saw
things more plainly and at Jast with great
distinctness,
_ There was arough ladder not far away
and near her was a sledge hammer, and
this it was that she+iad thrown down
that had given out the metallic ring when
she was thrust info the
She heard no sound as of men on watch
outside, and emboldened by the silence,
zl
“What made you look so pale when we
was a little way out of Iluntington? Was
you sick
“No,” said Fred, “or at least only fora
moment. Thad a clove call on that spot
on Saturday night on Tom Watkins’ ac-
count, and it made me feel a bit queer
when 1 passed it.
You hada close call,
Jain’ 8 account
es,- He \ett me helpless on the track
in front of the lightning express to the
South, and Goldie saved my life,”
and on that vil-
she pat the ladder against the door and
“Goldie did?” asked Brad, in amaze-
ment. ‘*Good for her, but 1 didn’t think
she had the spunk,”
Fre “Oh, but you don’t know her,” said
“ Well, tell us all about it. .
“Some other time,” and at that moment
Fred received the signal to start, so there | san
was no time to tell the story, even had he
wished to tell it,
That ‘afternoon, when_he returned to
Huntington, he fold Mr Miller of his ad-
venture, an:
“That. man w atkins is in town and
should be taken, for he'll watch every
chance to get the best of me and prevent
the fast mail from runnin
“But what can be his motive for in-
juring Boh: Have youever met him be-
Jo you know of any reason for his
aired F I do not,” said Fred, “but I be-
lieve that he wants to keep me from run-
ning t the fast mail if he can.”
3, but what is his reason? “He must
have one. What interest can he have in
the matter? Ican hardly believe that he
is in the employ of the S. & N.
would not descend tosuch measures, much
as they would like to get the mail contract
away from us,
Fred did not Jike to tell Mr. Miller what
he had heard, especially as his brother was
superintendent of the other road, and only
pon the authority of sucha scoundrel a3
Watkins, but at the same time the super-
intendent’s argument that Watkins must
have some motive was unanswerable.
“Well, whatever it is,
superintendent, noticing Fred's embar-
rassment, * all have to set the police
after him, for hei isa dangerous man to be
at large, ‘and, as he h
wreck one of our trains, he must be caught
and punished.”
“T sincerely hope he will be,” said Fred,
“for I must confess that I don't. feel easy
while he is roaming about ready to pounce
any moment. He probably
knows by this time that I escaped Jast
week, and he will be ypalting for another
chance to get even vith
You go arn
“Yes, Especially at night, and I always
t| keep a revolver handy on So
does Brad, We used todo it
principles, knowing the character of the
pegion through which we went, but we do
it now because it helped us out once, and
ve (oon t know when it might do so
ag
ayes, I think its a good plan myself,
and I advise ycu to keepi
The next day Fred saw Cine Putnam at
Millerville, the young fellow saying, as
exchanged greetings:
fellows are making an-
otter try to get ue contract. ‘They are
goin, ut on a faster train than ever on
their Hine, and will try and take away the
Vhittleton mail, You want to watch out
for them and not let them beat you.
“That's ail right, Clint. Iam not afraid
of that sort of rivalry, for if your father or
Mr, Miller say the word, Ican let The Gen-
eral out and get a lot more speed out of
him, or, it necessary, they'll give me an-
other engine; but this underhanded
usiness I don't eile: and 1 am almost
tempted to tell them what I told you, only
I want better authority for it, than that
ot eu a contemptible scoundrel as Wat-
cin!
“ ¥ es, tobe sure, for you can hardly ex-
pect anyone to believe a fellow like that.
Walter Miller is about as big as Wether-
bee is in the other road, and our Mr, Mil-
ler wouldn't like to believe thet his brother
wonld do such things.”
‘That night, when Fred got to the end of
his run, a boy came to him and said:
“Say, y on't know me, do you ut My
name is Dave Pounds, and I was in the
ost office at Steepleton. I've seen you go
y lots of time I get the mail bags that
you chuck
“Yes?”
“ Well, I'm here now, got transferred.
Say, you had some trouble with a fellow
called Watkins, Ie used to live at Steeple-
ton a little while—bim and Jim Tyler—
and they're both arrested, only Watk
got away, f for trying to do pp. your train.”..
“Well, at of it, Dave? Do youknow
anything ‘about it, or are you just telling
Watkins,
been in Steepleton since, 2 e you a
make it out, but I'll be hanged if lean!”
Fred took the postal card, with its
fancy brown border, looked at the address
and turned H over to look at the message.
“By George!” he. suddenly exclaimed.
“ Wether! bee, as Iam al
Hess wit says something about the
‘ ‘Stier isi in it, too,” said Fred.
“ Yes, i s to go to the miller’s, but
the Seah cmlter says he never ground | g
anything for Wa
* You'll let me ‘keep this eard, Dave? T
think dew make it
tl was eecping it for my col-
jection
s already tried to| tw
“T'll give you a dozen never used, or I'f]
ret you any amount of them cancelled, but
want this one.”
“ All right,” said Dave, ‘* but I wouldn’t
give it to no oneelse, only I like you and I
Ubought you might make it o
*So Ican, Dave, but I ant it all the
me.”
“ The en you can have it,
“It's just as 1 1 pare it * mused Fred, as
he ran his engine into the yard, ** Weth-
erbee has got something to do with Wat-
kins, and Miller, too, and that villain
would sell them both out if he was offered
enough. I wonder what I ougbt to do
about it?” . -
[To BE CONTINUED.]
+ 0 4
Cocoanuts in Cuba.
Next to bananas th the most important
product of Kastern Cuba cocoanuts,
The trees grow rapidly, without cultiva-
tion, and every man’s field is fringed with
them, Fruiters buy the nuts at the rate of
eight dollars per thousand, and they are -
ey | hulled on the island, ground in primitive
mills and pressed for oil,
‘The Cuban process of extracting oil from
the cocoanut resembles which
Texans make oil from cottonseed. The *
used for fuel in the sugar factories, So
far the oi] has been locally employed only
as § a lubricater for sugar-making machin-
” continued the | er
The saying goes that a cocoa tree bears a
nut forevery day inthe year, In time of
peace one might buy a dozen nuts for a
tasted the milk from one freshly gathered
an have no idea what is meant by “
draught fit for the gods.” In their roper
state, however, the nuts are not bro:
and hard, as you ace them in northern
markets; they look like enormous pale
green. apples, slightly elongated, for each
sl ill wears its Rx ‘ood jacket, which is
moved before shipment. Being still
Clive,” as they say on the island, its shell
is soft and easily cut with the machete, or
long-bladed knife, which every countr,
man carries, or yourown pocketknife may
answer the purpcse. lake ahole in one
end of the nur abou size of a half
dollar, and out iehes the milk like a liv-
ing spring, not by any means such sour
stuff as you have seen come out of cocoa-
nuts at home, white as chalk and thick as
buttermilk.
Give one ‘of those ‘imported things to a
food and he will in captivity for its native
food, and he will refuse it with scorn and
indignatio
The trouble is that the cocoanuts of com-
merce are gatbered before they are ripe
and entirely spoiled in transit, The fluid
shut up within itsbould have no sugges-
tion ot milk e colorless as water,
with a slight sparkle like that from some
clear mountain spring, except fora slight-
ly sweet and most delicious flavor; and if
freshly picked in the early morning, after
the nut has been swinging all night in the
cool breezes, the liquid is almost ice cold.
WW here cocoanuts grow you never see inside
of their sheJls any of that hard, white layer
which northerners grate and dessicate
(one might as well say desecrate) for in its
best estate the nut bas no such substance,
only a creamy white film inside of it, bard-
ly thicker than your thumb nail, which is
scraped off with a spoon when eaten. Be-
fore drinking the juice the tenderfoot gen-
erally pours it out into another vessel than
that which Nature intended ; but the so-
histicated epicure tilts the’ cocoanut at
ust the right angle to let the milk trickle
gently down his throat—and, like the old
toper we have heard of, be wishes his
throat were a mile Jong.
‘There is nothing in the wide world more
nourishing or fattening, mere_health-re-
storing and youth-preserving. Emaciated
invalids are recommended to begin on the
uice of half a dozen nutsa day, the dose to
je increased according to the patient's in-
the invalid is y be
for it so rapidly that in a week’s time half
a dozen nuts ata single sitting will hardly
satisfy him, Each full-grown nut contains
wide, expecting to find it gushing out of
the earth in some sequestered spot, instead
of hanging, green and beautiful every-
where overhea
The big nuts grow in bunches, five or six
a stem, away up near the top of the
tall” tree, just. under its crown of plume-
like leave-. An: e darky, youngorold,
thinks nothing of te oak up the smooth,
branehless trunks, which look like tele:
aph poles, towering straight and slen-
Ser From fifty to one hundred feet—whack-
ing off the nuts with his machete (carrried
up in bis teeth), and tossing them down
with the ease and agility of his ancestors,
the monkeys,