The Ferris Wheel, Volume 4, Number 3[b], Saturday, September 26, 1896 Page: 2 of 6
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f
'ETREE SIDING.
v ^Y~s ICKETY, tick, tick,
rattles the sounder
^~< 'S" min the little boxS'r\
' :. ~like structure which
serves as water and
~%-~ t
~coaling station as
w1.l as dispatcher's
office, midway between
the towns ofBluefields and Port
': ^^ ^au Diable, on the
""---^ S F A, ~. IN HORr02
.he hand ot his fllo-v-nian bepn
againlrt biii tor,, rwent7 Yaai'b' W\Va
he iIot a Ia.Iiih, }ae -i
'jtt :roi Social
fomrraunicatioi Liomi his fellow~ livin
,, P aveling, working undei an as,une.I
name, ever endeavorinag to obhtuiate
and dispel the old shadow' He
had striven to live a life which ,hould
L,' blameless from the world. point of
.-."w as I those few with whom k'
in contact, ar
.eviosuch
a wholesale aeclai aton ttf W.r
doubly effective.
Hotter and hotter blazes the sun
from an almost white sky, and wilder
and wilder glare the eyes of the operator
at Pinetree Siding
Suddenly they happen to rest on a
wire running close to the glass in front
of the station, and light up with a wilder
gleam than ever, while his working
features distort themselves into a malicious
grin.
The towns of Bluefields and Port au
Diable are lighted by electric light, the
plant being situated at Bluefields.
Promptly at 5 30 every evening the
dynamos aie started up. running until
6 30 the next morning The wires connecting
the two points run directly in
front of and close to the station at
Pinetree Siding, and it is one of these
wires which has caught the attention
of the operator.
It is now 2 45 in the afternoon, and
not a cloud has crossed the face of that
hanging ball of fire which threatens
to shrivel and scorch to a cinder everything
on which its beams rest
The operator goes over to the window
and attaches to the electric-light wire,
from a portion of which he carefully
removes the insulation, the end of another
piece which he holds in his hand.
When this is secure he carries the other
end over his desk. and kneeling down,
spends some minutes in arranging it
in some manner below; bringing two
free ends up through a hole in the top
ot the table. This done, he takes from
a closet several round and greasy-looking
sticks about a foot long, and, descending
the stairs, places them at regular
intervals along the railroad track,
connecting them all together with
wires, which he afterward brings up
stairs and joins to the anrangement
underneath the table Then he returns
to his seat, and save for his trembling
hands and the peculiar glare of Ms
ey\ es performs his routine dutirei in t'he
usual manner
Tick tick, tickety tick It is th" call
for Pminetiee Siding The operator opens
hiMs kev and answers promptly It is a
r: essage from headquarters announcing
that thp special following No 6, and
carrying the divison superintendent
and the new operator foi Pinetree Sid
rng is due at 5 50, just three nnutes,
after No G's schedule time The npxiator's
eyes flash, it is as he has a:ticipated.
He wires the track cle;,r and
waits.
Promptly at 5 17 No 6. the vestibuled
limited express for the east, (Cashes past
the siding with a rattle and crash that
causes the operator, whose nerves are
tense to the breaking point, to spring
to his feet min alarm, fearing that the
destruction meant for the special has
overtaken her predecessor But the
express whiuls safely by and the operator
has the satisfaction of seeing hise
innocent looking messengers oi death
lying untouched but waiting his vwill to
fulfill their devilish mission.
And now the operator's bieath comes
short and sharp and his eyes glisten
and glare as though the fires of hell
were lighted behind, his lips are drawn
back over his teeth and his long fingers
work nervously, as if longing to execute
the finishing touch which shall culminate
the awful catastrophe he has
planned. Gold help the poor men on
the train so swiftly rushing to their
doom, and God help their waiting families,
for the operator at Pinetree Siding
who holds their lives in his hands
is no longer a man but a demon.
Suddenly the whistle of the approaching
special is heard and the operator
bounds from his chair and rushes to the
window, eager to feast his eyes for a
moment on the sight of his nearing victims
Everything is complete He has
but to press together those two tiny
bits of wire and the entne telegraph
line will be transformed into a hissing.
blazing serpent, carrying death and destruction
to the poor operators along
its path and wrecking the instruments,
thus stopping telegraphic communication
all over the line, while at Pinetree
Siding only a scattered tangle of wood,
iron and human flesh would mark the
annihilation of both the special with
her human freight and the operator as
well. For he is quite willing to sacrifice
himself to achieve his end, andcounts the cost but little if with the
forfeit of his life he may encompass
the revenge he has so cunningly plotted
But theie is no time to lose, already
the special is slowing up in front of the
station, and, leaping to the table like a
wolf upon his prey lie presses the two
wires together But no boom or roar of
the expected explosion follows, nothing
but the escape ot steam as the airbiakes
of the special bring her to a
stop. and the operator, realizing that
his scheme has miscarried, flings himself
upon the wires, biting them togethei
with his teeth, cursing, Draying,
blaspheming and shrieking aloud in ii
mRI -ge and disappointment. But
i-pose, and as the divis
dent and the new dispa4
eoom they start back nf
the body of
-md twisted
o
1P'As the n6w operator brings in the dynamite
which he has carefully removed
from the track, and looks over at his
predecessor lying, straightened out on
the floor b~y the window, he shudders so
that the division superintendent jumps
forward to catch the stuff, thinking he
is about to drop it
Next morning the Bluefields Expositor
calls the attention of the citizens
to the wonderful mercy of providence,
which by permitting a fuse at the electric
light plant to blow out, so cutting
off the current just before the special
following No 6 was due at Pinetree
Siding, had saved the lives of several
prominent railway officials, besides a
large amount of damage to railway
property And when the coroner gave
to the public the verdict that the operator
at Pinetree Siding had come to
his death from the effects of the intense
heat of the previous day no mention
was made of the letter found by
the division superintendent on the table
beside him.
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE.
The Bsartendler Incidentally Recalled a
Few of rihem.
He paited h,(, coat tails and backed
up to the stove in the saloon and stood
there for a couple of minutes, says the
Detroit Free Press He rather expected
to be addressed by the man behind
tne bar and he was not disappointed.
"I don't want some fly scieens," said
the saloonist as he wiped off the bar.
"No, of course not--not in the winter,
' replied the othei "I was in the
fly-scieen business last summer, but
it's something else now"
"Und 1 don't want no patent rights
"I presume n6t. Some time ago I
was in here with a patent corkscrew,
but I'm no longei in that line"
"Una I don t buy no life of Sheorge
Washington," continued the saloonist,
as lie turned to the man at the stove.
"No') \Veil, I';e none to sell I used
to sell the life of George Washington
but I've given thl, u) '
"Vhell, what von ,ot now "
"Nothing mvfi iend This is a word
o! change, you know I ve hoppedd all
the old lines and am ] kinrg for something
new Yes tim change, men
change and prices cha, e [ thought I'd
call in and see it theie wes a change
here."
"No, sir," was the ewpharic reply.
"Still 5 cents a glass
"Yes, sir'
"Cash on .the nail?"
"Dot's it My fiendt, you may
shange, der times may shange und I
may change, but Iagei beer vhas always
5 centq a gliss. and if you ihas
a dead-beat it vhas bettei you go out
before I hit 3 ou nit a clu4 uind gif you
der boot!"
Makes Women Look Younger
A'curious development of the bicycle
craze is its juvencescent effect upon
women. Clad in the abbreviated skirt
that convention has at lasc declared
that she may wear upon the wheel, the
most venerable ot them looks for all
the world like a young kittenish thing
of 16 From the chronological point of
view the short skirt levels all ranks
Were it not for certain physiognominic
distinctions it would be hard to tell
the (difference between grandmother
and granddaughter when dismounted
This isn't altogether oerause short
skirts have so long been the emblem
and insignia of youth, either No little
reflection upon the matter soon convinces
you that theie is vet another
and more important cause Grandmother's
feet and ankles are just as
youthful-looking m, hei granddaughter's,
which proves the interesting fact
that the extremities are somehow pi oof
against the i a ages of time Hair may
grizzle, eCes mav dim and (heeks may
tade: teet and ankles retain their
adolescent grace Bhit it has been only
possible to di(hscoxci this since the advent
of the bicycle The thing has
its minconvmnienc'es though It is eonfusion,
not to sa5 irritating, when the
supposed "little gitl" walking toward
you turns out to be a middle-aged
matron or well-sPasoncd spinster It
is noticeable, though, that no such
woman Pel minds be'ng told of suciia mistake
Trouble for ' lho.e Who Abbrev.ate.
Did vou eier think of it9 A w'eat
problem is soon to eccupv the miAds
ot the people of the world In four
years the sweep of tine will carry i s
into a new eentliir. and the figures
which indicated the century of 1800 will
be changed lor 1900 When this time
comes can we abbreviate the year in
wiittmg and printing as w do Pow in
1896; If we maN abbeviate how shall
it -e'? How wil it look, '00 or
1 you write at the top of your
editor ' March 14 '
~, but "Mar"'MAJOR BURGES BALL
THE NEAREST LIVING RELATIVE
OF GEORGE WASHINGTON,
Ite Reepa a Cigar Stand in Court of the
I'ension Office at the Capital -He
Closely Resembles His Distinguished
Relative.
C FJ AJOR Burges Baill,
the nearest living
relative of George
Washington, keeps
a cigar stand in the
V/ff ~ court of the :en
~/ mesion office at Was.iington.
The Illustrated
American
jf0-)" has just published
a new portrait of
the major, which is
here reproduced. Major Ball bears a
close resemblance to his illustrious r(lative,
but is by no means puffed up
concerning either his kinship to the
great patriot or the unmistakable likeness
he bears to him. Indeed, Major
Ball is the only person who doesn't
seem worried about the fact that WashIngton
and he are nearly related by
blood. He conducts his little business
in his own way, and is very polite to
all his customers The Sons of the
American Revolution, who take a great
pride in their ancestors, "took him up"
and thoroughly investigated his genealogy.
He did not ask them to do it,
and when they satisfied themselves
that he was about as eligible for membership
in their body as anybody andMAJOR BURGES BALL.
made him a life member of their oiganization
without the payment of
dues, Majoi Ball did not refuse to join
them. Hie is the only member who
pays no dueb The major was born in
the old homestead in Loudon County,
Virginia, and started out in life as a
humble clerk. In 1840 he Nent west
and gained great repute at an Indian
fighter and pioneer in California. He
coined the confederacy and seceded
from the union which his historic kinsman
bought so hard to establish. iind
when the war was over he found himselt
homeless and destitute His grandfather.
Colonel Buiges Ball, was a >ousin
of Mai y Ball Washington's moth r-.
Hle married Fiances Washington, aniece of the general. and tlihat relaton'
ship is as near as any on the Washington
side. Major Ball is a cousin of
George Washington Ball, who maintained
a regiment at his own expense
during the revolution, and who WaS a
friend of Washington.
PARLIAMENT NIGHT SITTINGS.
They Are Exceedingly Wearying to
Commoners and Employes.
(From the St. James Gazette)
It is on officials of the house that the
strain of all-night sittings falls most
severely. In the case of the clerk at
the table and other officials whose dutiEs
keep them well min evidence, the
hardships involved ought to be sufficiently
obvious to the least considerate
of members. But in addition there
are a large number of persons employed
about the house, all of whom must wait
till the house closes, and many of
whom have to be on duty early again
in.the morning. Several officials on
Friday morning did not leave the house
till 5, and returned at 10. The same
hardship falls, in a slightly less degree,
on the police. Inspector Horsley
does his best by relieving the constables
who are most hardly pressed, but
when the house sits all night the nominal
eight hours' duty of the London
constable rises to thirteen or fourteen
hours
There is one official of the house
whose trial in connection with all-night
sittings might be often mitigated by
means of a very slight alteration in the
rules of the house. It is the theory cf
the house of commons that a committee
of the whole house is an entirely
different body from the house itself,
and is, therefore, incapable of adjourning
the house. Consequently, as soon
as the committee has finished its business,
the speaker has to be summoned
from the arm chair, in which he has
probably been dozing, and has to go
through the farce of reading the remaining
orders of the day and then
declaring the house adjourned It
would be perfectly easy to provide that
after a long sitting of committee of
whole house chairman should have
power to declare the adjournment wilhout
summoning the speaker If it
would give more satisfaction to the
purists of procedure, the chairman
might first take the chair as deputy
speaker and wait for the mace to be
put on the table. Then all would be
in order.
Cleansing Crank Axle Bearirgs.
Rather than attempt to remove the
crank axle bearings for cleansing purposes
it is advisable to take out the
saddle post and pour kerosene or benzinc
down the peren tube. This will
fltish the bearings sufficiently. After
doing this do not fail to thoroughly
draw off the oil-New York Press.
riiyg-iains' Prescriptoas in France
In Fiance there is a law compelling
physicians to write their
prescriptions
in the language of the country.ONE OF THE TOWERS OF THE NEW BROOKLYN DRIDLE.
1 c
nble those of the Point bridge
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[Ezzell, Frank]. The Ferris Wheel, Volume 4, Number 3[b], Saturday, September 26, 1896, newspaper, September 26, 1896; Ferris, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth18874/m1/2/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ferris Public Library.