? Tfri 1 i V&MivvWz: yl .v ' ri-if f'C 1 1 -i TT-ANi: CltKKK was K. crossing on tlie .S. railroad C. Kail- --TUinl. JllMtllt Iwii nill..s fiN.m fl... divisional terminal at Mercer. It was lu tin- mliLst of ii scrubby pine forest, with ii sandy roal crooking out from tli trees on one side and Into the trees on the otlii-r. There were only two or three houses, a little general store with a porch like the visor of a military cap, Dtnl a sehoolhousc, all arranged In n Scraggy row along tin- railroad tr.-iok- A dozen trains whirled rhroiigh Kane Creek every dav with onlv a shriek of greeting and a whipping wake of tine sand. (Inly two of them paid the slight-! est attc-nilou to the jrlrt In a blue nz- ham dress who stood in the little old fcrvatlou window. One of them was the way freight, which stoppis! at Kane every time It came along while the conductor handed the (r!rl n bundle of yellow pacrs and revived another' like It In return. The other was the Ultfht express, westward lniund. from! St. I'ii til, and ninnlnu' at forty miles an 1 hour. It was a splendid "train ten cars, with the 11 nest engine on the road, I - ; As lis jilarlnj.' eye llasli.l around the b.-nd lu the direction of , Mercer the L'irl In the "i ns-lm in i nin-u uioiiKiii oi me great train as a iKiwi-rful and feriM-loiis beast snortliiK and roarini: westwar4l on a race with the sun, and she knew the hand that trained It. When the train was a mile away there were always two blasts of the whistle. Every one In Kane thought they meant simply "Wake up, look out:" for that Is what all lonmio tlves say at every ci-ossin, but the irirl 111 the iriiiKhani dross heard "Hello, Polly!" and darted out on the platform and waved her handkerchief. As the great train rliundor-d nearer a hand was thrust from the engineer's win dow, and. althomrh It was usually dark, flu- emild sec the flutter of .something white, and ofteutlniej as the endue darted past the station she heard the blurred sound of a voice and oannht a gllmp-o of a Lrimy face nml a blue jean Jacket, and then she went back to her I" the little station with a s!di of conii-nimeiit. 1'or It was a niomrtit of wat Joy to J'oll.v Marsh. ill when her lather's' en K'.iie wi nt tlirmi'.-h. Polly was the sta tieii aeiit at Katie Creek. Anv one eoiild have told tV-it a woman presided lu the little dep..;. for was the-,, not al was a N.n.iiet I;, t:,,. !,,,!- .,,) dainty phMiires Mirroutidlie.' the L-rliny time tables ., the walls and a U'rto'u eiirlim; iiikhi th,. doorstep? At 17 Polly luis t;.me In as assistant to learn teoi raphy. and when Clark, the aneiit, was oaIU.1 to Mercer the company had left the lndeiH-ndcnt ulrl In ,-liari;e. She UU'1 her father lived In one of the wooden houses a stone's throw back from ii,,. depot, and since Polly's moth er died they hail loou everything to each other. Knitiiiecr Marshall was n hg, silent tnau, und his companions, some of them, thought hini crulT and 111-toin-pered. but to Polly he was ahvavs as tender as n kitten, often when shv was a little !rl he took her with him to Mercer on his endue, and while she sat on his black leaeihcr seat at the eiil. window, cllnditi; on wltli both hands, he explained to her how the Wj: Mack creature under them was Ntart.sl and stoppl; what this brass crank was for. and how, when the endue squeaked here or squaekisl thci, n lit tle oil w as needed In this cup or In that crevice, and Polly had learned to know nn endue as w ell as she knew the neat Utile pantry In tin- house at home. In deed, she had more than once manaKod the levers and throttle, althondi It was M'ry heavy work for a drl to do. It was one nldit late In the fall that Polly Marshall had ti.-l of nil her knowledge of endues. She was slttliij; t her desk in the little observation window, a shaded lidit throwing its rays down on her telegraph instru ments nd the Foundtiitf key cllckim: bhs-plly. Suddenly she was sturth-d y the call of her uumber. Instantly 1it tinkers sought the keys, and she ttave the answer that sIciiMed that she was all attention. "Look out Tor " clu-k.sl the sound er, mid then It suddenly ceased, and ixf tu he would Polly" oould get uo mMmtmA - -.i era i )M:t El I'iii - i, : Art tv further communication from the sta tlon next to the eastward. What could the trouble te.' Polly sprang to her feet, remetnlierlng that the night ex press of which her father was the eu glnoer was the next train due. Could anything be the matter? She ran out on the dark pint form to see that her lights were all In place and that the switches were projerly set, so that the express would slip past the station without an accident Then she went Kick and called up Mercer. "Can't you jret I'lnckney?" she asked. rincknoy was the station which had sent her the warning: dlsjiatcli so uiys torious Interrupted. She knew the ope rator at i'lnckney well. Every nljrht lie tolil her of the approach of her ratn er's train and whether or not It had left his station on time. "I'lnckney quiet Can't pet answer," was the rejiort of the wires. "What's the trouble?" Polly nnswered as well ns she could, and .Mercer made another attempt to arouse Plnckney. H.r f.-l rli..ru Inntn t,. .1... . ",l,u now uue. it shoul.l whistling cheerily at the lower bend. I'olly stepiel oirt on the tibitform nml mere was the familiar hendlldit. She would have known It nmoiio- n tum. drill. Then came the whistle, "Hello, Pollyl" and Polly ran back Into her otlloe much relieved, and sat down to warn Mercer. At that Instant she hoard a pet-uliiir cracking sound that sent her heart quivering deep In her bosom. Then there was the shrill scream of the locomotive whistle, suddenly Intemiirt iil as If the hand that had drawn the lever had been struck from Its place. Polly knew It was a cry of distress. It seemed to say "Help!" In a long, tremulous wall. Instantly Polly dart ed outside ami Hew up the truck. Al ready the express should have thun dered past the station, but she could see Its headlight a hundred yards or more away. With a hundred terrifying questions Hashing through her mind, Polly ran on through the gloom. When she was almost within range of the big head light, she saw half a dozen armed men swarming around the endue, she hoard fierce oaths, and then the engine start ed up again. She saw In an Instant that It had lu'en cut free from the train. Ill the cab win low, when- her father usually stood, then1 was a big, unfa miliar figure managing the lever and throttle. Terrified Polly sprang to one side Into a clump of bushes. As the locomotive passisl her on Its way up the track she saw that the man In the cab wore a black mask on his face, and then she knew what had happened. She understood why Plnckney had tried to want her and Tailed. KoIiIkh-s had held up the train and were pre paring to roh the express car. For a moment Polly was torn with doubt and terror. Had they shot her father? She knew that he never would submit to have his train captured with out a straggle. Should she go to him? Then she romemlierod her station and the telegraph, and, without a moment's delay, she was Hying down the truck toward the deintt. She would send for help to Mercer, but squarely lu front of the little depot the locomotive stopped, and the black masked man sprang from the cab window and darted across the platform. Hardly thinking what she was doing, Polly ran up on the other side the llivmairs side of the engine and, raising herself up. iver.s.1 Into the cab. She had half exp.vte.1 to see her father's dead lody lying on the floor, for she had hoard much about the ter rible doings of train roluVrs. Through the cab window she could see the robber sitting at her own little di-sk In the depot sending a message. It tla-shed over her all at onee that he was wiring Mercer that the express was delayed, thus preventing nnv alarm. The robtier had pushed up his mask, and she saw him plainly. What should she do? She dared not enter the ofllce, and she, a more girl, could lv of no service where the rotv hers wore making their attack on the train. If only she had the little revol ver that lay In the draw er of her desk" She set her tooth as she thought what she would do with It. htii lit,': Idbi F At that moment throe shots rang out, clear and istinct, from the detached train. The man at the telegraph In strument sprang to his feet and ran to a side window in the waiting room and looked up the track. Now was her chance. Hardly think Ink what she did Polly sprang to the elidneor's cab, threw kick the reverse lever and opened the throttle steadily. The big steel win-els began to turn, very slowly at first. Farther and far ther the throttle oiieued and faster and faster turned the wheels, and yet they did not go half fast enough to suit Polly, who was now glancing fearfully over her shoulder. Suddenly the depot door was thrown open, and she saw the robber darting ur the track. He had a pistol In his hand. He was pointing it at her arid shouting for her to sTod. but the engine was now going at good sixvd, and, run as he would, the robber could not catch It, but he stomscd and fired, the bullet ripping through the cab over Polly's head. The endue was now tearing down the track at full speed. Polly knew that It must be tired or It Would not trc far, and so, leaving the throttle open, she sprang to the coal pit, flung open the tirehole, and with the heavy shovel In her small white hands threw In load after IikkI of cixil. When she returned to her place she could see the first sig nal light of Mercer already blinking into view. She pulled down ou the whistle cord and the engine shrieked Its distress. Five minutes later Polly strained at the heavy reverse lever, turned hard on the airbrake and brought the crrem Iron horse to a sudden standstill. How she ever managed to stammer the story ne never Knew, nut in a few m nutes the engine was headid bnclr Wltli n InUf dozen armed men aboard of her. ihlnd them came another load of men on a switch engine and two men were racing up the street of Mercer culling the alarm. They heard Um firing liofniv. reached Kane Creek, but It ceased soon afterward. The robbers had gone. They had taken with them much nlun. der from the passengers, but they had not been able to get Into the express safe, although they were at work drill ing It open when relief came. From the time that the ere1ne stopped Tolly was missing. When the rescued and excited passengers and ex press messengers began to crowd around and Inquire, the Mercer men remembered her. A nnrtv of them went out to find the girl who had brought help to the beleaguered train. in a little clump of bushes they heard man moaning, and an Instant Inter they saw Polly kneeling in' the sand with her father's head In her In n. ow ing bitterly, and they gathered up the brave engineer and his daughter nnd carried them down to the train, cheer ing all the way. Engineer Marshall was not luiillv hurt and he was able to be lu Mercer when the general manager of the tvuol thanked the blushing Polly otllelally and offered her a new nnd better jiosl tlou In Mercer, and, of course, all the passengers and express messengers heard about IVdly's brave deed and said a great many pleasant things about her, but Polly, being a sensible girl, only blushed and said tha t she l.,,i to do it and that any other girl would nave done the same under like circum stances. Which no one believed, of course. Later, when the robbers were c.nn- tured, Polly was able to ldentlfv on., of them positively the one who "had run tlie engine and through him the en- tire party was convicted and s,.nt,.n.-e.i i to the penitentiary. llrooklyu Stand mil- L mon. Some Tested Points In Diet. The fact that milk has become ev. trenuly popular with all classes of phy sicians or late years Is emnhasized bi ll recent writer lu the North American Kcvlew. Formerly a fever n.-itlont 1V1W forbidden to take the article, while In modern practice It Is about the onlv food allowed, nnd a well-nlch exclns. Ive diet of that liquid Is said to be very mcacious in diabetes. At the German pas, Carlsbad. Wiesbaden, etc.. n vrr little bread Is allowed, the diet being mostly made ui of milk, eirtrs mn and lean leef; a non-starch diet Is the rule, bread, starchv i-.not,ill..a n.i reals being almost excluded. Hlce Is easily digested and nn excellent fond except that It abounds In earth salts. t runs are not onlv digested in tbo nKt stomach, but they have a large part of the nourishment already In a condition to be absorbed nnd nsslmllnted ns soon as eaten. The food elements In br..,..l and cereals have to undergo a process or ingestion In the stomnch, and then be passed ou to the Intestines for a still ------ ........man,, u (lm .vu ruivnic tor carrying merchan- further chemical change before being of ("se through the malls Is so construct ive to the human system, showing the d with reversible flaps nnd a stiffen advantage of a diet of lean meats and "S strip attached to the closing Han frul. ! that tho Insl.l.. At ti, i . v m v,fc vcui-iuin.' may De signs of the Times. ! 001110 tue outshlo. nnd the same enve V'i:h a single break nhuu f.,... ' ll,le used to return merchandise in ti,. miles lu length It Is now possible to go ' in trolley cars from lVnvi.i.,,,.,.. t t ......u.Ki, n.. a instance of consld- enuuy over lou miles. This Is a strik ing reminder of how tii noi., ..... spread over New England during the hist ten years. lkvston Journal. A colored Philosopher sh to count your chickens before day. SPAIN'S AMERICAN lt'.IS. Ppfiln owned onp hundred years ngo a great part uf what Is now the Culled States, all of Mexico. Central nml South America save Hni7.il, nnd the Gulanas, und uiauy of the West Indies. Wrong. When the depth of wtter !? considerable, or when the current is rapid, "ground mines" heavy mines similar In construction to the there, but resting on the bottom must be usefl. Ground mines have been plant ed In sixty -Ave feet of wa:ter. For this depth a charge of alxmt 1,200 pounds of guueotton, equivalent to 4,800 pounds of gunpowder, should be used. The nxithod of firing the ground mine is very simple and Ingenious. The mine Is held in position on or near the ground by a heavv anchor or sinker. Two observers are usually employed to net ermine when the enemy is directly over tlie mine. The mine Is then ex ploded bv means of ele-otrlo cnbles. High explosives like guncottou, dyn amite or explosive eelaune are used in submarine mines at present. They are superior to gunpowder In that they are not seriously affected by moisture. A leak in the case containing the charge will not render It useless, ns would be the case with irunnowder mines. Besides, the high explosives are from four to six times as powerful as gunpowder. The pressure necessary to blow a hole through the double bot tom of a modern ship has been esti mated to be between 0,000 and 12,000 pounds per square Inch. The Important function of the sub marine mine defense Is to check the 11 rst advance of a naval enemy against a seaport, thus giving the defenders time to concentrate their ships to nitet the attack. An Instrument of War. The bagpipe, whose stirring music fired the blood of the Gordon High landers as they scaled the heights of Dargal, enjoys, though it Is not gener ally known, the unique distinction of having leon declared by a court of law to be "an Instrument of war." In an early volume of the Scots Magazine we Iflud It reported that on the 15th Xo- vemiwr, li4ii, a James Reld, of Angus, was tried for taking part in the rebel lion. It was proved for his defense THE RAM KATAHDIN IX ACTION. that he had never carried arms of any kind, but, on the other hand, It was shown that he had for some time offici ated ns a piper In a Highland regiment. It is not unlikely that he had been pressed Into the service, for we are told "he behaved very devoutly, prayed fer vently, and sang part of a psalm." Not withstanding these most untradltlounl piper traits, however, the court found poor Reld guilty of high treason, and sentenced him to suffer the punishment which that crime Involved. It was held thnt a "Highland regiment never marched without a plicr, and, there fore, his bagnlnes In the eve of tt, I law was an Instrument of wiir." There j Is little wonder, in the face of such a decision, that Pennant when he came ; north later in tlie century found the uajrpipes Decomlug scarce." A New Knvelope. Am nni.Al..un . Sllm? ninnner lu It was forward- ed. Queer Ilcatnurant Sign. In Sweden the railway stations where meals are served are known by the picture of a crossed knife and fork opposite the name of the station. He may be called Sctior de Lome in Spain, but his name Is Mud in this country. 1S0S. Within one hundred years Spnln hns lost all of her territory on the Western Henh lspnere, except tlie Islands of Cuba nnd x-uL-rio loco. TI!E RAM KATAKuin. The Powerful U. 8. Turtle-bock Ship Recently Placed In Commission. The belief prevails among naval of ficers that in a naval fight the country would lie electrified with the havoc caused among the enemy's fleet by such a vessel ns the Katahdin. No modern vessel of this kind has ever been used In actual warfare, and, In fact, the Katahdin Is about the only craft of her kind in the world. She re sembles the old-style ram Merrlmac only In the use of nrmor, the employ ment of steam power and the pointed steel prow. The Katahdin has a length on the load water line of 250.9 .feet and her beak or ram, which is below the water line, dves her an extreme length of about 254 feet. Other statis tics of the vessel nre: Displacement under normal coal supply, 2,155; ton nage, 582; extreme breadth, 43.5 feet; mean draught, 15 feet: Indicated horse power, 5,0tiS; speed, 10.11 knots; ca pacity of coal bunkers, 102.70 tons. The Katahdin is propelled by twin screws. Her full complement consists of 90 men. The most peculiar feature of the Katahdin Is her concealment under water. Only her smooth turtle back, covered with armor plate and sur mounted simply by a small conning tower and a smokestack are visible. The tower is made of steel 18 inches thick, and unless sounrelv hit be n heavy shot nt close range, Is proof against auy attack. Aside from her dangerous sham beak of siteel nn.i ,..r- covering of armor plate the Katahdin Is equipped with slight means of of fensive or defensive character. She carries four slx-iiouml. rnniii-flwut, guns, which are intended as defense against torpedo boats or boarders. Her siieed Is low. hnrdlv htn-l.of tii., that of a battleship; but with her tre mendous momentum and powerful pro pelling force behind a sha rn steel nrnw the Katahdin is calculated to do a lot of mischief among the enemy's fleet. The ram, being situated belowthewnter line. Is directed at the most vubierablo part of a battleship or cruiser, where armor is either thin or altogether wanting. Taking Llfo Seriously. This exceptionally clever photo ot children was taken In Dublin. The; two mites who In their garb of monk nnd nun look so solemnly out on the BISTER MARTHA AND nilOTHER PAUL. world In general nre aged 4 and 3 re spectively. Brother Paul has the ex pression of one meditating and Sister Martha la ns benign as though fifty years older. When a man is making a night of It he usually discovers thnt the darkest hour Is Just before m 4a wu.