heavens. The girl moved from one side of the room to the
other trying to discern the back lights in the tall sema
phores, as this was, above all, no night for them to go out.
All of the little eyes flashed faithfully before her. A crash
louder than usual, that made her shrink back in terror,
lighted up the sky and showed her the wet tracks at her
feet. Leaving the windows she seated herself at the desk
and watched the blue flames dance and crack around the
switchboard and over the instruments as they struggled to
perform their duties.
For awhile the clicking of the sounders ceased, and May
Weston wished again that fate had not dealt thus with
,her.
Johnson, the regular night watchman. had "reported" sick
and as no relief came, she had to "double," as they call it.
May was however glad that her brother Phil would be with
her by one o'clock provided his train was on time. Moreover
she consoled herself with the thought that she might be in
lonlier places than this to-night. Her office was the junc
tion of the "cut off," a single track but heavily trafficed
freight road, and of the double tracked "river" division.
Consequently she had lots of work and time did not linger
on her hands.
The storm meanwhile had calmed doWn. The wires
were now hard at work, and May caught herself with a ten
dency for drowsiness. But the big yard up the river was
sending out heavy freights one after the other, and she had
no time to dream. She glanced at the big clock just as a
long shrill whistle from the "cut off" brought her quickly to
her feet. The girl quickly and gracefully threw the heavy
leaver over and a long coal train slowly crept by and around
the curve. Another whistled up the road and she knew the
"rush" was here. She let this into the block with the
"white" and another a few minutes later under the "green"
or "caution" signal. So it went on—first one way and then
thexther—all hurrying at their best speed over the wet