Show T il li d FATAL reinvest so 0 ilk n F 0 V N D 0 V T IW py A L harrl harris author ot of mine ina own wn familiar rammer friend etc tz ve p y r i g A 9 IS ft 1 h by it ua V a i i it I 1 I 1 is iu ti 6 i 1 i 1 i a A hi I 1 ft g 0 my lap a ny n I 1 0 co 0 p y V r i g A 9 1 0 0 2 t b v B 9 f r f 4 9 it 8 mit in 4 t A A rg CHAPTER VI continued A dreadful railway accident h hay taken place on lit h southeastern rail way A gobas train from bondon to which contained two was wag ons ona loaded with ith petroleum through some mistake in tho the signals ran into the 4 30 up tip train from dover dr an at the point where the lines cross the engine tender and three first class clasa car carriages have been smashed up and burnt by the petroleum T atwon on ty throe three passengers are either dead or dying the stood upon his alrow as he be read this this grim find and ghastly luara graph over and over again I 1 ilow how emild I 1 possibly let them see this lie groaned to himself hl j they would go out of their minds with the horror borror of it and yet the thought struck him what la is to prevent them from reading it all and more beside in the morning papers though of courso course there Is hope there must be a gleam of hope some must have how slow this train Is 18 ani yet w why hy I 1 I 1 want to travel fast er crt vow how do I 1 know what awaits me at my jo journey a end crid I 1 when the train reached london a little before tin ho he found all was bustle and confusion the news of the accident hall had spi spread cad like ilke wildfire and a illy increase ing throng of friends and relatives besieged tho the officials at tacked tile lie tolg laph office awl and hurried hither and thither backwards backward 9 aal forwards lit in search bearch of den dell nato in ili the ilia shape of ted burritt forced himself through the crowd which VOH am galb gop hered ered round some borne person in authority and put the same barno questions which hurst burst from so BO many lips at once was anthina an thing more about the ac ellent when would the line be clear and when allen would a train be allowed to run to the acene ot of the disaster chit no possibility of recognizing or I 1 if any till td burritt approached and looked domn upon one alln ahn n staggered and ng n arly f 1 11 are these a al 9 lie he asked in n a a irful whisper whimper ahe man who was in charge rf ft this ghastly detachment ani answered briefly there be a heap more on ern la in the church yonder CHAPTER vil VII in the vetry vestry there was atas very little sleep for any one at magnolia lodge that night mrs bun lit was aas at last persuaded to go and lie ile down upon her bed where she was ministered to by her daugh ter and the he cook bo in lamentations and torturing suspense together with brief intervals ot of broken test lest the night wore a away w ay the servants with scared faces crept about the house bouse and prepared the breakfast break which nobody tot toi ched may burritt came down stairs about eight and the first thing that she ahe saw was waa the dally daily paper lyley in its accustomed place beside the urn ali ah she gaspa now to know the worst the account sho she bought was as signel the most prominent position and was headed in large capitals lei leirl ble hallway accident thirty two lives lost loit numbers roasted t to 0 death she read the brief paragraph into which so much lionor vas mas condensed condensa and stood as though turned to stone then ilien coming bak back to hersele herselt she ehe mor inured al th r must never nen er see BOO this it would kill her ber and she left the room taking ilia iho paper with her after all blia bho ventured to hope abio have acen some saved why may not lie he bo be among surely tell ted will lit send bond a telegram soon poor boy I 1 wonder aonder what he be Is dorl ing A little later in the lie morning when I 1 4 what that run may and eol beel and the answers repeated and tivee again and passed i filin to lo mouth were no further details of the accident shad d boon been ascertained and no names of tho the victims had ball yet been published as tho the telegraph lines had bad been broken the first train to bannock 11 bridge ridge the scene of tho the disaster would be run as soon boon as the line WAS waa clear and that could not be for some borne hours long er the unfortunate fortunata un people who craved to know what might be the late fate ot of some corne of their nearest and dear oat cat could do nothing but watt wait b hour our after hour every ol of which seemed an age and each separate hour an eternity and so ao at last the hours wore away and very early in the morning a train bearing its weary hag gard load ot of men and women nomen ach hoping that god cod had at least been merciful to him or her whoever else lie might havo have bereaved ted burritt sat in his bis corner of the carriage and let ills his thoughts wander auder where they would all at once the thought occurred to him what hat bat become of tho the friend the tiland whom his bis father went to meet and who wag vas to return with mith him hut but hit did it matter about him why but tor for jilin him though the accident nic luent would have taken place lilacs all the same game it would have had nothing to do with that pleasant peaceful home at dul I 1 by the time ho be bad reco recovered ered him self R little lie he saw that the day was aas beginning to dawn surely thea the must be very near the scene of tho the lisas ter even in the taint faint early light which was Al allther all lithey they had to illumine the scene signs of the recent catastrophe began to appear by the side of the tha line hue they saw drawn up nomo of the tha ruined carriages another moment and nd the tran train drew up at the esque little country station which had now been converted into a tern tem horary dead house the mournful will wild eyed cavalcade which alighted at the platform were met by the eta ate who merely motioned with hla his arm and said I 1 in there the I 1 be whole crowd with one accord poured in the direction indicated I 1 A dreadful sight bight ruel met their eyes in ili iSiS room and anda booking a dozen charred remnants of human beings w r laid out ut conj n tarpaulins 4 vh v of aich a sern bom blaile h anit was no air mrs burritt vad atri just being coaxed to take a little b beof pot tea the fateful double knoils more re echoed th through roligh the iho house bouso what s that cried aire burrit t sitting bolt upright perhaps lie he a corne corn back sate safe after all alit run kun t may lay and bee the houst mald met her on the stairs bearing a yellow anvel envelope ope the boy Is waiting to know it there Is any answer miss she said and lingered in tho the expectation of hearing bearing something of tho the contents the girl seized it and tore it open lo 10 return to her brother who had been told that were mere yet man anani moie male bodies in the chuich chinch for which room could riot not bo be found elsewhere and who accompanied by a detach aint of other seekers thereupon left the station for the sacred edifice it was uns a relief to find themselves again in tho ilia open air after tile the ghastly bight that had lust just met their eyes sut but liters waa aas horror borror in the thought that they nero only exchanging one such acene foi another I 1 could he have been one of I 1 vaa the awful thought which pursued the young roan man one on of those fe fearful arNil indescribable objects and was mas it such a thins as that that he must tale take horne home with him if it should prove by any means possible to ac separate parate the identity of the one from the other I 1 ua lie came in sight of tho the church which was waa not far from the station arriving at the the foremost of tho the party discovered that the door was locked here alere vas a sudden check and they began to consult together as to where the key might be found As aa they did so window of one of the little cottages opposite tho the church was aaa thrown up tp and an old man in a quaint old fa blonea nightcap stuck hla his head bead out 1 I be acoman he cried e must jest bide a bit and andell andl ill ll be with ee this was evidently the clerk or sex ton at any rate he was the individual required and thre th re was nothing to do but to I 1 bide as he ha had desired them at last the chim byard gate clicked and a shriveled bent figure made its appearance dangling a bunch of 0 great kpa kp a 9 in one hand band lie threw the great door open with a clang and the people antei entered ed the hurch it IRA aa rei kiy y dark inside the windows were moat of them of colored glass and high up ard the old fashioned pea arid and tile the thick squat columns which supported the deemed to swallow up what ight there was waa they ve put tm tin all inside the than chan eel rails said bald the old man who had c constituted himself a sort ort of ghoulish master of the ceremonies no one seemed to care to be the first to approach ar that pait of the holy edifice at last tell ted burritt with a grim determination approached the railing inside the bodies or what had bad once been dodl 4 were disposed dla dim posed in two tao rows I 1 hose on an the I 1 light ight hand lay in cof una fins which had ball been hastily gathered gather cd from all parts of the neighborhood thos on the left were wera mccre groups of ashes collected together on pieces of tarpaulin ted burritt began at the right hand band side aide the othea people followed his example and the old clerk acted as cicerone this un tin he be said bald indicating tho the terrible contents of one coffin Is sup to a bin a young female as they found a thimble and a bit of a dress among the ashes thimble ad the name 0 lizzie scratched on it A man who v was as craning his neck over tell ted burritt a shoulder gave a sharp cry that s my girl that s my lizzie and her mother waiting for her at home borne and won t believe as anything can have happened to her oh lord and he be broke out into wild outcries some of the others forgetful of their jovn concerns tor for a moment gathered round him and mado made an at tempt at consolation at least you know which she Is that ought to be a little comfort to you dut I 1 tt ought she might have been saved she was such a good girl an and d look at her therel there I 1 and he towards the open coffin I 1 can t stand much more of this murmured ted burritt as he be wiped the great drops diopa of perspiration from ills hla they left the berei lied parent moan ing over hla big child a remains and again figall passed on tho the next three coffins were emanil examined nod shuddered at an aal I 1 left the mutilated mutilate I corpses which they con coil talked possessed neither head feet nor hands they could novel have been taken for anything human had bad not the fact been established beyond all doubt was either of those hla bis father there only remained ono one or two in more to belonging to that row arid and t they hey too wore were unrecognizable after that nothing was waa left but the poor heaps ol of ashes on the other side this Is all ladles ladies and gentlemen said the old man nith a sort of char nel house cheerfulness sides ong one more in tho the vestry as aa anas put there in consequents of bein very little damaged ept e pt about the legs and did BOY bay as 8 I 1 was wai to show am lim fust fuat though bein aay recognized rc aut my hy pwe jaite old ed cd a bin all of i Itin jumble since th ill accident and I 1 clenn clein forgot lin im hut dut anybody as likes can i jest step into the vestry and see im am tor for their Relves they ve laid tin o novt ml on the table through bein abeln of a hexter csizi alz find and short 0 coffins B was found burled under a lot 0 rub bidge and they ad a deal 0 tr to git IM out thero there was a general rush in that direction ori oil the part of all those ahr had a male relative missing to be continued |