THE ROMANCE AND DRAMA OF REAL LIFE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 193, 21 July 1916, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE ROMANCE AND DRAMA OF REAL LIFE.

THE HEROINE OF THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS. (From the "Sheffield Weekly Telegraph.") In tlie early sixties of last century, nono but the most reckless of men would set foot in "Death Valley," a gloomy, tree-covered n.vino in the heart of the Alleghany Mountains, for he knew it was long odds that he would never emerge alive. For some yeans past strange stories had been told from end to end of Virginia of one man after another who had beep known to enter this grim fastness, anil of whom nothing more had been seen. All had lieen murdered and robbed* it Was said, by "Red Bourquin," who, under the guise of a tinil>er cutter, played the role of highwayman and Bourquin, so the story pan, was an uncouth giant of enormous strength, with flaming rod beard, who had made his home in tlfe..ivalley in company with his son. Jem, who shared his strength, but not h's ritthlessness. Jem had no objection to^A'phbery, he had been cradled in it; bujijiedrew the line at murder and it, was believed that ho not only had na .Jjand 111 111s father's deeds of violence, but was kept in ignorance of them,. Eforts had been made to bring the crimes-home to the rascally pair, but so far they had failed for lack of evidence, but the terror they had inspired was so great that not'even tlie bravest man would enter Death Valley if he could possibly avoid it. Thus it came to pass that, when month after month passed without bringing a gl nipse, of a the valley, Red Bourquifl found his occupation gone, and it,,became necessary to seek a freeJl field for his activities. Nor was it long before his ingenious brain evolved a scheme which promised more spoil than years of iiis usual bandit work. X FORTUNE AT A* COUP. He discovered that during the night of Sept. 17th, a Government paytrain bound for Baltimore City, would pass through the string of black tunnels under the Alleghany Mountains, a few m'les distant. The train, which would convey a large sum,-<>f money to pay off several companies, of disbanded Federal troops, would have for guards no more than half a dozen men; and if lie could only secure the money, as ho meant to do at any cost, he would l ave a fine provision for the rest of nis life. .. After all it was quite an easy matter. At the eastern end of the last- tunnel was a lonelv cabin in charge of a signalman. There would be no difficulty in overpowering this solitary watchman and tying him hand and foot. He would then set the switches so that the rails would fail to meet. Tne train —which always travelled at express speed —would lie wrecked, and if any of the passengers survived the crasn, he could easily make short work 01 Such was the cunning and diabolical scheme which Red Bourquin outlined to his squeamish son cue day. Its a winner for sure," he said in conclu. fion "and wlmt's more, no one don't need to bo'killed, barrin' accidents. What form the " accidents" might take lie was careful not to explain; and Jem, satisfied that no murder was to be done, gave his consent. Now, as luck, good or bad, would have it. tne signalman who should liavo been at his post at the tuunelexit the see no of the planned crime, was unavoidably absent on the appointed night, and his place was taken ny his young .sister, Jeanne Garth, a 10-year's-old girl, who had taken _ it on former occasions, and was familiar witn the duties. Sho had fully expected that her brother would return before night fell, and when darkness came on, without a. sight or him, she found liei--olf faced witn the preset of a lonely vigil through the long night hours, miles removed from the nearest human being. and with 110 companionship save th:it of her collie dog, Rab, and the prowling wild beasts who had their iuiis in the surrounding forests. THE BANDITS' CAPTIVE. Hut Jeanne had a stout heart, and although she recalled that only a few days earlier a savage black bear had hein kited in the next tunnel, she refined herself to ho;* solitary watcn, determined at any cost not to desert hi r post Sho lighted the long rows of signal lanterns in the little shack, and began to read, with the double object of keeping awake and distracting her mind from her lonely and gloomy environment. Teanne had not read long, however, when through the darkness a sound of furious Larking at a little distance up the mount;: in-side came to her ears and set her heart, boating violently; and as she listened fearfully, the sharp veins subsided to a muffled, choking whine, which soon died away in silence ,rtoro ab.rnr'ng still. Rushing to the d.'or she p ere 1 with straining eyes into the darkness, and to her horror saw two giant forms, with slouched hats si nil white-masked facts, rushing swiftly towards her. For a moment she stood as if paralysed; then she dashed into rah'n, Init k iore s ' ~'os > the door the foremost of the giants l n d flung a cloak over her head, and sho felt hen-elf clasped in a pair oi a,id carried swiftly, in spite of I,or struggle and shrieks, over the ground. " W'HKX ROGUES FALL OCT." ■ \ I', w moments lat' r she heard a door opened, mid the cloak was roughly dra"g'd fro:.i her head, and she lound hois'.lf in a .-mall hut, in wh'eh her brother made his horn- when on duty. Over her lower, d, grimly silent, an i neoulh haekwood-iniin with a shock „r fierv hair and a flaming, ragged beard 'onlv half concealed by his ma-k, wli'le behind him stood a tall, unison lar unun'nlv voutli who looked fheopi hiv on. Neither spoke a word as the (Id,"' man produ'-od a. rop" and sv. ilfK bound In r to the bed|>n>i, while h,s <-nnii«an'on held n I'ght <1 signal-lnn-I , n ;,!nft. Having made their captive s ppe the two men were abou| te withdraw, when a di'-oiilo licc'tin bo--1 we,at 11 em first in low, bui t> n u word- then in louder and angry teues —a dispute of which Jeanne gathered

that her fate was the object. The quarrel waxed hotter and fiercer, and finally knives were drawn; but to the terrified girl's unspeakable relief, the scene of the battle was suddenly removed from her sight by the younger man taking to his heels, pursued by Ins companion. But although Jeanne was thankful to see the* backs of her assailants, her plight could not well have been more terrible. Bound hand and foot, 6iurounded by pitch darkness, never knowing at what moent the ruffiants might return to kill her, as the elder of them evidently intended, she was left a prey -to the most horrible teai s and anxieties. And, to add to her terror, a sto nil sprang up. Pandemonium was let loos?; the frail cabin in which she was imprisoned rocked and swayed under the. iieree blasts of the wind which shrieked around it and threatened to swep it away. In her agony and alarm she struggled madly to break he ropes which held her, but all her efforts were as vain as they were torturing. A NIGHT OF THRILLS. When at last the gale had subsided, and she was lapsing into unconsciousncss under -the long and fearful strain, her heart began to beat furiousiy as she heard footsteps approaching the hut. A moment later there came the grating of a key in the lock of the door, ft cold blast of air struck her face, and through the darkness she saw a huge, shadowv form coming slowly towards her with extended, menacing arms. In vain sho tried to cry »>ut: her voice seemed frozen in her throat. A heavy band fell on her face, and she felt certainJfeflt the end had come at Last. Bu&jHath had now few terrors for i:er: almost he welcome as a release from the unspeakable horrors sho had gone through; and she resigned herself to the blow which would put a merciful end to them. But, to h'er amazement, the blow did not fall. Instead, to her inexpressible joy, she felt the cruel ropes Ivegin to relax, and in a few moments she found herself unbound and free. Overcomo by her miraculous rescue from what seemed certain death, she stood dumb before her deliverer, wondering vaguely what would come next. In a few rough, almost incoherent words her rescuer, in whom she recognised tlie younger of her assailants, explained his strang action. "The old 'un," ho said, "has been play in' 1110 false. There s murder goin' to be done in the long tunnel this yere night. The agreement was that, barling accidents in the smash-up, nobody was goin' to be 011 ted. Now father 'as gone and clean broke his words. He would have murdered you if I hadn't stopped him. An' he says nobody must be allowed to leave the tunnel alive, in case they should happen to recognise us an' bring the cops down on us. Why," he said, "the cantankerous old catamount! He even tried to kmfe me!" SAVING THE TRAIN.

"But," hp continued, "I mean to -ret level with the old 'tin"—and he unfolded his plan of revenge, which was that Jeanne should make her way through tho ravine to the entrance to the tunnel, ft mile or so distant, and stop the imperilled train by swinging a re-d light across (the track, thus warning the guards and effectually baulking his father's plan of robbery and murder. Groping round the room lie found a lantern, lighted it, and put it in Jeanne's hand. A bravo map might well have shrunk from a mission so daring and arduous as this midnight journey through the stonn-swept ravine, through a darkness so dense that she could scarcely see her hand before her, and where a false step might easily mean death or serious injury. But Jeanne did not hesitato a moment. At any cost to herself she meant to save the train and the lives of the men who guarded it, and it was with a light step and a stout heart that she set out 011 hei perilous journey. , - She had gone but a few steps when sho found herself faced by a terrible danger—she must pass the -signal-box at the tunnel exit, and in the light of the rows of signal lamps she saw the red-haired giant who would have murdered her but for his son's intervention, keeping sentinel, his eyes searching the darkness in ever/ direction. Crouching low. she moved with stealthy and silent steps fringe ol darkness, dreading at every moment to be seen and challenged. But luck was on her side: lied Bourquin's keen eyes and ears failed to detect her nearness, and in a few moments she was sale y pas.t hini and hurrying along the gttjl} beneath which was the long tunnel. A DESPERATE PLAN. She knew that she had but on hour to reach the cutting between the first and second tunnels, when, ii a.t all, she must stop the oncoming train; and each step 01 the way was dark and perilous. A single awkward stunib.e, and she was undone. Could she do it ' Well, if she failed if should be through 110 Lack of trying. Thus, stumbling at almost evorv step, the brave-heat ted girl made her slow way onward. Again and again she slipped on tlie "treacherous, rotting leaves and fell prostrate, only to pick herself up and stagger onward. Again and again she collided with the tries which blocked her way, and wh'eh she could not see bruising and stunning herself; once she slipped on a boulder and only by a miracle eseaped falling into the swollen rivetraging far below her feet; and once she only saved herself from being das 1,d to death in a steep gully by clutching ait the branch of a lrieiidly treo. Thus bruised, panting, struggling, -lie had accompanied ludf her journey, when, to her horror, she heatd the di-taiit shriek of an engine-whistle. The tra 11 she had hoped to save was ru-iiing to its doom: and she had still half a mile to go to reach the entrance of the tunnel. Before she could cover another hundred yards it would have dashed into the fatal tunnel, and no power 111 earth could save it and its pas-engers front d'struction. Ibis, then, was to be the end of all her gallant- > flors. Struck mot onle s with erief. she ciK a wild, do-pairing glance :• 11 *.u*.j In* 011 all s d' and then it was. when all hop • second dead, that the " miracle" happened. Sud'h lily Jeanne's eye- ivst-il on a low, s'ai-ted ventilator box placed ov""- an air—hal't, aim >-l el her vuy |\ei', and at the sight an inspiration ciuaHv sudden flashed upon Ir r. I he a"r-h:it'v, she knew, led stra.'ght down in'o the tunnel some :s!>lt below. She remembered that this very Miall had

been used recently by a gang of workmen engaged in repairing the tunnelwalls, and that through it they had raised the debris and superfluous material to the ground above. If tiiey could enter the tunnel by it, so could she, and thus be in time to stop the oncoming train. She found to her delight that the tcp had been removed from the frame, and that at the mouth of the shaft was one of the wooden boxes fastened by stout ropes to a pulley-wheel in the ventilator frame, in which the workmen had let themselves dawn and ho'sted up the debris. Grasping her red lantern firmly in one hand, she clambered over the edge of the great basket. At that instant a second shriek from the engine as it plunged into the tunnel, so unnerved her that she nearly list her balance and fell headlong down the black shaft. Recovering herself quickly, however —for there was not a moment to bo lost, and she could hear the rumble of the onrushing train getting louder and nearer —she worked desperately to start the box on its journey; and soon felt herself gliding swiftly downwards, with mingled feelings of relief and fears that after all sho pould be too late.

Meanwhile., the train she still hoped to save was dashing through the tunnel to its doom, when Engineer Dean, tlie driver, peering ahead through the cab window, saw by the lights of hifc powerful head-lamp a dark, square oblect drop swiftly from the roof of the tunnel into the centre of the track a couple of hundred yards or so ahead, and from tlie mysterious object a red light gleamed warn'ngiy. Quick as lightning he jammed his brakes hard 011; and as the train slowed down lie saw a biindled-up human form suddenly separate iteelf from the square object and begin to sway a red dangerlight across the track. A "few seconds later the train came to a stop; itHfe driver leaped to the ground, and, running towards the signaller who had dropped so mysteriously from the roof of the tunnel, found himself face to face with Jeanne —a wildeyed, strang figure, covered from head to foot with mud, without a hat, her hair in wild disorder. JUST IN TIME. In a few breathless words she told her story—of the tragedy that was awaiting' the train a short way down the tunnel, and of how she bad made her strange appearance on the scene, j list in time to warn h'm and to save lite train and all 011 board. ''As the young heroine told her story to the engineer and the train-hands who bad r.ow gathered round her," says the Baltimore "Sun," "she was the coolest person of the seven who were assembled in tlie broad circle of light cast by the locomotive head-lamp. Every face paled at the thought of the tragedy from which the child had delivered them at such risk to herself. Every eye glistened with pride, and some with tears, at her heroism: and the kiss which Engineer Dean pressed 011 Jeanne's mud-stained, happy face, expressed the homage and gratitude of them all." But there was no time to waste. Steps must be taken at once to catch, red-handed, tlie scoundrel who was no doubt at that moment preparing, and gloating over his diabolical deed. Indeed, before any plan could be devised, the sound of two shots fired in quick succession came to the men's ears from somo distance ahead up the tunnel. At t'he sounds a ready-witted brakesman rushed back to the train for a Winches, ter, and had just returned when a tall figure was seen running rapidly towards tho group down the broad path of light cast by the engine's lamp. Before, however, ho had run many yards, he was seen to stagger. He rose, stumbled a few more paces, and then fell prone, and lay motionless 011 the track. A moment later a second figure outlined itself suddenly upon the track of light—a gaunt man of gigantic sature, bare-headed, with fiery red locks and beard flying wild. Eor a moment he pau-ed at the prostrate figure; then, catching sight of the group who were hurrying towards the fallen man, he rushed towards them with blood-curd-ling veils and eyes glaring with the light of madness flourishig a revolver in his right hand. THE END OF RED BOI'RQI IN. When he caught sight of Jeanne amongst the group lie levelled his weapon full at her, with a snarl like that of a wild beast. A loud cry of 'insane delight rang out, and he pro-sod tho trigger. But the brakeman was too quick for him. A deafening report from tho Winchester mingled with tlie sharp crack of the revolver; and Red Bourquin, train wrecker and madman, pitched forward upon h's face, stonedead. Tho rest of this thrilling story of real life, which is still told by more than one old Virginian settler who had se.-.i Red Bouripiin in the flesh, can be put into few words. The bodies of tho two would-be train wreckers. Bourquin and his son —for it was the son who fell a victim to th'> old man's insane vengeance in the tunnel — wire taken for .burial to the grim s ditude of Death Valley, the scene of so many of the old man's unstorii d crimes, and in tho old log shack which had been their home for years, was found a collecti in of spoil taken from their victims. As lor Jeanne, the stout-hearted heroine of the story, she was taken that night in the train she had saved from disaster, to Harper's Ferry, where she found her missing brother, the s gnalman, wbo-e failure to return to h : s post was the result of a runaway accident

Of all those who figured in this d'-ama of half a century ago, Jeanne Garth alone survives to tell, with charaeter-i'-eie modc.tv, the story oi that night of terror and tragedy when she saved the pay-tra'ti and saw Hid ltour<|iiiii pay the penalty of a life ol crime in the tunnel of tho Alleghany Mountain-.