“The strangeness of his conduct, the mystery of his language, had a tendency to add to the great waves of misery that were rolling over me, for I inferred that he was contemplating suicide. For full thirty minutes he continued to rave about innumerable blunders that he accused himself of having committed, and I positively assert that no prosecuting attorney could have given such an offensive coloring to willful and malicious murder as he gave to the cause of Lottie’s death, all of which he declared had been produced by himself. I ventured to discuss the matter with him as soon as I regained sufficient self-command to enable me to do it, hoping to lead his mind away from the subject of Lottie’s death; but it was like the blind trying to lead the blind. While I was endeavoring to console Harry Wallingford, I stood as much in need of it as he did; nevertheless, I put forth my utmost efforts to soothe him. “I was somewhat surprised when the train came to a sudden halt in front of the Hernando Station. Mr. Steelbrim thrust his smutty head into the front door and said: “‘By jing! we made the best time on record; the old gal is in a splendid humor to-night--made a mile a minit from Sardis here, and I bet she could distance a streak of greased lightning from here to Memphis. If I had a track from here to the moon, I could make the old gal climb the grade in time to make the connection. We are now three minits ahead of time, and according to orders, we must not move a peg till time is up.’ Then he turned round and addressed the fireman: “‘Feed the old gal a little, Mr. Smutty, and ile her j’ints good, for I’m gwine to let her rip from here to Memphis; she’ll make it in twenty-five minits like a top. The old gal knows me, and she allers makes up her mind for business when this chap holds the throttle. Tom Scratchler undertook to manage her t’other day, but she took the dumps and wouldn’t run worth a cent; but it takes me to hold her down to work.’ “‘Wait a moment, Mr. Steelbrim,’ said the telegraph operator, ‘a dispatch is coming for Edward Demar.’ “‘All hunkadory,’ replied the eccentric little engineer, ‘plenty of time, and if necessary, I can persuade the old gal to put in a few extra licks.’ “The rain had ceased, and the dark clouds began to move rapidly northward; the moon, that had been obscured, emerged from behind them, casting a bright, cheerful light over the earth. “‘Here we are, Demar,’ exclaimed Mr. Steelbrim, as he came in and handed me the telegram.