The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1859-06-22

gwen by the Washington's passengers,
and her captains countenance began to
grow black. Putting his mouth to the
speaking tube which ran down into the
engine room, he bellowed,--
Cant yon get anything better than
this out of her ?"
Yes sir-r !" replied the engineer,
she ha'nt begun to put in the big licks
yet r
well, it's about time to begin"
growled the captain "that darned old CO.
cart is half length ahead already"
Whewe-e-w is that so ?"
" Yes that is so. Now do your pref
tiest."
Ay, ay, sir !" and the engineer in his
turn, now yelled to the smutty demons
down in the bowels of the boat, to know
"why in thunder the didn't keep UP
steam ?"
4" Dom the best we can, the rossum's
all gone" was the reply,
"Got any tar barrels down there ?'
" Yes. plenty on EN-"
"Well duff into EN-"
AYE, aye! :" growled the fre-kings,
and in few moments the sound of axes,
the rattle of furnace doors, and the crack
ling of the flames gave proof that they
were doing their best to keep up the re-
putation of their vessel.
The engineer lodged around among his
machinery, oiling bearing here, tighten
ing up joint with his wrench there, and
ever and anon poking his head down the
fire-room scuttle and singing out, "Give
it to her boys"
The speed of the engine perceptibly in
creased, and soon the bewidered French
man could scarcely distinguish the piston
rod and crosshead as they bobbed up and
| down.
lie Diobie :" he cried " she will 90
for tear herself in pieces Where is your
vot you call him, de clock to tell how high
is de steam2"
The engineer pointed to the steam
guage.
by tonnerre," calculated Frenchy,
"von hunder and forty pounds never
see such ting in my life !"
"Sho " snickered Tom, the engineer.
/" You don't call that high steam, do YOU ?
Look here !"
The guage was marked up to three
hundred pounds, but it only showed one
hundred and forty at this time. The
steam in the boilers, however, was of
much greater pressure than this, for Tom
had shut off the guage when it reached
that height, to deceive any prying passen.
ger who might chance to get squint at
it. He now suddenly opened the cock
and let on the steam. AS he did so the
index few round the dial like fash, and
brought up against pin at the 800 ID.
mark with click
90 gar !" yelled Frenchy, starting for
the door, with his hair standing straight
on end.
"Oh, hold on, Mounseer Farley VOC ;
you hain't seen the critter yet" said the
engineer. Il want to show you round
and let you see how we Americans put
things through"
With considerable reluctance the little
frog eater consented. asking first to be al.
lowed look at the safety valve.
Tom led him round under the walking
beam, and with grin showed him the
safety valve, and the twelve fifty SKIES
with which it was loaded
What dia6les you Yankees be I" wa;
all the poor fellow could say, but his eyes
protruded so far that you might have
hung hat upon them.
As they entered the engine room vgair
Tom pointed to the joints of the main steam
pipe from which the steam puffed out al
every beat of the engine, and the cylinder
head which seemed to bend outward, every
time the piston commenced the downward
stroke. He then proposed that they
should 60 down and see the "biers."
The Frenchman would have been quit
as well pleased at an invitation iron
Pluto to take look into the inferna
regions, as he was at this proposal. but b
was ashamed to retreat, and slowly fol
lowed Tom down the ladder.
The fre-room was truly frightfu
place. The furnace doors were red ho
and the steam hissed angrily from ever
seam in the boilers, whlls the poundin
/, and jarring of the ponderous machiner
overhead, shook the floor on which the
stood like small earthquake. The spec
of thee engine was now so tremendous, an