Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-11-20
1M0rtester 9alID SpD.
F;om the Literary Emporium
SEVENTY MILES AN HGUR,

F., Indiana, The paper was uninterest
ing, or else | was rather sleepy and / guess i
was Il little of both SO tina! soon neglected
1t to watch the fantastic caring of the smoke
from my fac favored principe l didn't feel
much like talking, and tet still less like read
ing, but did feel as it would like exceeding
ly well TO hear a good story.
had barely come to this conclusion ans
was wishing for some one OF my acquaintan.
ces to amuse me until the time was up for the
train which was to take me TO c., when
recognized in the person who sat next to me
fellow traveller in the sleeping car OF the
night before
He was very agreeable looking little man
with clear gray eye, light hair, sandy wills.
kerS, and smiling mouth Indeed he had Sc
much the appearance OF the man that would
like to hear tell a story, that / thought dame
fortune had smiled upon me, when he recog-
nzed me vita Il genia!-'How d 'ye do, stran-
ger 2
returned his sautaiion, AMI asked him
some commonplace question about how lie en-.
Joyed the ride we took together.
He said something in reply about the ran
ming being too fast for the poor track and
from this the conversation run upon fast tray
cling IN general, for some time | at last re-
marked that sixty miles an hour was the most
speedy travelling that l had ever done.
Whereupon my friend informed me, with Il
pleasant but knowing smile, that he had trav.
eled considerably faster than that, and in fact,
faster than he had ever heard OF beside.
OF course was anxious to know where,
when, and how he had done it, and alter the
modest assurance that he feared his tale would
not be interesting, my friend relieyedmy anx.
lety by relating the following story
81 am a railroad engineer. In '57, during
| "a nd Z
L. Il. The railroad companies were growing
tender in all directions. Every day we heard
OF new failures: and quite often in quarter
where We least expected it. Our .road was
looked upon as one of the most substantial in
the nation; nobody seemed TO have any great
fear that ii would al to survive the general
smash up But yet did not fully share in
general confidence. Wages were cut down
arr arages collected and great many other
little matters seemed to Indicate to ue that the
road had got into rather deeper water than
was agreeable all around Among other things
the master mechanic had told me in the
spring, ttat the company had ordered four
first quality Taunton engines for the fall pas
senger business. Tie road was put in the
very best condition, and other preparations
were made to cut down the tiuIe, aud put the
trains through quicker than VI, S ever known
before, when the new engines should come
Well, there was but one OF the new engines
came.
i said there was but one engine came, and
she was, in my opinion, altogether the best
ever turned out at the Taunton works And
thiS is as much as could be said in praise of
any engin-. She was put in my charge i'm
mediately, with the understanding that she
mine.
II was Saturday when she came out of the
| Us a tai. 81 n,fr,
y. The tam was to carry up the pres
ident and several other officers OF the road, to
meet some officers OF another road, which
crossed ours there, and arrange some impoT
taut business with them. l had 10 trouble at
all making forty miles an hour going out. The
engine handled himself most beautifully. We
were just holding up at Y, when Al
dIich, the treasurer who came out on the
platform to pat the brake on, slipped and tell
AS we were yet under good headway, he was
mucl, injured, aud was carried 10 the hotel
insenSibe.
According to the presidents directions, |
switched off my train, turned my engine, and
stood ready to start back to c. at mo.
ments notice.
'Aldrichs presence was OF so much mpor
lance that the business could not be transacted
without him. So that all those that l had
brought up, except the president and Aldrich,
went back to C in the three clock eX
press train This was the last regular train
which was to pass over the road till the follow
ing Monday.
Early in the evening l left the machine in
charge Of my fireman, and went over to an eat
ing house 10 see if could not spend my time
more pleasantly than on my engine. The
hours dragged themselves away slowly l
WAS taking IL game Of dominoes with the sta
ton agent, when in came Roberts the presi-
dent, in a state OF great excitement.
Harry said he to me, Il want you to put
me down to C at twelve O'clock,
'As it was near eleven o'clock, and the dis
lance was seventy five miles, thought he
was joking at first but when we got outside
the door lie caught me by the arm and hur-
ried me along so fast l saw he was in earnest.
Harry, said he, ii you don't set me down
in . by twelve o'clock, l am a ruined
man. and this road is a ruined road Aldricll
is dead, but he told me before he died that he
had emhezzled from time to time, fitty thou
sand dollars Of our money and his clerk is to
start in the twelve o'clock boat from g.
10 Canada Ii we don't have that money 'on
Monday morning to make some payments
with, the road goes into other hands, and il
YOU put me down in C at the right
time, so that l can save the money, You shall
have five thousand dollars. Understand 1t,
Harry rive thousand uollaTs !!
'Of course ] understood it. saw now the
reason Why the wages had been cut down; L
understood it all, and my blood boiled. l felt
that | could save the road if l lived, and told
Roberts so.
See that you do it, Harry he replied, as
he climbed up the steps OF the coach which
was coupled TO my engine.
sprang up into the foot board, got up the
switch tender to help my fireman, opened the
throttle, and just as she commenced moving,
looked at my watch. 1t was just eleven
O'Clock so that had just one hour to make
my seventy five miles in.
From y to - there were few
curves in the road, but there were several
heavy grades. l was perfectly acquainted
with every rod Of ii, so that | knew exactly
what | had to encounter and when | saw
how tile engine was moving, had very little
fear of the result
The road, for the first few miles, was an
air line, and so smooth that my engine flew
along with scarcely a perceptible jar. l was
so busy posting myself up as to tile amount OF
wood and water aboard etc, that we danced
BY. the first station almost before | was aware
of it, having been five minutes out, and having
five miles accomplished.
You are losing time = yelled a voice from
the coach looked around, and there stood
Roberts with his watch in bis hand.
l knew very well that we should have TO
increase our speed by some means, 1t we
carried out our plans of reaching g. by
midnight, and looked anXiousy around to see
what ! could do TO accomplish that purpose
She was blowing off steam tercely at one hun
dred and ten pounds; SO ] turned down thC
valve to two hundred, for / knew she needed
it all to make some OF the heavy grades which
In bptWQpn MS and G