Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1869-08-11

to groan over their fate soon, | would not
have laughed then"
when l got above Fishkill, l thought /
would let those who got on at one of the
little stations ride free to the next station,
while l rode on the engine and investi-
gated.
so got on the Corning, and Mack
looked black enough instead of as civil as
usual. | joked him about his bad luck in
making his stations, and he growled out a
curse | asked him if he knew how far he
had got. back into the Tightening express
! time, and he said he knew his own business
The man was evidently drunk and surly.
| happened TO put my hand down under the
cushion of the seat and felt bottle. Pull
ing the cork out | smelled whiskey, and
quietly threw it overheard But Mack saw
me and cursed me for destroying his prop
erty What did you throw that bottle
away for; it WASH your rum?' he said at
the end of an awful swear"
eth tell you why, said 4 am con-
ductor of this train, and you are too drunk
to do your business right, and you d get
worse and worse if you had bottls. -
Then he grinned savage sort of a grin,
| and quieted down into a silent state, but he
looked dangerous about the eyes.
You're conductor of this train, are you ?
I'll show you how much you have to do with
running il" says ne, and began to slow up,
and we behind time already you know |
didn't know exactly what to dove were
getting quite dangerously near the tighten
ing express time-and while | was debating,
he suddenly blew brakes, with fendish
chuckle, and stopped at a station that the
| train never stopped at before. looked at
| my watch and determined to send brake
man back with lantern and stop the ex-
press. just then thought struck me that
! made my hair stand on end. There ,oasn t
lantern on the trdin-the drunken beast
had smashed them all-there wasn't soul
at the station, which was miles away from
its village; the express didn't stop before it
reached Poughkeepsie, so that l coudn't t
leave word to caution it, and just then l
heard its whistle mile or two back. The
| engineer heard it too, and laughed a diabol
ical laugh
That decided me. caught up a wrench
and hit him back of his ear, and he dropped
like dead. 1 dragged his body Il didn't t
know then whether was handling a corpse
or net) off the engine and threw it down by
the roadside and jumped on the engine.
T .S.l. 81
US, Mack smashed all the lanterns-so we
can't stop her. Our only chance is running
| away from her-so cram on the wood and
III open everything
Il knew, by observation, how to open
and how to shut off, but of course couldn' t
graduate the speed like a professional. l
opened everything, you may be sure, and
away we Jumped. 1t was curious chase.
| To be hunted by locomotive don't fall to
the lot of every one. Our engine was not so
powerful as the express engine, and our train
was quite long; so we crammed in the fuel
and depended upon the high pressure for
our salvation. OF course, | never thought
for momen; of stopping that side OF Pough-
keepsie; so we speeded past the stations, all
lighted and filled with wondering faces. ~
Just after passing the second the gong
on the engine Struck-some one had pulled
the safety rope. The freman's hand
went instintively TO the whistle to blow
brakes, but | caught it. 1t was the most
anxious minute of my life If l did not
mind the signal, and something.was wrong
and an accident should occur, | should al
ways be blamed, even if l didn't blame my
self But if 1 stopped, the express might
probably would-run right into US. The
pull didn' sound PROFESSIONALISM brake
mans. 1t probably was jerk at the rope
by passenger who had been carried by his
station-so I'd chance it.
''All this went through my mind like
| tightening, as you may imagine-one thinks
quickly on such occasions-and Icaught the
fireman's arm. He had never heard of such
thing as disobeying the gong, and stared.
[ was too excited to speak, but pointed to
the fire, and he put in more wood quietly
swell to make long story short, new
er blew brakes, till the engine was oppsite
the station. Then l shut off, blew one
whistle, and went sliding up the road. Just
as We stopped, the express, whose station
whistle | had heard just behind me, came
up to the depot, and stopped where the
trains usually do. If 1 had minded the
gong, or stopped in front of the depot, I'd
been smashed.
''You see there was no way to do but run
! for it. We hadn't red light for the rear
car; we hadn't lantern, nor couldn't get
one, to send back to signal the fagmen
were on a strike, and the express didn't stop
anywhere till it reached Poughkeepsie, and
she had got so close to US when the engineer
cut up as he did, that I couldn't stop at
the station and send man back. Before
he could have got far enough away they d
have been so close that they couldn't have
broke up in time. but would have come
into u.s.
Il didn't know whether I had killed
Mack or not, and took the owl train back,
and found him all right as regards death,
hut vary sick from the din Il piyaD him