American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1869-09-18

has had bad luck at making his sta
tons to-day. Wonder what's the
matter?'
'The baggage master turned
around on me quickly and said
eff you want to know what I
think, think Mack is drunk!' =
1t cent be- said |, l never saw
him touch a drop of liquor or smell
of it in any way
"That's so,' said the man, Ebut l
think he's drunk to-day. lie was in
the car here a little while ago, and
picked up all the brakemen's Ian
terms and slung them in bunch at
me. | lodged and they went out of
the car door and mashed. Then he
chuckled and went back to the en-
gine.'
Il didn't like the idea of a drunken
engineer, but had to laugh at the
fate of the lanterns. If l had known
how l was going to groan over their
fate soon, l wouldn't have laughed
then.
When I got above Fishkill, l
thought I'd let those who got on at
one of the little stations ride free to
the next station, while | rode on the
engine and investigated.
SO l got on the Corning and
Mack looked black enough instead
of as civil as usual. l joked him
about his bad luck in making his
stations, and he growled out curse.
| asked him if he knew how nearly
he had got into the lightning express
time. The man was evidently drunk
and surly. l happened to put my
hand down under the cushion of the
sea, and felt Il bottle. Pulling the
cork out smelt whiskey, and quiet
ly threw it overheard. But Mack
saw me and cursed me for destroy
ing the property.
:" What did you throw that bottle
away for ?-it wasn't your rum )" he
said at the end of an awful swear.
"'l'll tell You Why" said |, / am
conductor on this train, and you are
too drunk to do your business right,
and you'd get worse and worse if you
! lldtl al DUtllc
Then he grirned savage sort of
grin, and quieted down into Il silent
state, but he looked dangerous about
the eyes.
G." You're conductor of this train,
are you? I'll show you how much
YOU have to do with running it,
says he, and began to "show up"
and we behind time ALREADY, you
know. | didn't know exactly what
to dove were getting dangerously
near the lightning express time, and
while | was debating, he suddenly
blew brakes, with fiendish chuckle,
and stopped at a station that the
train never stopped at before.
looked at my watch, and determined
to send brakesman with lantern
to stop the express. just then a
thought struck me that made my
hair stand up on end. There wasn't
a lantern on the train-the drunken
beast had smashed them all-there
was MT soul at the station, which
was miles away from it's village; the
express did MT stop before it reached
Poughkeepsie, so that | could nj
leave word to caution it; and just
then | heard its whistle, mile OF
two back. The engineer heard it
too, and laughed a diabolieal laugh
That decided me. | caught up {
wrench and struck him back of th'
ear, and he fell like dead. | dragged
his body Il didn't know then whethe
| was handling corpse or not) OF
, the engine, threw it down by tn
, road side, and jumped on the engine
! 80 Jimmy" said I, " the express i
after us; Mack smashed all the Ian
tern-so we can't stop her. Our onl,
! chance is running away from her
SO cram in the wood, and I'll opel
, everything.'
Il knew, by observation, how t
open and how to shut off, but o
course couldn't graduate the speed
! ! like professional. l opened every
1 thing, you may be sure, and ava
we jumped. 1t was curious chase
To be hunted by a locomotive, don
), fall to the lot of every one. Our eli
= gine was not so powerful one a
I the express engine, and our trai
D. was quite long; SO we crammed i
the fuel, and depended upon hig
). pressure for our salvation. OF cours
u | never thought for moment {
stopping that side of Poughkeepsie
so we speeded past the stations, a
!, lighted, and filled with wonderin
It faces.
d Just after passing the second, I'll
t gong of the engine struck-some OH
had pulled the safety rope. The fir,
it mans hand went instinctively to til
IS whistle, to "blow brakes" but
l. caught it. 1t was the most anxior
II moment of my life. If l did III
1t mind the signal, and something WI
o wrong, and an accident should o
h cur, | should always be blame,
even if didn't blame myself Blu
II if l stopped, the express nigh
Is probably would, run right into II
d The pull did not sound professiona
A. like brakeman's. 1t probably W;
g jerk at the rope by a passenge
1t who lad been carried by his static
d so I'd chance it.
n 'All this went through my mil
N like lightning, as you may imaa il
II. one thinks quickly on such occ
S sions-and l caught the fireman
NJ arm. He had never heard of such
thing as disobeying the gong, al
w started. l was too excited to spea
or but pointed to the fire, and he p,
10 in more wood quietly.
III we !, to make long story short,
a never blew brakes, till the engil
ID was opposite the station. Then
id shut off, blew one whistle, and we
ne sliding up the road. Just as '
k. stopped, the express, whose state
to whistle | had heard Just behind N
Id came up to the depot, and stopp
Id where the trains usually do. If
he had minded the gong, or stopped
k, front of the depot, we'd been smas
ID ed.
rs You see, there was no way to