Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-12-08

that he had ordered me at al, or mauo
any threats, but said that he had told me
I had ten minutes to spare. So it was
question Of veracity, and I began to think
I would be sent back to run my train and
that running q train on that road would
not be my business very long.
All at once q gentleman who had been
sitting with newspaper held in front Of
his face, at the back Of the Office, came
forward.
Z s.Mr. President" said he, I happened to
be standing by these two men when they
had that talk. The conductor is right
and the other man lies. If the train had
gone on I had made up my mind to walk
back to the last station, the chance OF an
accident seemed 80 great.
Then the President was mad.
"Why, good heavens said he, "my
wife and family were on that train. Mr.
Superintendent, go and draw your wages
to the first of next month and leave the
road now.
But sometimes a conductor is put in
such position that the rules wont guide
him. The responsibility is very great.
remember once being so placed, and
thought at the time that my hair ought
to have turned white that night with
anxiety.
It was when the Hudson River Rail
road was Just built. There was no tele.
graph along the line then, and everything
was quite primitive compared to what il
is now. The fagmen were on sort Of 8
strike about those days too, so that you
trusted to luck for safe running. was
running sort of way train between
New York and Poughkeepsie. Then run
ming an express is much pleasanter than
running way you may easily imagine.
An express sometimes don't stop for an
hour at time, and after you have worked
your coaches once, you have nothing to
do but to sit down and earn your money
that easy way. Then, when you reach
the next station, if your brakemen mind
their business they can tell You how many
passengers have got into the coach, and
then you are always able to pick them out
because they haven't the settled air Of
old passengers. But way train conduc'
tor has much harder work.
"Well, / ran the train out of New
York one afternoon, and had for the
driver of the train, man who was ia.
nous for the accurate way in which he
would come up to his stations. He would
stop any named coach almost to foot OF
where he said he would, but on this oeca.
sion he seemed to have very poor luck
He ran past his stations and had to back
down and then again he would stop SO
short that the engine would be in front OF
the station and the rear coach an eight OF
a mile back. and it raining hard, too.
Then he'd start up again just as the pas.
sengers were getting out. So we kept
running behind time all the while. There
was a sort of lightning express came out
of New York about an hour after us, and
we were gradually working back into its
time.
ave got near Fishkill, and having
made an awful bad shot at the depot, L
said to the baggage master, Mack seems
to have bad luck at making his stations
to-day. Wonder what's the matter ?"
The baggage master turned around to
me quickly and said:
IF you want to know what | think, l
think Mack is drunk |"
at can't be-" says |, 81 never saw him
touch drop of liquor or smell of it in any
way"
"That's So" said the man. "But 1
think he's drunk to-day. He was in this
car a little while ago, and he picked up
Ill the brakemen's lanterns and slung them
IN a bundle at me. lodged and they
went back to the engine"
/ didn't like the idea of a drunken en-
gineer, but had to laugh at the fate of the
lantern. Ii l had known how was going
TO groan over their fate soon, should not
have laughed then.
"When I got above Fishkill, thought
I'd let those who got on at one of the lit
lie stations ride free to the next, while /
rode on the engine and investigated. 80
got on the Corning" and Mack looked
black enough, instead of civil as usual. l
oked him about his bad luck in making
and he growled out a curse. L
asked him if he knew how nearly he had
got back into the lightning express time,
and he said he knew his own business
The man was evidently drunk and surly.
happened to put my hand down under
he cushion of the seat and felt a bottle.
Pulling the cork out, / smelled whisky,
and quietly threw it overheard. But
Mack saw me and cursed me for destroy
ing his property. what did you throw
that bottle away fort wasn't your
rum ~ said he, at the end of an awfnl
swear.
"Pll tell you why" said 1 81 am con-
luctor of this train, and you are too
Trunk to do your business right, and you
would get worse and worse if you had a
bottle.
Then he grinned a savage sort of grin,
and quieted down into silent state, but
be 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 it," says he, and began to
slow up and we behind time already You
know. did not know exactly what to
love were getting dangerously near
The lightning express time--and while l
was debating he suddenly blew brakes
with fendish chuokle, and stopped at
station that trains never stopped at be-
ore. looked at my watch and deter
mined to send brakeman back with a
antern and stop the express. Just then
! thought struck me that made my hair
tand on end. There wasn't lantern on
he train-the drunken beast had smashed
hem. There wasn't soul at the station,
which was miles away from its village
he express didn't stop before it reached
so that couldn't leave
word to caution, and just then heard its
whistle mile or two back. The engineer
heard it too, and laughed a diabolical
augh.
That decided me. l caught up al
wrench and hit him back of the ear, and
le dropped like dead. / dragged his
'ody Il did not then know whether 1 was
corpse or not off the engine,
nd threw it down by the roadside and
umped on the engine.
Jimmy" said /, "the express is after
IS, Mack smashed all the laterns-so we
ant stop her. Our only chance is run
ling away from her-so cram in the wood
nd I'll open everything"
[ knew by observation how to open
nd how to shut of, but of course could
lot graduate the speed like professional.
"opened everything" you may be sure,
nd away we jumped. It was a curious
base. To be hunted by locomotive don't
all to the lot of every one. Our engine
vas not so powerful one as the express
nd our train was quite as long, SO we