The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1876-10-26
BEHIND TINE.

| DAAAAND AHAG lie
In '52 there wasn't a likelier fellow o.
the line than George Kirke. He wa
the son of a poor man, and his mothe
was dead. His father was a confrme,
invalid of the rheumatic order, an,
George played the dutiful son to him in
way that would astonish the young mel
of to-day.
Somehow, nobody knew exactly how
George managed to pick up a good edu
cation, and he had polished it off, 30 t,
speak, by a two years course at com
mercial college.
Kirke began on the Sandy Hill Rail
road when he was about twenty-one OF
two years old. First he was a brake
man. This railroad business is a regu
lar succession, and generally speaking
a man has to work his way up. 1t ain'i
often that he gets right up to the dig.
nifty of conductor at one step, with a
chance to pocket stray ten cent scrip
and the privilege of helping all the good.
looking and well.dressed ladies out oi
cars, and letting the homely ones, with
babies and bandboxes in their arms,
stumble out as best they may, while he
is engaged in talking to a man."
George did his duty so we'll that he
was soon promoted to fireman, and after
he had learned the workings of the ma
chine he was made an engineer and
given an engine.
The engine was one of the newest and
best on the line, and was called the Fly
away, and George was very proud of it,
you may we'll believe.
L tell you now, sir, your true engin-
eer, one as is out-and-out for the busi-
ness, and feels his responsibility, takes
as much pride in his engine as the
jockey does in his favorite race-horse, and
would sit up nights or neglect his sweet.
heart, to keep the brass and filagrees
OF his machine SOS you could see your
face in 'em.
There was another man that wanted
Georges chance. There's generally
more than one alter paying job.
Jack Halliday had been waiting for
some time to be engineer of the Fly
away, and when he lost it he was mad
enough to pull his hair. He was a
brakeman, likewise, and had been on the
road full two years longer than Kirke,
and it would seem that the chance
really belonged to him, but he was a quar-
relsOme, disagreeable fellow, with inde-
pendence enough to set an en-
peror up in business and still have some
left.
When Jack realized that George had
got the inside track of him, his anger
was at white heat. He cursed Kirke
and the company and old Whately the.
superintendent, and things generally, un-
til it seemed a pity that there was not
elss to curse, he was in such
fine cursing order.
There was more than one thing which
made Jack Halliday down on George
Kirke. George had been his rival in
many respects, and particularly where
the fairer part of creation is concerned.
George was a great favorite with the
girls, for he was handsome, generous and
yood-natured, and Jack was sarcastic,
and always on the contrary side, and the
girls avoided him, as they always should
such man.
Well, all expected that i'll would
,ome to George from Jacks bad blood
lgainst him, and we warned him m ore
han once, but he always laughed. and
eminded us of the old saying that
barking dogs never bite," which is true
n the main.
And, as the time went on until two,
hree, four months had passed stnce
zirke's promotion, and nothing had oc-
:urred, we forgot all about our appre-
tensions of evil, and II we thought of
he matter at all, we concluded we had
vronged Halliday by our suspicious.
1t was q dark night in November,
With considerable fog in the air, and
trong appearance of rain.
/ was at Golosha, the northern ter
minus of our road, looking after some
epairs on a defective boiler, and was
omipg down to New York on the 7.3O |
rain-Kirke's train.
About seven there came a telegram
rom old Whately, whose summer resi-
ence was nearly midway between Colo
ha and New York, and the old heather
ad not yet forsaken it for the city.
he telegraph-operator came into the
where Kirke was at work,
or he was always at work, and read IL to
i'm. Kirke made note of it in his |
"Pay train on the line, will meet you
ust west of Leeds, at 1915. Spurt |
n the siding at behring's cut, and |
yait. WHATEI,y.D
Kirke's watch hung on nail beside the |
he clock. 1t was fancy of his to |
lways hang it there when he was off the |
rain, 80 that he could make no mistake
n the time.
He glanced at the clock, and from it |
o his watch. Both indicated the same |
ime-7.16
"7.15," said Kirke, meditatingly, eve
cave at 7.50, and the pay train meets us
t behring's cut at 1915. Scant time TO |
rake the run in this thick weather, but
must bemanaged."
And he turned away to give some |
riders tn his fireman.
Jack Halliday was there he had been
trolling in and out of the room for the
ast half hour, smoking cigar, and
wearing at the weather. The train did
ot leave until near midnight, 40 he had
'lenty Of time TO swear.
We all went to the door and took n
box at the weather, and unanimously
oted IL deuced bad, and then we walked
- and down the platform, and smoked
ur after supper cigars, and by the time
70 were through 1t was time for the
rain hands to be getting into their
laces. Both the clock In the engine