Litchfield enquirer., 1877-08-02
gTEn MINUTES LATE.

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 In ,52 there wasn't likelier fellow on the line than George Kirke. .4lss3 s
 He was the son of poor man, and his mother was dead. His father was con frmed invalid of the rheumatic order. and George played the dutiful son to him in a way that would astonish the young men of to-day.
 Somehow, nobody knew exactly how, Geore had managed to pick up a good education, and he had polished it of, so to speak, by 8 years course st conner scial college.
 Kirke began on the Stony Hill railroad when he was about twenty one or twenty two years old. First, he was brakeman This railway business IS regular success aion. and, generally speaking, a man has to work his way up. It isn't often that he works his way to the dignity of con- tuetor af one step, with the chance to fpeket ten cent scrips, and with the pfivl- lege of helping all the good-looklng and well dras-sa y-esaas la7ics out or L1le cars, -4hd let the homely ones, with babies and bandboxes in their arms stumble out the best they may.
 HGeorge 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 engineer and given an engine
 The engine was one of the ne west and best on the line, and was called the Flya- way. and George was mighty proud of her you may we'll believe.
 . l tell you. sir, your true engineer-one as is out and out for the business, and feels his ponsibility-takes as much pride in his engine as the jocky does in 8 favorite raee-hOrse, and would sit up nights, or neglect his sweetheat, to keep the brasses and filagres of his machine, SOS you could see your face in 'em.
 There was another man wanted Georges chance. There's generally more than one after every paying job. .
 Jack Halladay had been waiting some time to be engineer of the Flyaway, and when he lost it he was mad enough to pull hair. He was brakeman, likewise, and had been on lhe road two years longer than Kirke, and it would seem that the chance really belonged to him, yet he was a quarrelsome, disagreeable fellow, with independence enough to have set an em. 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 cursed the company, and old Whate- ly, the uperintendent, and things gener- ally. until it seemed pity there was not something else to curse, he was in such fine cnrsing 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 creation was concerned. George was great favorite with the girls, for he was handsome and generous. and good natured, and Jack was sarcastic, and always on the contrary side, and the girls avoided him as they always should such 8 man.
 We always expected that i'll would come to George from Jacks bad blood against him, and we warned him more than once, but he always laughed and reminded us of the old saw that barking dogs seldom bite, which is true in the main: And, as the time went on, until two, three,u four months had passed since Kirke's promotion, and nothing had oc- cured, we forgot all about our apprehen- sions of evil. and if we thought of the matter at all, we thought we had wrong ed Halliday by our suspicious.
 It was dark night in November, with considerable fog in the air, and strong ap- pearances.
 was at Golosha, the northern terminus of the road, looking after some repairs on 8 defective boiler, and was going down to New York on the 7:30 train-Kirke's train.
 About seven there came telegram from old Whately, whose summer residence was nearly midway between Golosha and New York; and the old heathen had not yet forsaken it for the city. The telegraph operator came into the house where Kirke was at work-for he was always at work-and read it to him. Kirke made note of it in his pocket-book.
 Pay train on the line. Will meet you just west of Leeds at 1915. Shunt on to the siding at Deering's Cut. and wait.
 .5s.t, WHATELY.
 Kirke's watch hung on 8 nail beside the clock. It was a fancy of his always to hang it there when he was off the train, so that he could make no mistake in the time. sr.
 He glanced at the clock and from it to his watch. Both indicated the same time -7.15.
 ''7.15," said Kirke meditatively, land We leave at 2 20. and the pay train meets us at Decring's Cut at 1915. Scant time to make the run in this thick weather, but it must be managed"
 And he turned away to give some brief orders to the fireman.
 Jack Halliday was there-he had been strolling in and out of the room for the past half hour, smoking a cigar and swear ing at the bad weather. His train did not leave till near midnight, so he had plenty of time to swear.
 We all went to the door and took look at the weather and unanimously voted it deuced bad, and then we walked up and down the platform and smoked our after supper cigars, and by the time we were through twas time for the train hands to be getting into their places. Both the clock in the engine room and Kirke's watch indicated 7.18.
 Kirke was putting his watch in his pocket as he said:
 Garth. are you going with me on the Flyaway?"
 '.No, thank ye," said I, ''I get enough of that sort of thing in my everyday life. I am going to do a little swell business and take passage in the palace car. Want to rest my back. Good night to you, and hold her in we'll round Rocky Bottom curve. The roads a little sha- ky"
 .Aye, aye, sir" responded Kirke, and be swung himself to his position on the 
 The bell rang-I scrambled to my con- partment in the Pullman and felt horribly put of place among the silks and broad cloths and smells of musk. But was in for .sirst.class." l" and made the best of it 70 sffectuaily that five minutes after Gib- son. who faneies he owns all creation be- has set silver coffin-plate on hls breast with Conductor" on it, had shouted ''All aboard!" was sound asleep. sa.#
 What occurred if other quarters to af- feet the fate of Kirke's train, learned af- terward.
 Old WhateIy, the superintendent of the road, as guess have already said. had 2 country residence at Leeds, on noun tain spur. which commands a view of the