Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-02-09
TEN MINUTES LATE.

his mother was dead. HIS father
was confirmed invalid of the rheu-
matte order, and George played the
dutiful son to him in way that
would astonish the young men of to-
day.
Somehow, nobody knew exactly
how, George had managed to pick
up good education, and he had
polished it off, so to speak, by a two
years. course at Commercial College,
which they tell me is a school where
they teach people something as is
practical, and not them Greek roots
and Latin folderols that is drilling
into young mems heads IN our uni
versities.
KirAe began on the Stony Hill
railroad when he was about twenty.
one or two years old. First he was
n brakeman. The railway business
Us general succession, and, general
" speaking, man has to work his
Nay up. 1t is not often that he gets
right up to the dignaty ola conduc-
tor at one step, with the chance to
pocket stray ten-cent scrps, and the
privilege of helping all the good
looking and well-dressed ladies off
the cars, and letting the homely ones
with babies and bandboxes in their
arms, stumble out as best they may.
\ George did his duty so well that
Ne was soon promoted to fireman,
md after he had learned the work
hgs of the machine, he was made
e,gineer and given an engine.
Vhis engine was one of the newest
am best on the line, and was called
theFlyaway, and George was nigh
ty poud of her, you may we'll be-
lieve
| tel you sir, your true engineer
-oneas Is out and out for the bus
Iness, and feels his responsibility,
takes as much pride in his engine as
the jockey does in his tavorite race
horse, and would sit up nights,
Or neglect his sweetheart, to keep
the brasses and tiligrees Of his ma
machine SOS you could see your
face in 'en.
There was another man wanted
Georges chance. There's generally
more than one after every paying
LOB.
Jack Halliday had been waiting
for some time to be engineer Of the
Flyaway, and when he lost it he was
mad enough to pull hair. lie 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 quarrelsome, disagreea-
bic fellow, with independence enough
to have set an emperor up in busi-
ness and still have had some lett.
When Jack realized that George
had got the inside track OF him, his
anger was at white heat. He. ours
ed Kirke, and cursed the company.
and old Whately, the SUI erintendent,
and things generally, until it seemed
to be pity that there was not some
thing else to curse, he was ill such
fine cursing order
There was more than one thing
which made Jack Halliday down OH
George Kirkc George had been
his rival in many respects, and par
ticnlarly where the tairer part of Gre
alton was concerned. George was
great tavorite with the girls, for he
was handsome, generous, and good
natured, and Jack was sarcastic, and
always on the contrary side, and the
girls avoided him, as they always
should such man.
We all expected that ill 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
sayingithat "barking dogs never bite"
which is true in the main.
And, as the time went on, until
two, three, four, months had passed
since Kirke's promotion. and moth
ing occurred, we forgot all about
our apprehensions of evil, and if we
thought of the matter at all, we con-
cluded we had wronged Halliday by
our suspicious.
1t was dark night in Novem-
Der, with considerable fog in the air,
and strong appearances OF rain.
| was at Golosha, the northern
terminus of our road, looking after
some repairs On a defective boiler.
and | was going down to New York
Oh the 1850 train-Kirke's train.
About seven there came atelegram
from old Whately, whose summer
residence was nearly midway be-
tween Golosha and New York, and
the old heather had not yet torsaken
it for the city. The telegraph ope-
rator came into the engine house
where Kirkc was at work-for he
was always at wo. k-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 1O:15. Shut on to
the siding at Derlng's Cut and wait.
WHATELY."
Klrke's watch hung on a nail be-
side the clock. 1t was fancy of
his always to hang it there when he
was off Il train, SO that he could
make no mistake in the time.
He glanced at the clock, and from
it to his watch. Both Indicated the
same hour--7:l5.
"7:l5," said Kirke, meditatingly,
"and we leave at $50, and the pay
train meets us at Dering'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 tiremen.
Jack Halliday was therc-he had
been strolling III and out of the room
for the past half hour, smoking CT
gar, and swearing at the bad wealth.
er. His train did not leave until
nearly midnight, SO he had plenty of
time to swear.
We all went to the door and took
a look at the weather, and unani-
mously voted it deuced bad, and then
we walked up and down the platform
and smoked our after supper cigars