The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1877-04-20
Stop Her. PsrdI Stop 60.


ed me, into Pueblo By night sfhere
had been hesv, rain Parts ofthp
track were submerged. Tne.dsrk-
ness and the rush Of waters creeted
among the passengers considerab'
anxiety. spent most of The nigh
in the cab. The engineer was to"
much absorbed In HE duty TO talk
He answered my questions with
civility, but with breyity. l did
not observe II at he time, but after
wards 1 recalled distinctly the sud
den start he gave, aud the look of
intense interest he turned upon me,
when / made come observations
which indicated that my house was
In the vicIaity of Pittsburg. The
next day be accepted my invitation
to dine. We were alone at my
room. I had been recalling the
scenes of the past night when, TAX
ing his pipe from his lips, he began {:
THE ENGINEER's STORY.
"Mayhsp, stranger, you hev run
over the Pennsylvania Central rail-
road. AS you may say. was born
aud brought up en- that line, first as
fireman and then engineer nigh on
twenty years. It's alters excitin, to
run q machine, and when Twas a
freeman / used to think 1t was bet
ter to be top Of one of them splen-
did engines than to be President of
the United States. The day they
first put me on the footDoard aud /
took the lever in my hand and
knew 1t was my engine, recon /
was the proudest man between
Pittsburg and Altoona. kinder
thought that every body was goin'
TO be out that day, to see how that
train made her run, and you can
bet all yer specie that she went
smack TO the mint, the whole LII
miles. But that kind of spirit wore
off after awhile, n / settled down
into sober, stiddy-goin' man; n
they did say that / wor as safe n re-
liable q man as they he'd In the bu-
siness. hev to say it, stranger,
as there's nobody else to do 1t else
wise you wouldn't know it.
was turned % wen me and Ma
ry was married. Twenty-eight
years agoi You hev wife, stran-
ger2 Hewitt got no wifel Well
Mayhaps it's just as well! he'd
Mary some eight years, but il don't
seem like no time now. left her
there in the. old Keystone State,
her an the boy. Sometimes think
I'd like to go back agin, and see
the place where they both lie, but l
suppose 1 never shall. Don't seem
as If he'd the heart to do it. 1t
wasn't In any churchyard, you
know; but q little way up the
mountain there was green, quiet
spot among the trees, and they are
there not morn q hundred feet, say,
above, the track, and l often won
der IL Charley doesn't still dream,
VIXEN the New York Express thun-
ders by, that his old father Is hold
ing the throttle.
/ put mp a snug cabin by the side
of the road wher' / he'd a small
ciearin' and between whites I used
to plant my potatoes and things,
enough to keep US going, and Mary
had her garden. Mary alters took
TO flowers, as i used to tell her, joK-
in like, COS she was one of the fam
lily. Then we had a COW, aud Mary
raised chickens, and l never see no
person could do as much with
chickens as Mary could. Jest SEEM
ed like those hens were always
strainin' of theirselves layin' eggs.
You never see nothin' pay stricter
attention to business than what they
did. Never standin' about aud fool
in around, but alters at it. An
then they'd set and hatch incredible.
Mostly two broods year, and
brought 'em all up.
Mary raised the COW. One of the
neighbors Civ IL to her when it was
Il calf, and she made much of 1T. ]
used to tie 1t to stake near the
cabin when it was little thing, for
1t to eat grass. Mary didn't know
much about things then, she was
young like, and one day she thought
shed put the calf in the stable. ]
told her she'd better not try it,
she was just a slight girl. Now q
calf, yeu know, Is the most decevin
animal in the world. Ii don't look
az If it he'd any strength, aud YET
TN upset full-grown man. SO
Mary unties the rope and starts for
the shed, and the calf kicked up his
heels and away he went. Mary
held on to the rope and away she
went,-thrown down, rolled over,-
aud there was q confusion of call
and calico all over the place. There
wasn't no bones broken, but Mary
was the most amazed girl you ever
saw. That calf grew up to be a
KNOWN COW. She used TO run out
on the. track just on purpose ts
Brighten people. She'd stay till the
train was close up, but never got
hit. The men all soon got to know
her. But whenever new engineer
came along and saw her he'd whis'
tie brakes and raise q rumpus, Otter
bringing the train to q dead stop
But she'd walk off just at the rlgh
time and seemed to understand the
joke. ~ ,
Our little cabin was among thu
mountains, q good ways from any
other house, and used TO some
times think that Mary must be lone.
ly, with me away so much of the
time. You see, was alters out
+hree nights in the week. went
up In the day time, passing my
house at noon, and down az ain al
might, passing at. midnight. But
was home two or three days IN the
week and alters on Sunday. The
place where we lived was a wild
region Of country, and the storms
we used to have up there, so high ia
the air, was fearful.
l didn't tell you anything about
the boy? MOI Well, do you know
took 10 him the very fret 70 D
Inent. An that's very curious
thing about babies. Now 1 never
fancied 'em much, but tell you,
stranger, 1t makes all the difference
in the world whether it's your baby
or whether It belongs to somebody
else. I've seen q great many of 'em
in my time, aud according to their
parents, they was the most uncom-
mou babies but 1 never could see
much of IL. fused to laugh good
deal when people made such fools
of themselves over their children,
but know exactly how il Is now,
for 1 suppose 1 was the greatesl
fool over my Charley as ever lived.
Mary named him Charley. Thai
was after me. Seems to me that
boy took to q locomotive from the
time he was six months old Hi.
mother W0uld set Ouf In -frnnt ri