The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1878-08-18
AN ENGINEERS STORY.

Let me put my name down tirst-I can't
stay long"
1t was red ribbon meeting, and the man
was locomotive engineer, bronzed and
strong and having eyes full Of deep deter
mination. He signed his name in bold,
plain hand, tied red ribbon in his button
hole, and as he left the hall he said:
AS the Lord looks down upon me, III
never touch liquor"
Have you been hard drinkcr:' queried
the man who walked beside the engineer.
mo. Fact is, was never drunk in my
life. have swallowed considerable whisky,
but | never went far enough to get drunk
| shouldn't miss it, or be the worse off for an
hour if al! the intoxicating drink in the
world was drained into the ocean"
But you seemed eager to sign the
pledge"
$50 | was, and I'll keep it through thick
and thin, and talk temperance to every man
on the road
You must have strong reasons"
We'll, ifyou'll walk down to the depot
I'll tell you story on the way. 1t hasn't
been in the papers, and only few Of US
know the facts. You know run the night
express on the c. Il a. road. We always
| have at least two slcepers and a coach, and
sometimes We have as many as two hundred
passengers. It's good road, level as floor
and pretty straight, thoIgh there was a bad
spot or TWO. The night express has the
right Of way, and we make fast time. IL no
rare thing for us to skim along at the rate
Of fifty miles an hour for thirty or forty
miles, and We rarely 90 below thirty. One
night | pulled out OF C. with two slccpcrs.
two coachc, and the baggage and mail cars.
Nearly all the berhs in both slccpcrs were
iu!l, and most of the seats in the coaches
were occupied. 1t was dark night, threat.
cning all the time to RAIN and lonesome
wind whistled around the cab as we left the
city behind. We were seven minutes late
and that meant fast time all the way
through
We'll" he continued, after a moment.
everything ran along all right up to mid
night. The main track was kept clear for
us; the engine was in good spirits, and we
ran into }. as smooth is you please The
express coming north should meet Us fifteen
miles south of b., but the operator had
failed 10 receive his usual report from below.
That was strange. and yet it was not, and
after little consultation the conductor sent
me ahead. We were to keep the main track
while the other was to run in on the side
track. Night after night our time had been
so close that We did not keep them waiting
over two minutes, and We're generally in
sight when they switched in
when we left B, we went ahead at rat.
Ting speed, fully believing that the other
train wonld I've on time. Nine miles from
B. is the village of NJ. There is a telegraph
station there, but the operator has no night
work He closed his office and went home
at nine o'clock, and any messages tor him
were held above or below until the next
morning Whcn sighted this station saw
! "a rul 1,, Lac. ii
Greatly astonishcd, ! pulled up the heavy
train and got a bit Of news that lifted me
out of my boots. 1t was the operator who
was swinging the lantern. He had been
aroused from sleep 10y the whistles of u loco.
motive, when there wasn't one within ten
miles of him. lie heard the foot toot foot !.
while he was dressing and all the way as he
ran to the station thinking he had been sig.
nailed. Everything was as quiet rs the
grave. The man heard his instrument click.
ing away, and leaning his eur agains, the
window, he caught the words as they went
through to b;
FOR Gods sake switch the down express
of quick. Engineer on the north express
crazy drunk, and running mile a minute"
"The operator signaled US at once. We
had left b. nine miles away, and the mes
scnger couldn't have caught US anywhere
except at NJ. Six miles further down was
the long switch II was time we were there
|
lacking one minute VIZ lost t,,o or ihr,p