The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-03-06

the engine, of course he would see anG
know nothing of her until we landed al
Harrisburgh st seven. I had intended
to 20 down in the smoking-car as usual
but another fancy, suggested I suppose
by the originator of all evil. seized me-
No need to laugh. Satan, I believe, has
quite as much to do with accidents and
misery and death, as with sin. Why
not? However, my fancy, diabolical OF
not, was to 90 down on the engine with
Blakeley. HUNTED up the fireman and
talked to him for an hour. Then I went
to the engineer.
"Blakeley,' I said, Jones Che fire.
man) wants tonight off,
"Of! o, no doubt He's taking
to drink, Jones. lie must have been
drinking when he talked of tnat. Its
impossible
Il explained to Blakeley that Jones
had sick wife. or sweetheart or some
thing, and finally owned that I had an un.
conquerable desire to run down the road
on tie engine, and that knowing my
only chance was to take the fireman s
place, had bribed him to give it to me.
The fact was that in my idleness and
the overworked state of my brain
craved excitement as confirmed drunk
ard does liquor.
Blakeley, I saw, was angry and ez-
ceedingly annoyed. BE refused at first,
but finally gave way with grave civili-
ty, which almost made me ashamed of
my boyish whim. I promised to be the
prince of fremen.
"'Then you'll have to he treated as
one, Mr.. Santley,' said Blakeley, curtly.
Il can't talk to gentlemen aboard my
engine. It's different here from on the
platform, you'll remember. I've got to
order and you to obey, in there. anu
that's all there's of it.
"Oh, understand, said I, thinking
that it required little moral effort to
obey in the matter of shoveling coal. If
could have guessed what that shovel
ing coal was to cost me But all day I
went about thinking of the fiery ride
through the hills, mounted literally on
the iron horse.
cit was in the middle of the afternoon
when the train rushed into the station.
caught glimpse of Jane on the pas
senger car, with Charley, magnificent in
his rel green plaid, beside her. She
nodded dozen times and laughed, and
then hid behind the window, fearing her
husband should see her. Poor girl! It
was the second great holiday of her life,
she had told me, the first being her
wedding day.
"The train stopped ten minutes. 1t
was neither an express nor an accommo-
dation train, but one which stopped at
the principal stations on the route-Sel.
insgrove, Sunbury, etc.
"I had an old patched suit on, fit, as
I supposed, for the service of coal
HEAVIER; but Blakeley, when I came up,
ey ed it and my hands sardonically. He
was in no better temper, evidently, with
amateur fremen than he had been in the
morning.
..'All aboard ! he said, gruff1v. You
take your place there, Mr.. Santley.
You'll pnt in coal just as call for it, if
you please, and not trust to your own
Judgment.
"His tone annoyed me. 1T cannot
require much judgment to keep up fire
under boiling pot, and not make it too
hot. Any woman can do that in her own
kitchen
"He made no reply, but took his
place on the little square box where the
greater part of his life was passed. I
noticed that his face was flushed, and his
irritation at my foolish whim was GER
tainly more than the occasion required.
I watched him with keen curiosity, won
dering if it were possible that he could
have been drinking as he had accused
poor Jones of doing"
"It strikes meas odd," interrupted
Ferrers, "that you should not only
made an intimate companion of this fell
low, Sautlev, but taken 80 keen an in
terest in his temper and drinking bouts.
You would not be likely to honor any OF
us with such attention"
"No. I have something else to do.
I was absolutely idle then. Blakeley
and his family for the time made up my
world. As for the friendship, this was
an exceptional man, both as to integrity
and massive hard sense. The knowl-
edge that comes from books counts with
me but for little, compared with the ex-
perience and contact with facts for forty
years. I was honored by the friendship
of this grimy engineer. But the ques-
ton of his sobriety that day was serious
one. A man in charge of train with
hundreds of souls aboa d, felt ought
to be sober, particularly when I was
shut up in the engine with him.
Just as we started slip of paper
was handed to him, which he read and
threw down.
"Do you run this train by telegraph ?
I asked, beginning to shovel vigorously.
"'Yes. No more coal
"' Isn't that unusual?'
"'Yes. There are two special trains
on the road this afternoon
Is it difficult to run train by tele.
graph?' 1 said presently, simply to
make conversation. Star ng in silence
at the narrow slit in the gloomy furnace
or out at the village street, through
which we slowly passed, was monotonous.
"No, not difficult. simply have
to obey the instructions which receive
at each station
"' But if you should happen to think
the instructions not right?
"' Happen to think! I've no business
to think at all When the trains run
by telegraph the engineers are so many
machines in the hands of one controller
who directs them all from central point
He has the whole road under his eye,
If they don't obey to the least title thei,
orders, it is destruction to the whole.
"sYou seem to think silent obedience
the first and last merit in a railway
man.?
eyes, dryly.
81 took the hint and WAS dumb.
"We are out of town now. Blakeley
qpickened the speed of the engine.
did not speak 10 him again. There wal
little for me to do, and I was occupied
in looking out at the flying landscape
The fields were covered with deep fal
of snow, and glanced whitley by. with s
strange, unreal simmer. The air wal
keen and cutting. Still the ride wal
tame. Twas disappointed. The excite
meat would by no means equal a daal
on a spirited horse. I began to think
had little to pay for my grimy hand
and face, when we slowed at the mex
station. One or two passengers cam'
aboard the train. There was the inevi
table old lady with bundles, alighting
and the usual squabble about her trunk