The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-09-06
An ENGLNEER'S sToRY.

as the accident had happened at our end of
the line, some 70.miles from Pennington,
he had been taken at once to the hospital.
! knew Tom quite well, for, as / was in the
pay department. when travelled occasion
ally Oh his section of the road it was most.
ly on Toms engine. Tom was matter-of-
f>fact man, temperate, well educated for his
station in life, and not given to whimE
1t was touch and go with Tom, but at
last, thanks to good nursing, he seemed to
| be coming slowly around. Though be
| might be crippled, still there were hopes
that he would not lose his place. If, at the
worst, he couldn't run his engine, he might
| find a berth in the cOmpany's repair shops,
| for he was a good all round mechanic.
| Tom was able to sit up, when / last saw
| him. For the first time he seemed chatty.
| His mind would. however, revert to the az
| cidcnt, in which some eight people had
/ been killed outright, and some twenty-five
wounded. y careful investigation had
! followed the accident, and as it was clear
! ly proven that it was no fault of Toms, I
| didn't see why he should mOpesp and seem
! to have trouble on his conscience. Bun
! ker" said Tom to me- ''it's in my mind,
aud it will take years before that accident
! will be cleaned off of my brain. Tiff /
had only followed my inclinatiOns, l never
1 should have run 50. Eight killed and %
wounded | never thought of that before
that makes SO ~ Nonsense, TOm,'' /
said "what has 33 to do with it ?'' mo,
| it amt nonsense. / felt she was growing
| vicious. She was but IS months old, and
! had been running rather ugly, when six
months ago she got to be as cruel as
! siger. She showed it to me, | ought to
have known it"
s'Come. old man." replied gently, in>
! terrupting him. ''It's the stimulants that
you have been taking, by the doctors
| orders, and your nerves are unstrung.
Take some of this calming medicine the
| doctor has left for you, and stop talking"
81 amt bit nervous, but am as. cool as
/ a cucumber, and my head is as clear as a
! bell. ] amt bit shaky. Now just you
/ listen. Thirty three was built in a cum
pany's shop, and had hand in her con-
| stTuction. Just the day before. we put
| steam in her there came an old fellow in
! to the shop who claimed that we we're in
| frinping on an injector or feeder, or some
I thing of his invention. IL wasn't any OF
| our business in the shop, So though we
were civil, he didn't get much redress.
| He was cussing US for thieves, and all
that kind of thing, for stealing his patent,
| when the boss of the shop walked up, and
! hearing the chinning, ordered the old man
4 out 1t was Bob Harrington shat hustled
| the old fellow out, under the boss orders,
/ of course. Just as the old fellow got to
! the door, and Bob was bouncing him, he
! turned round aud wished that every one of
us around that engine might meet our
death. We thought him crazy. Well, 30
was put on the road, and Bill Given lac ran
/ her. She commenced right off killing
| stock. 1t was a cow or a horse that was
smashed most every week. 1t was alleged
! that Bill was to blame, and he was dis
/ charged Then Bill took to drinking, and
went to the bad. Bub Harrington then
/ got sick of shop work, and took his old
place of engineer. Just then he married
| Sue Morris l was at tue wedding, seeing
! that Sue is a second cousin of my Jenny.
Now, Bub had gone through the war, and
wasn't skeery. This spTing-it was IN
| May met Bub at Hopping junction.
| Denny Keef was his helper, and 33 had
| hot Journal or something was out of keller,
and Denny Keef was a cooling and oiling
! her. | was running 9S, and was on the
/ siding waiting for The through freigh. to
pass. SAYS Bnb TO me, Tom, l Amt go
| ing to run 33 no more 'WhyY says L.
cause she's showing temper says he.
| SHoT p says /, laughingly; and romcmber
| l borrowed some caveudish from him.
"sTcm,' saws he, 'engincs is like humans
| For week past 50 has been showing spite.
"'Mebbe she wants overhaulmg says /.
"'Nlry bit, says Bub. She IS just
| out of the shop, she makes steam kihd ol
| reckless, and wants watching. l have TO
| keen nv eyes ON the steam gauge all the
time. Sometimes, out Of pure cussedneSs,
she won't burn her Goals. and all oi sud
0en Won would think she wanted to melt
on. her grate-b bars. She is always gcts
! ting something jammed or sprung, and
/ heating ON her bearings, no matter how
you keep 'em led. She Is beginning 10
! throw sparks aud bnrping up things. Three
| days ago she set hfe TO an awning III sHoP
a full mile from her.
a4yool your head, Bub,' says I, 'at The
next water tank just then the freight
| train passed along, and l started my ola
I engine, and we went numbering along
! How it happened l dom know, but the
face of the old man i'm the shop who had
/ cursed MS appeared before me, That very
/ night SO killed poor Bub HarringtouF'
| Nonsense, man = l exclaimed.
| "sNo; it is no nonsense. As Buo was
| crossing Sane's bridge, over Soldier 5
| Creek. he put his head out OF the cab WIN
| dow. Some of the hands had been work
ing on tie bridge, and had left a bit OF
| scafFold, a piece of by square stun,
] hanging over truss. His head struck
! ,,inn1h AGAINST IL he tumbled ont of tho
cab n dead man, and the tender cut him IN
tUo That very next week 33 Was showed
ON me. told Jenny l didn't want her,
and Jenny she laughed at me. was
,nicbtV careful of her. First thing she did,
that was Monday, two weeks ago, WAS TO
/ plav hob with a wedding party. 1beTe
was three carriages in fite, and they were
crossing the bridge at Stapleton, most 30
feet above the track. | stopped the ex-
baust to kill her snorting, and was sliding
down grade, making no uoise worth men
tioning, when The horses IN the first car
riage got frightened and turned round, and
last l see of 'em they was galloping down
the hill.'
"'Stop, Tom, how do you know they
were people going TO a Wedding M
qaired skeptically.
"sDidn't 1 read abou. it next daytin thu
Stao,eton paper? / was kind Of thankful
that IL was no worse. Tho man cnly haC
his collar-bone broken aud couple of rib
smashed, and the marriage had to be post
poned. Next night she killed her hrs
, man. Yen know Mather Hollisr ?
".Yes, a f-witted lad
So they said he was, but he was a hu
man being all the same Never was know
to have done such a thing befure-and
r poor fellow. he never viii do = again.
was pitch dark, D raining, storniug al