Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-11-28
"It was Saturday when sh

w oo ~ tuhS y oPCSiui u SiAi ~
to y. The train was 10
carry W the President and sew
eral OF the other officers OF the
road to meet some officers of
another road which crossed ours
there, and arrange some impor-
tant business with them.
81 had no trouble at all il
making my forty miles an hour
going ont. The engine ham
died herself most beautifully.
We were just holding up at
y when Aldrich, the Treas
urer, who had come ont on the
platform to put the brake on
slipped and fell. As we were
yet under good headway, he
was very much injured, and was
carried off to the hotel insensi-
Bile.
"Acccrdingto the Presidents
directions l switched off my
train, turned my engine, and
stood ready to start back TO
c. at a moments notice.
"Aldrich's presence was Of SO
much Importance that the busi-
ness could not be transacted
without him.; SO all those | had
brought out, except the Presi-
dent and Aldrich, went back to
Con the three o'clock ex-
press train. This was the last
regular train which was to pass
over the road until the Eext
Monday.
"Early in the evening / left
the machine in charge Of my
fireman, and went over to an
eating-house to see if / could
not spend The time more pleas
antly than i'll my engine. The
y
hours dragged themselves away
slowly. l was playing a game
Of dom,noes with the station-a-
gent, when in came Roberts,
the President, in a state Of
great excitement.
Harry said he TO me 81
want you to put me, down in
c. at twelve o'clock lv
GAS it was nearly eleven o.
clock then, and the distance
was seventy-fiye miles,I thought
ne was Joking at first, bnt'when
he got outside the door, he
caught me by the arm, and hur-
ried me along SO fast that l saw
he was in earnest.
"Harry, said he, 'ifyou don't
set me downin c. BY twelve
O'Clock | am a ruined man, and
this road is-a ruined road. Al
drich is dead; but he told me,
before he died, that he had en-
bczzied, from time to time, five
hundred thousand Of our money;
and his clerk is to start with it
OH the twelve O'Clock boat from
c. for Canada. If we don't
havc that money on Monday
morning, to- make some. pay
ments with, the roads goes into
other hands; ard if yen put me
down into c. at the right
time, SO that / can save the
money you shall have $1,000,
Understand it, Harry? Five
thousand dollars |"
"Of course, / understood it.
/ saw now the reason why the
wages had been cut down; |
understood itiail, and my blood
boiled. / felt that ] would save
theroad il I lived and.told Rob
erts so. -. - =. =.
,.lsSee that yon do it, Harryi!'
he replied, as he climbed up on
the steps of the coach which
was coupled to my engine.
81 sprang up into the foot
board, got u2 the switch-tender
to help my fireman, opened the
throttle, and, just as she COM
menced moving, looked at my
watch-it was just eleven o.
clock, SO that I had one hour to
make seventy-five miles in.
From y to c. there
were few curves on the road,
but there were several heavy
grades. | was perfectly ac-
quainted with every rod of it;
sothat ! knew exactly what |
had to encounter; and when /
saw how the engine moved, /
felt very little fear for the result.
"The road for the first few
miles was an airline, and so
smooth that my engine flew a
long with scarcely a pcrcepti-