Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1881-12-16

est one on the whole mountain The ed
of the stream was deep down, n full OF
ferns and grasses that Mary was alters
gatherin', and we could set there in the
hottest day n the sun could never find his
way through the trees overhead.
AS was tellin'. Charley was born to be
an engineer. BY the time he had got &c
be six years old he knew the name of nigh
all the parts of machine. He'd learned
all the signals that was used on the road
He knew that red flag or q red light
meant danger. That a lantern, at night
swung back ward n forward slowly across
the track would bring train up, all stand
in. All that sort o. thing he'd jest pick.
ed up hlsself. He knew the sound of ev-
ely W his lie and bell on the road, IN could
! tell what ingine they belonged to, and
believe he knew the tread of No 20 When-
ever she went by. nigat or day. No. 30
that WAS my ingine, run her about three
years, and there wasn't nothin' in Gods
world couldn't get out of her wen she
was in good humor. We sort o. under
stood one other. and she hardly ever went
back on me. Once in while she did, and
then she was perfect cuss.
Yes! he was seven that winter. Just
seven years old few days before Christ
mas. Mostly contrived to lay off that
day so as to be home with my LITTLE p ,rd
Some of the boys was alters ready N will
lin to take my run that day-thnm as
didn't have no wives or children. Thes d
come and say: Nov, Latham, there's
your little pard, he'll be wantin' of you
tomorrow, which is Christmas. So III
just take your run down. An this ERE
basket, why, the boys, you know, they ses,
we amt got DO chick or child, and we'll
nd this along to Latham S little Char
l5y.''
The first time they did that was took
back that way [ stood aud CAPPED a lookil'
around like natural fool, and conldn' It
say word And the things they used to-
send Charley was astonshim'; toys and so
on. Why. one Christmas they sent i'm a
real silver mug Oh! stranger, them days
was such times as I've never had since.
There wasn't No other children around for
Charley to play with, but me n his mother
was all he seemed to care for, in we'd car
ry on together all day just as if none Of us
was more Il seven years old.
Charley he'd little bed room by hisself,
where he slept, which had a window that
Looked down the track. l gave him "a rail-
road lantern, which he trimmed ard FLIED
hlsself after | showed him how, n when
it was my night down he'd light bis Ian
tern n put it in the window q. the head Of
his bed. / could see it a long way before
cot TO the house. n you don't know
stranger, w'at comfort it was when | was
a comic down 70 see that light and know
that my little boy was lynn there fast
asleep and dreamin' that the roar of the
TT in was the Footsteps of his old parl fly
ing st forty mile an hour.
1t was my run down Thanksgiving eye
was goin' to stop off in the mornin', ana
Bill Walker was to take my train goi.4
back. We started from Altoona late in
the evening and a good deal behind. 1T
had been y bad day. The weather had beeu
warm for s, ms, iue back, and it began tes
rain in the mnrnin', and had rained all
day. by night The wind chopped around
to the North n began to turn cold, chat
wen we started it was rainln' and sleeJn +,
with an outlook for heavy storm. a
darker night never saw, wen the con-
ductor pulled the bell ses to my fireman,
Crazy, this is goin' to be an ugly run.
My fireman was a crazy. harum scarufs
sort Of a boy, and 20 they had nick-namec
him Crazy Jake" But they soon drop
ped the Jake IN left him Crazy, and that s
the name he alters went by. So he ses to
me, boss! | guess you're right there. -
Crazy was one o. them boys that's often in
desperate ii hit places, but | never known
i'm afeard O. nothin'. I've never seen
IN TO show tie white feather. don't be-
lieve man or devil could scare I'm, but
! this night he seemed to be uneasy like.
Some inns there's sonnet ing makes you
think beforehand that something is goin
10 happen-a kind of-of-presentlmes't !?
Yes ! that's il. Presentlment. You cam
t Il exac ly how it S, Tut if there is speerits
in accidents or disas ers, seems like they
was tryin' soma Way to let folks Know in
time, and cou,dn't quit do it, Every
thing seemed to so wrong with us that
night. The passengers was all agroWlln
cos We hurried 'em up atsuppei; AND Wiit n
pulled cut my machine had the very old
boy in her No 20, as | was tellin' ye.
was one Of the surest engines on the road
but when she did get into her didns she
Was moe obstreper0us n a government
mule. Ingines is like these SEWN ma
cIines or planners, and them things. They
git out o. k!ter without no reason, and
yer can't tell waits the matter with 'em.
only they jest wont and that's all there is>
alb ut it. She wouldn't steam. she fretted
and snorted and foamst, and wouldn't do
her work no Ways at all. Me and Crazy
fused with her. and worked with her. AID
C axed aud cnssed h"r, but it wasn't no
use. We kept runnin' bel ind all tie time
instead of MAXIM up. u the conductor
swore like a pirate. He was engineer
hIsSrIf, aid he cafue out into the Cab and
for five or ten mile he fused and worked
and coaxed and cussed. | believe that IN
CINE Knew just as well that Satan was cut
bose hat night as if she'd been d real hu-
man. In ines is like w0uen-they can t
give no reason for 1t, but they just know
it is so.
Mebbe we'd made thirty mile or sich
matter. The rain and sleet and hail and
snow was cumin' down fearful. The wa
ter was pourin' down tie mountain aud
film the bitches and runnn7 much as you
saw it last night. The wind was BLOWN
d tornado, and come tearin' through the