Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-10-04

A Thrilling Episode Ia the Career OF a
Gniua Pacific CondUctOr.

From IN Laramie Boomerang
Yes" sad the conductor biting off the tip OF
a cigar and slowly scratching a match on his
leg I've seen good deal of railroad lite that s
interesting and exciting in the twenty years that
I've Oeeu twisting brakes and slammln@ doors
for living.
I've seen all kinds of sorrow and al, kinds of
jCy-seen the happy bridal couple starting out
on their wedding tour with the bright and hope
fui future before Them and the black-robed
mourner on her way to new-made grave
wherein she must bury the idol of her lonely old
heart.
Wealth and pinching poverty ride on the
same train. and the merry laugh of the JOYOUS
Child Is mingled with the despairing sigh of the
aged The great antiPOdes of life are familiar
to the conductor, for every day the extremes of
the world are meeting beneath his eye.
'I've mutilated the ticket of many black
leg and handled the passes of all our most emf
nent deadheads. j don't know what walk i'm
life is crowded with more thrilling incidents
than mine"
Ever have any smash-ups?"
''SIna>i-ups? Oh. yes. several. None, how
ever t,iat might not have been worse
There Is one incident In nv railroad life''
continued the conductor, running his tongue
carefully over a broken place in the wrapper
OF his cigar. THAT | never spoke of before to
any one 1t has caused Inc more misery and
wretehednessthan any one thing that ever hap
pened TO NE in my official career.
Sometimes even now. after the lapse of
many years. awake in the night with the cold
drops of agony standing on my face and the
horrible nightmare upon me with its terrible
surroundings. as plain as on the memorable
night il occurred.
Il was running extra on the Union Pacific for
conductor who was an old friend of mine and
who had gone south on vacation.
AT about as near as | can remember we
We're sailing along all comfortable one evening
with straight stretch of track ahead for ten or
feeling tiptOp. as overland travellers do who are
acquainted with each other and feel cOngenial.
All at once the train suddenly slowed down, ran
IN an old siding and stopped.
''Of course L got out and ran ahead of the en-
Gine to STE what the matter was. Old Antifat.
tile engineer. had gone down. and was on the
main track looking ahead to where twinklinr
along about six or seven miles down the road
apparently was the headlight of an approaching
train Ii was evidently wild for nothing was
due that We knew of at that hour.
However. We had been almost miraculOusly
saved FROM frehtful wreck by the engineers
watchfulness. and everybody went forward and
shook cid Antfat by the hand and cried and
thanked him till il was the most affecting scene
for awhile that | ever witnessed. 1t was as
though we had stopped at the very verge Of a
bottomless chasm, and everybody was crying at
once. TIL it was a kind of cross between O
Revival aud picnic.
After We had waited about half an hour I
Should say. for the blasted train to come up and
pass Us. anu. apparently. she was no nearer. q
Cold. cianmy suspicion began to bore itself into
the adamantine shell of my intellect. The more
! thought oil IT the more unhappy felt, almost
WISHED That was dead Cold streaks ran I'D
MY back, followed By hot ones WANTED to 90
home wanted To be where the hungry. prynp
eyes OF the great, throbbing work-day world
could not see me-
called Antifat to one side and said some
thing to him He swore softly to himself and
X cked the ground. and looked at the headlight
- III gilininerinG Iii the distance. Then he got on
his engine. and yelled. All aboardr In a few
moments We were moving again, and the gen
e-al impression was that the train ahead was
sitie-tracked and waiting for u.s. although there
wasn't side track within twenty miles except
tie enc We had Just left.
IL was never exactly clear TO the passengers
where We passed that wild train. but didn't
eEfiaiG u To them. / was too much enQrossed
with ny surgiHg thoughts.
never !elt my own inferiority so much as
d'd that night. | never so fully realized what a
hers si'eck man is upon the bosom of the uni
verse.
hen surveyed the starry vault of heaven
e:'d considered It's l!imitable space where. be-
!"hi aad stretching on and on forever count
les suns are placed as centers around which
s.iaf sVSt"ihs are revolving in their regular or
TUE taei htlie world peopled. perhaps. with it's
tee:GI'E millions OF struggling humanity and
thea ;iieT &Gd mIghticr systems of worlds re-
yoivinG about these systems till the mind il
eazed ;nt! giddy with the mighty thought and
fnen when Compared all this universal mac
n.iiceIce, this brilliant aggregation of worlds
and systems of worlds. with one poor. proyeI
IL worm OF the dust, only little insignificant
e;om. only poor. weak, errne worthless
failible. blind. cropping railroad conductor. with
M train peacefully side-tracked in the gather
in- gloom and patiently waiting for the planet
Venus to pass on the main track. there was
something about the whole somber picture
that has overshadowcd my whole life and
matie me unhappy and wretched while others
We're gay.
Sometimes AntIfat and myself meet at some
liquid restaurant and silently take something in
memory OF our great sorrow, but never mention
II. We never tear open the old ranking wound
or laugh over the night we politely gave the
main track TO Venus while We stood patiently
m thsc 81.