The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1883-10-25

n ght, and they're going to start about
ten o clocf.. I'll have to senc o special,
but haven't an engineer that / ean
trust. Nov, it's your night or know,
but if yoc'l pull the thINttle for
them fellows. I'll make it all RICH; with
you"
"'well. says l, 'Tn 60. Of course;
but it's goin' to be bad night on the
mountains
That's so, Bob SAYS the Super.
but 1 know | can rely on you, and them
directors say they must go through.
anyhow
$50 went back to our little cottage
and told Nell rs how Id got to 60 She
took on very queer like and seemed dis
tresscd to have me away, though she
never acted like that before.
"'It's an awful night. Bob. saws she.
cant they send some one else? | don t
like to have you go
Nonsense, says |, the storm
won't hurt me, and I'll be back again
tomorrow. The Supcr's promised to
do the square thing, and it will come
out all right.
"She seemed n little rcaSS rcd, and |
got out my great coat and muller, and
"Wcll, Bob, SAYS my wife If YOU
must 90, why YOU must, but. she
added, thoughtfullv, and there was
'be careful of that Fankcnstcin.
| treStlc.'
Il scarcely heard what she said, but
bidding her goodbye was soon on my
way to the round-house. 1t was a wild
night and no mistake; seems to me |
have never seen it blow harder or snow
faster. Once or twice had To- turn my
back to the blast to keep from BLOWN
over. Well, was soon on board my
machine, and backing into the station,
hitched on to two cars which were to
make up the train. As ten O'Clock APP
preached the directors began to arrive,
pompous looking men, with plenty of
money and feeling all their Importance.
"Thcm fcllcrS, says to myself, feel
their steam pretty well. | don't sup
pose they'd look at an engineer
Dan Smith, my fireman, was on the
watch for the conductors signal, and
when the clock struck ten we got the
| swing of the lantern and off we started.
i've seen some pretty bad nights,
but that one was the worst | ever re-
member. The storm tonight is hard
enough, but it don't begin to blow as it
did then. Why, every now and then
we would get blast that would make
the whole machine tremblc, and rs the
country round Portland is pretty level,
we took the full force of the wind. As
we got further inland, it WASH 50 bad,
and by the time we were forty miles
out, it had turned to Il summers gale
and was pouring torrents.
:" And now comes the singular part
of the story. We had the right of
way. and our dispatcher was to keep
the whole up to Fabyan'S open for us,
my instructions being to stop only at
North Conway for water. So | gave
her the throttle, and we bowlcd along
mt GOOD rate of speed, making. per-
hapS, thirty or thirty-tive miles an
hour As we went whiStling through
Sebago Lake station l had "a kind of
feeling come over me that there was
| something wrong. | didn't notice it at
! first, but every now and then it would
come back to me that all was not as it
should be, yet | couldn't think of any
thing that wasn't right. | alters eX-
anime my machine before | start, give
her good oilin', look well to the bolts
and parallel rods, try the levers and
such, and so | knew when we left Port
land old 10 was in perfect wOrkin'
trim Yet the feelin' grew on me UNI
til it was a steady thing. | tried to
shake it off, but 'twan't no use. | felt
it in my bones that sompthin' was up.
Nov you gentlemen will laugh at
me for being fool, and don't blame
yer, for we was a-gOin' along all right,
everything from the watcr-gauge to the
cylinders was workin' in good time.
and knew that it was only my imagin-
alton, but, to tell the truth, began to
fell uneasy. | had been an engineer
for ten years, and had been through
some pretty tough scrapcs without
BLOWN for grapes, and the boys all
said as how had n good deal of pluck.
Now began to lose all confidence.
Bob. said to myself, this won't
do. You're gettin' nervous. and all for
nothin'. You've no business to be SUI
perstitiouS AZ your time of life. Brace
up
"Twan't no use, however. could
hCY' stood up in court and sworn that
there was kink somewhere. Well,
HltiHW me VIC WIS >llUlHS dN1IlH. anu
pretty soon reached North Conway,
where we was to give the machine a
drink. DAN says to my fire
man, there's somcthin' out of the
way with this machine, and | don't
know what it is
'''What makes you think SOP said
Dan.
II can't tell, l replied, she works
all right; but feel it in my bones.
- Guess your thinkin' Of your wife,
returned Dam with laugh.
''But while we were gcttn' in the
water took lantern and went round
the engine. Looked at every part of
her, raped the bars, knocked the
wheels, tried her at every point, and
couldn't find nothin'.
"And tried to think no more about
it, but the feeling was there all the