Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-07-16
4 Phantom Engineer.

| IuHhtOM Engineer.
It's only a ghost story. Jim Pace
told it one dark night to a crowd that
gathered in the roundbouse. Jims
a veteran of the rail. He was seventy
two last week, and has pulled throt-
tie as many times as any living man.
| How he used to make old Six walk,
is the common expression whenever
1 Jim'S name is mentioned in q crowd.
/ lie loved the engine better than any
I thing in The world, and it nearly
broke his honest heart to give her uD
/ j lm never had an accident, but that
wasn't his 'fault,n he always said.
! 1t wasn't me that missed em. Ii war
( old Six She wouldn't ever go into
/ the back end Of train o the blacklist
night an all lights out. You couldn't
drive her. Couldn't get 'er nigh Ter
broken bridge or trestle or washout.n
jim never got any further with his
explanation uatil that night at the
roundhouse, when some of the boys
begged him TO tell them why old Six
wouldn't get into trouble,
''As I've quit the track, boys he
began, 81 don't min tellin' yer Jest
why. Reckon v all know ] took to
firm with Dave Griffin, an all /
know about CT engine ] learnt from
him. He was like er father to nae, an
when he died | lost she best frien'
lone boy ever had, Lost, did | say
No, not lost but"
lie looked out into The night and
the little audience waited for hirn TO
finish the sentence. But he went on
anew.
Il worked mighty hard an faithful
but / wuz'n ole mau when they gim-
me the best engine on the road.
Il You've all heard Of the ole Six2 She's
scrap iron ten years ago. had run
along for err good many years 'thout
err accident of any sort, an-ye all
know how 'tis--had got sorter care
less, like. knowed every rail
and crosstie in the road, to say
nothiR' of bridges an trestles an cul-
vorts, an could shet my eyes an tell
where | wUz by the way old Six car
ried herself. Well, one night-it was
the darkest night | ever saw; the
moon an stars seemed as if they'd
gone out for good, an the black, thick
clouds set so close to the earth that
yer could feel 'em as yer plowed
through 'em. Headlights didn't
amount to much them days, nohow,
! but that night mine didn't do no good
at all. Sump'n must've blsckencd
the glass, for | couldn't see ten steps
ahead Of the pilot, an what dim light
Their was flashed sickly against er
! oil ali ltv ~ ~
began TO rain. The water came down
like the bottom had fell out, an in
less'n five minutes / could hear it
roarin' in ther bitches alongside the
track. The noise it made tearin'
through the culyerts drowned the rat
tie err the train | hope I'll never see
such another food Lghtnin' every
mint an less split the darkness on all
sides, an the thunder bsomed mong
the clouds as if the old earth was ex-
ploding from the inside fires At
every boom the clouds gave down
more rain, an old Six trembled as if
she was skeered to go ahead.
"Oh we went up hill an down
hill, forty miles an hour, an no stops
fur way stations. We climed the
summit at Pinsons, an flashed by
/ like a skeered deer, on down the
long grade toward Dykes Run an
the big trestle. / knowed every stick
o. timber in that trestle. | kn0wed il
was the best on the road, an / wasn't
afeerd 10 go over it at er mile err
minute, en- didn't slack up leaned
/ back in my seat an listened to the
ragin' storm outside. Ny fireman
! opened the furnace door an stepped
back into the tender for some coal,
when suddenly a big, white headed
man got between me an the red light
o. the furnace fire az leaned over to-
/ ward the front o the cab. One long
arm reached out, an takin' hold o.
+ the throttle shut of the steam The
other pulled three long blasts OF the
whistle, the signal for brakes, an
then before / could say q word
/ the man caught the lever in both
hands an reversed her clean back to
4 the lowest notch. The same long arm
again reached the throttle and pulled
! her wide open. Old SKIS drivers be-
gan to spin around backward an the
train began to slack up. Jump
in' up, / made lunge at the old man,
/ but instead of hittin' him / fell fiat
across the cab. got up an saw him
still standin' there lookin out ahead.
/ / throwed my arms around him to
pull him away, but they passed right
4 through his body an fell at my side.
He turned an looked at me, an saw
it was DAve-Dave Griffin, come back
from the grave
When my senses came back the
train was standin still, an Dave was
gone. knowed there was sonlethin
wrong ahead, so got out an walked
down the road. A hundred feet away
/ came TO er great gap in the track
the big trestle was gone. Tho creek