Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-06-23

/ Was it a wonder dreamed
Till the curtain fell,
Breaking the Spell'
Phil L. Barker.
THE MULE-SHOE CURVE.
/ As long as the railroad, for over 10,
miles of its course, meckly traNersed tht
/ valleys at the foot Of the range, the grea'
mountains seemingly secure in theii
/ height and majesty, regarded lit viii
seeming Indifference. This changed t,
! contempt, when, at a certain point, II
! turned and faced them; to alarm. when II
! began to climb their sides, and To "A Ger
/ tain humiliation. when it successfully
/ Surmounted them, and gally danced OF
( To the westward.
/ Just before the daily passenger train Is
due from the north, there issues from the
engine house large and powerful lOcom"
/ tive. expressly designed for the heavy
grades ahead. On certain beautiful
September afternoon. not long ago, II WA
in its place. giving signs Of life in the
shape of occasional threads Of smoke from
the stack, and little puffs OF white steam
/ In anticipation of the trains arrival, the
stations platform was occupied by grad
ually increasing line of idle citizens, and
on the bottom of an overturned gravel cal
not far away, were sitting Tom Lewis the
engineer who was shortly TO go out, and
two of his "pards"-Tum Burke road mas
ter, and Jack Harris, station agent.
To understand their conversation, VT
should know something about them ID,
you ever realize, gentle reader-as you sit,
magazine or paper in your hand, at the
wide window of the drawing room car on
the fast eXpresS-how completely you are
in the hands Of some hard-wGrked, under
paid m"n' suppose the Z my fellow III
Overalls, sitting IN the "cab' OF the great
engine. with his hand on the throttle
valvr. and his eyes fixed on the line ahead,
should relax his vigilance for a single mo
ment-should even stand up To stretch his
cramped limbs? suppose the official who
IS charged with the care of the roadway
should forget one little Culvert some Sat.
urday night, when his wife and children
are waiting supper for him: Suppose the
tired n-diSpatCher, his head aching and
his eyes dim with hard usage, should make
the least little mistake in the world, and
order the east-bOund freight train away
from the siding towards which you are
speedinG'
Il was little dull at tip es in the new
town" and, If one had no liking for drink
ing and gambling he might find the even
Ings long Should he stroll, however,
along the adobe buildings Of the older set
tlement, he might detect signs Of u certain
sociabIlity. From some OF the houses
came the tinkling Of the rude harp of the
country, and an occasional ripple of laugh
ter; from some doorways there emerged
figures clad in mantilla and rebozo, and
escorted by rather sorry cavaliers, who
hastened to the aforesaid houses. and AT
intervals there was talk Of grand bale
or ball
Between the average Mexican who
dwells under the American flag and the
average American pioneer, there is apt tu
be but little affection. There was not r
male inhabitant of the old town" whom
Tom Lewis regarded with the slghtes,
cOmplacenCy, but it was quite different
with little Mariquita, whom he met at Ala
mosa on Christmas Day, and who asked
him to come and see her when she re
turned. To be sure, the acquaintance WAS
anything but intimate and Mariquita
would never cause Tom to forget certain
Dlue-eyed maiden i'll Denver. But, as be
fore said, it was very dull in the town, and
when he had a might off, while they
were repairing the big engine, and there
was bale the same evening, and Mari
quita asked him To come, OF course he went
-otherwSe, this story could not have
been written.
"Wa'al, Tom" said the rOadmaster, Il
allow yer'd better lie mighty keerfuL |
amt a sayin the little gal amt pooty, an
good, too; but them greasers is queer
lot. | seen that feller Jose looking mighty
black when you was adancin with Mari
quta the other night. an he's part of tibet
mean cuss Carlos thet you fired out OF the
engine house the other day"
Thank yer, kindly, old man, said Tom
III try to take keer of myself. but Mari
quitas daisy little gal. ez you say, an
ez long ez she's willIn', you bet III dance
with her in spite of all the greasers from
here down TO Sonora. Hello, there's the
train" Ten minutes later he was on his
engine, and had begun the ascent Of the
grade.
1t was anything but dull at Manitou. at
the foot of Pixies peak, that season. Peo-
pie had come thither from all parts of the
country, and. If the society reporters"
were to be believed. there were more pretty
girls there than ever before. For only
one of them is there room in this brief
tale. and Nellie Stevens needed no local
Endorsement for she had attracted atten-
tiun even al Newport. Clifford Stanley
met her there, and forgot everyone else
from that moment. A good fellow was
Clifford; manly, upright, and well-to-do.
He had enjoyed lif" thoroughly, but he
convinced himself that it.wOuld be thence
forth blank, unless Nellie smiled He
dropped everything and followed her To
Colorado, as ne would have followed her
To the end of the earth
Had she smiled, All! no one knew
When they came down from Pixies peak
together, a certain gilded youth offered
odds, in the billiard room, that they were
engaged: but he found no one TO take him
up, for the simple reason that the bet
could not be decided
After a while, ManitOu began To pail a
little on the visitors. The great peak had
been climbed; Glen Eyrie and the Garden
of the Gods visited Cheyenne and Will
iams' canons explored. They sighed for
new worlds to conquer, and planned trip
to the Grand canon of the Arkansas, and
then to Wagon Wheel gap. Just as they
were to start, adverse fate, in the shape
of peremptory telegram, called Stanley
to Denver, and sorry enough was he to go.
When his business was finished. it was
too late to follow the party To their ulti-
mate destination. Besides, he had written
a long letter to Nellie; as a matter of fact,
he had put his fate 10 the touch" Per