Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-09-07
The Woman in White.
By WALTER WELLMAN.

For the second time in his life Jasper
Ward was unhappy Jasper was loco.
motive engineer on the Burlington road,
and had trod the footboard of an engine
as fireman and driver since his mustache
6rst grew on his STRIPPING chin. His
career had been one of such evenness and
calm, so much quiet life within himself,
such absence of incident or accident, that
his steady temper had been rarely stirred
by JOY or sorrow. His first grief had
come to him ten years or more before,
when his wife died suddenly while he was
away on his engine. He had never mar
ried again, nor seemed to care much for
society or company or anybody or any
thing saving only his son Jack, and, of
course, his engine for which he had
a half dozen pet names. Jack wanted
TO be locomotive engineer like his
Father, and often coaxed to be taken out
to learn to fire; but Jasper would not
listen to this. go to school, boy" he
said, ''and learn to be something in the
world. An engineer isn't much" Yet if
anybody else had said this, which nobody
would in Jasper Wards presence--at least
nobody who knew him-Jasper would
have been very much grieved He was
proud of his calling; proud of his record
on the foot board. Thirty years had he
stood there, and in all that time not one
accident more serious than the fracture of
connecting rod piston bar had occurred
to him. Not one life intrusted to his care
had been lost, nor even jeopardized. For
twenty years Jasper had run the same
train, an accommodation, and all the
people up and down that division of the
line knew Jasper Ward and his locomo-
tive ne well as they did their own door
yards. His face at the engine window
was SO familiar that to miss it for day
or two was to take something out of the
daily life Of the people who dwelt near
the tracks.
But now Jasper was unhappy when he
should have been most content, for he
had finally relented and taken Jack with
him on the locomotive. His old fireman
had been promoted to an engine, and
Jack had thereupon begged so hard that
his father finally applied to the master
mechanic for permission to take the boy
on and make an engineer of him. 1t was
happy day for Jack when the master
mechanics reply was received: but not so
With old Jasper, for the message con
tsined these words "1'll give you new
engine, too. Take out No. 451 tomorrow.
With your own boy ON and a shining new
engine, the official could not resist the
temptation Of adding, unbusinessliSe
though it was--he wouldn't have added
an unnecessary word to anybody except
old Jasper-"you will be quite gay again,
and will be having all the young men
envying you" The master mechanic
meant well, but it was sad blow to
Jasper. "A new enginel" he exclaimed,
somewhat bitterly; "whst have | done
that | should have my old pet taken away
from me2 Well, if the old engine isn't
good enough to run along yet awhile,
Why, suppose the old engineer will have
70 go too, pretty soon. This is the begin
ming of the end, sure. They'll lay the
old man off before the year is out"
His sorrow was greatly increased when
he boarded the new engine and found that
She was equipped with one Of the new
electric head lamps, with which the COM
pany was experimenting. Nor was that
the worst of it. The whistle of the new
machine was a harsh, coarse whistle, as
unlike the sweet tones Of the old whistle
as anything could be. The first sound of
1t nearly drove Jasper wild. "They'll get
me of the road now" he exclaimed; Il
can't run an engine with headlight like
bat on 1t and such a whistle THEY'LL Law
tho old man off, but they can't say he
hasn't made time. They can't say that"
Making time is sort of hobby with all
good locomotive engineers. With Jasper
1t was a mania. IAN engineer isn't
worth a cent unless he can get in on
schedule nineteen times out of twenty"
he used to say, land a man can always
make time if he has the nerve Let man
get the least bit timd, SO that he pulls up
for everything that he doesn't like the
~ ~
for every down grade, and he'll never
make time. Let her go, let her go, he
advised Jack; don't be afraid of any
thing, When you start out on a run make
up your mind that you are going to make
time or die trying. Don't be afraid of the
ditch If it is your fate to be ditched
and stop there you can't get away from it
by shutting off steam ev~ry time she be-
glns,to jump little or you imagine you
see something on the track. You'll i'm
agipe you see fifty things ahead in one
night, and if you go to shutting off for
them you'll never make time, never in
the world, boy"
And in good truth the old man was as
brave as his words He was known along
the road as a runner against everything
but red lights. But from the very first
day on the new engine lie was changed
man All his old confidence seemed to
leave him, and he became instead nervous
and timid. He blamed it all on the new
locomotive, and particularly on the cleo
trio head lamp.
Jack, he said, as they were running
along one day shortly after the new
engine had been put in use, "this ma
chine isn't going to bring me any good
luck know that. I'm getting nervous,
and am afraid to let her out on the down
grades, That brilliant light is running
my eyes, and something will happen one
of these days. Jack, you had better leave
the road. Go and learn to be a black
smith. An engineer doesn't amount to
much
And as his pride in his own calling and
career was aroused by these words, he
nudGed the throttle open little farther,
and the old look Of satisfaction came upon
his stern fSce. But this was only for a
moment. Timidity and discomfort were
becoming more than ever marked in him
and incl, fOund his father oDvt binor b,,t