The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1888-01-26

ed in further denial from the operator
OF having received any orders to hold
the train, which orders he accused
me OF having failed to send.
with fast-beating heart, and q
terrible faintness upon me, dropped
my head upon the instruments and
prayed for the poor fellows upon the
trains. How many Of them would
survive the wreck, which nowit was i'm
possible to prevent. for between the
two heavy trains rushing toward each
other so swiftly, no operator was on
duty with busily clicking instrument
to warn them OF their fate.
Noticing my actions the dispatch
er eagrly inquired the trouble. 1could
reply in words, but noticing my in.
struments calling, grasped . pen,
and with trembling fingers copied this
message. It was addressed to the
superintendent from the conductor OF
No. IS. and ran thus:
".Freiahts Nos. 66 and 100 met in head
collision one mile east OF c., speed oil
fifteen miles per hour. Crows OF both
trains escaped uninjured. Fifteen cars de-
rallied, five OF the wrecked completely, bad.
" blocking the main line. Will report in
person by first train
my greatest fear had been that loss
Of lie would result.
':As is usual in such cases, all the
oaHt ~, q nts -, tho a Ho;, u,o~o nn11~-a
before tho superintendent. Each man
told his story. The operator at A
firmly adhered to his falsehood, and
as firmly to the truth, but to no pur.
pose. The influence OF his director
uncle saved for him his position, the
blame was attached to me, and I was
discharged, forced to give up my posi-.
ton, and move. Some time before
this, trusting in the security of my
position, l had put all our savings
together and purchased q small house
and lot in the pleasantest part of the
city. had borrowed from our saw.
ings-bank the sum of two-thousand
dollars, and placed mortgage for
that amount upon the place, believing
that with prudence and economy We
should be able to repay and lift the
mortgage in due course of time.
"A pleasant little place it was, and
much pleasure we took in fixing it up
with flowers and vines, until it pre-.
sented q most attractive appearance,
and to our selves, at least was the
very perfection of taste and home
comfort. Now it must all be gwen up.
This made the blow doubly hard, for
where could obtain a position at my
business, with the knowledge that !
had caused wreck?
mo! l must give it all up, and com.
mence at the foot of the ladder again.
'"rhe company, having decided to
put In the wires and open station at
O., as measure for guarding
against further trouble, very kindly
offered the situation to me. could
but accept. Soon we were moved in.
to our new quarters-in q modest
house near my station.
':Day after day came and passed
now, so uneventfully as nearly to de-
stroy all ambition. Duties, there
we're none to speak of. My station
was what is termed flag station
Trains made no regular stop there,
and when an occasional passenger
wished to take the train, a very un.
usual occurrence by the way, my red
flag by day, or red light at night,
hauled up the desired train. l grew
Respondent. Every day / sat in my
little den Of an Office listening to the
business passing upon the wire, bust
ness in which l took no active part,
for few, indeed, were the opportuni.
ties I had to open the wire.
my little boy was my almost con.
slant companion. He took great de-
light in the rural life which We were
obliged to lead, grew stout and brown
as any little rustic, and his delights
knew no bounds. as he stood upon
the platform when the heavy freights
went rolling by, or tho fast express
with g. rush and scream of the whis.
tie, passed like q flash; and he would
watch them out of sight with great
round eyes, laughing and clapping his
hands with delight.
eve used to watch him in silence
my wife and l, for she often came to
sit with us, and cheer me by her pres
ence; and thoughts of the opportuni
ties he would miss, and the privilege:
OF schooling he would be debarred
from by my misfortune, were not cal.
culated to make us cheerful.
Zone beautiful summer day, when
had been some three months at my
station, sitting as usual watching and
listening at my instruments, for want
of something better to do, l heard the
dispatcher's Office calling A., heard
him answer, followed by an order
from the office to IA for specia'
freight passing heard the reply exact.
" as the operator had given it to me
on the day of the wreck-'15 for special
freight'-then this order:
"'To Conductor and Engineer OF Special
Freight:
"You will not leave .A-until special
passenger train. Fairfield, conductor, has
arrived
"The special passenger train re-
ferred to was, as l knew, for had
heard it reported by wire, composed
OF an engine, supertendent's private
car, and directors car, filed with the
officers of the road with their wives,
all Of whom had been down the line
on a pleasure trip, to inspect the new
station and grounds at our eastern
terminus, and were now returning with
all haste.
II heard the superintendent's tele-
graphic request to the dispatcher to
give them the right of way as far as
practicable, and in accordance with
this instruction he was now holding
back the freight.
II sat idly watching the approach
OF the special, and marking the quick
time they were making, as the tele-
graphic reports, one by one, succeeded
each other, as the train passed sta
ton after station-and still bemoan-
ing my hard fate.
''No mistakes this time, I thought,
only for me was the ill.luck reserved;
for surely the operator at A-would
not, could not. commit the same
fault twice. This time there would be
~