Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-12-15
FORTY MINUTES LATE.

engineer, looking round at me. The
brave man WAS member of my parish,
and | was sitting at his tea table. After
a moment thought he pushed back his
chair, for the frugal meal was finished,
and looked hard at his wife. 1t was a
curious gaze OF his honest eyes, and the
lady met his glance with an almost
pathetic entreatv: DO not tell it.' writ
ten on her kind face.
.'She don't lilo to think of it, he re-
turned laughing at the same time he
shook back the long hair that fell in
waves over the left side of his brow
uncovering a blushing scar and reveal
ing that he had been d;smembered of an
ear. But ! am not so bad a looking
fellow. after all" he said. In fact. he
was singularly fine looking.
at is one of those memories" his
wife interrupted, rising. that one fears
to recall. But, thank God, it will be
no more likely to occur again for the
telling of it, and he may tell it while ]
put the boy to bed upstairs
1T was one of those accidents that
nothing can prevent" resumed the en-
gineer. No foresight can guard against
the hidden flaw which the best of steel
sometimes hides in its own false heart
The best crank or shaft ever forged will
sometimes break on Il steamer III mid
ocean. So of a connecting rod on II pair
of drivers. Now, think the thing | am
going to tell You is the most terrible.ac-
cident that can happen on locomotive,
because it is the worst | ever expert
enced 1t worked the most havoc and
scared me more than any other | ever
went through. cannot get over the
dread Of it evon now, and probably
never snail. Still another man might
single out another rs the worst.
Ny friend still runs, as he did that al
most fatal day, the fastest train that
speeds between two large cities. At one
end of its flight the train is Obliged to
traverse long tunnel Millions of PEG
Pile pass through that tunnel yearly in
perfect safety, But if they knew the
hairhreadth escapes Of the first few wears,
and especially during its construction,
even now they might not always sit so
comfortably; but The best of appliances
have somewhat lesscned the dangers.
When we were ready to leave the
depot at -- tho new general manager
of the division came along down the
platform with the agent and was intro
duced to me. | pulled off my greasy
cap. and was ahont To get down, when
he said, Never mind that he was going
to run with us OF course | offered
him his choice of seats, rs you wouldn't
do to your own father; for whoever
rides in the cab he mnst take stand
up or the fireman's box, if the fellow is
good naturcd enough 10 offer it. a hi.
officer like the manager, was different,
however. and gave him anything. To
tell the truth. was relieved to know
his errand was only TO ride: for this
English gentleman, IA kinsman of our
big owner, had been turning up lots Of
good men. He seemed to think we
Americans couldn't make fast time, and
he forgot that our machines and cars
arc heavier, our roads not so straigl, as
the English.
1--we are forty minutes late, he said
nc NJ. .,r,ddloj j., front of 10 S.. h,v
and consulted his watch. This occurs
about every day, my man, more or less
aud Is about time the blamed practice
was stopped.
cold ,-,.;r,, 70 s,o;lo INV. ,ro,.;ost
...Can e., ar;xa th;s ,,a,.h;ro j., 90
,;,,... ha ia =, ,,,..,,.laJ =, ~.
81 c,,,-o III, I'll yo,,l.o, ~, ,,.,,l.
eo- - ,oo,,e,,, a,5 ,I,ep my. bInod ,,.,s
nm Tbat was tcn y.ars,go h.forcIb,a
arv wife and b,bics I, i wife h,h;,.s
,on ,o,rs ,,d , ditch or two tb,t ,,los
no daro d,,.;1 or, ~ , Locomotive on,,;
- a. d., 49,, l,,,l.,,.s ~, soa. IT,,
any of the aforementioned things kind a
tcmpers him down He can't keen his
mink nm as at first. do what he will Nv
wife. by tho way. was cxpecting
me to come round with the minis
ter to be spliccd a week from that
VERY dav. She had sent ont some we'd
ding cards-rathcr shov for humble
folks to do. The wedding had 10 be dc
ferred,n and he tried to smile rs he re
ferrcd to that incident, though it was
evident that the remembered tragedy was
beyinsing to overshalow his own manly
face. as it had his wfes before she lef,
us. Well. pastor. Just frowned on the
Enclishman. and said. If voull choose
which scat yun'll take. and let nv fire
nan get in Some nf his work. We'll show
Won what the Sycamore can do when she
is mad
81 win take the stokcr's box, he said
that's English for fireman., You know.
And he climbed uD. rolling a cigarette
and lighting 1t with a funny kind Of for
eisn machine in his hand
Il started her cay. We pulled ten
cars. We had a run of scventv-fcu-
miles. schedule time two honrs. was
10 run il IN one hour and twenty min.
u,es There were TO no three slow ms
ard one dead sion at a drawer Tina,
world rive mo most Of rho niloss IA IL
in sixty seconds. We often do that for
n mile or two Fvcrv fast train doas
ercrv dav Rut sovo,tv.f,nr inch r,,Ies
arc n;rb+v 4r,;yn,, ON 8, ,r,..Ii,a no,r
I toll vou bcfnre To, got ,brongb. and
r;o,h, ~, Ia tho ord ro,, don.t ~. ,,.ha,
inmate TIM r,oor old cro,tpr, ,,,,, bro,l
ber ho.rt ~ yo,, lool,od .bo 60
moro over nc ,ooL, nor an, ~ ,ho r.,
+ ,1,-a,s a. .b,t ,-;.I, ~. 49,, 49,. ,,..,
ifIb,d kroyrp VIA, ,,,o VIC 20 ~. -