The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-11-16
A TERRiBLE RIDE.

the SldlcS d a Cle4QeE II al SuSLAc
| shed.
had been employed in the shed ct Louis
| vile for about fifteen or sixteen months
when / went on my Grst trip as fireman.
1t WAS very near being my last.
l firmly believe all the years OF flying
about in an express since was made an
| engineer have not taken as much out OF
me IS that single turn of an hour and a
| half 1t occurred in this way:
One evening the superintendent at Louis
| vile resolved wire from Weston, a sta
! ton alb ut seventy miles down the line, TO
send an engine 10 replace one which had
broken down. He came 10 the shed and
selected he Gen. Grant, one of the finest
/ locomotives on the road Then he sent
word 10 .he engineer and fireman to come
on duty and start on their journey at :
o'clock
The driver, Ben Norris. was there in
good time, and busted himself with his oil
can. But Jim West, the fireman. did not
turn up punctually
At last, when it was near the hour for
starting, he came in the shed.
One glance at his bloodshot eyes and IN
steady walk showed me he was the worse
for drink Poor fellowi knew the cause
of this, and from the bottom of my heart
pitied him. The week before he had lost
his little daughter Kate, and TO drown his
grief he had taken to liquor.
knew he was perfectly incapable Of 60
ing on duty, and | also knew that if he
was discovered in this state it would mean
instant dismissal.
There was only one thing for it-another
fireman must be found Immediately. II
the matter was referred 10 the superin-
tenGent it would be all up with my friend
Jim. From that moment ! made up my
mind to take his place myself
l gave him in charge OF One OF my mates,
who promised to take him home quietly.
/ thought that in n few hours he would
have slept of the effects of the liquor, and
| left word TO have him come on by the
night train to Weston. | had to explain
matters TO the engineer, but he made no
objections to my plan. 1t struck me at the
time that he took the matter very coolly;
in fact, he seemed perfectly Indifferent as
to who went with him.
Time was up. | took my place in the
cab. Norris set TO work at once and we
moved slowly out of the shed. We were off
While in the station | took care to keep
bending down, as if examining the fire, so
that should not be recognized. But once
clear of the town l stood upright and look
ed around.
1t was glorious summer evening. We
SKINNED rapidly past meadows and corn
fields, and then dashed along the bridge
over the river. / began to think | would
enjoy the run immensely.
/ next turned my attention to the en-
CINE AS / ran my eye over the shining
machinery felt gratified to think that its
neat order was chiefly owing to my care
was proud of the Grant, and wondered If
the time would ever come when | should
have charge of it myself
| was so elated that | thought my COM
panion ought to be more lively. Ben
seemed to think of nothing but his work.
He stood with his hands on the throttle,
and his eyes steadily fixed on the track
ahead. | made one or two remarks, but
he scarcely answered me, While / was
wondering at his silence ne suddenly APP
peared to rouse himself He glanced at
the steam gauge, mut.ered something
which | did not understand, then bent
down and examined the tir.b box.
More coal.' he cried IN voice which
almost startled me
/ compiled without a word. Instead of
throwing in the coal rocklessly, which
knew would only den. al She fire, piled it
up carefully aroand the sides. Very soon
the speed Of tie ca,ine increased. We
were rafting along q. "a grand rate. ex-
amined the gauge ami saw that the hand
pointed to l95. could not see the neces-
sity for this rapid travelling.
My companions attention was again
fixed upon the road before him. Presently
he turned toward me and exclaimed:
"Who says that the Grant is not the
fastest engine on the road'
Monkey declared that the President was
faster" l replied.
Then he Hed-' cried Norris. "The
President faster-we shall see, we shall
seel"
| thought his manner very strange, to
say the least of it. But knew his ways
and said nothing. He was always consid- |
cred rather eccentric Besides, he was
easily excited and could not bear TO be
contradicted. still there was not a driver
on the line better acquainted with his bust |
ness.
And, by the way, have forgotten to say |
a word as TO his appearance. Well, then, !
he was big, powerful fellow, with broad |
red face, with q bushy beard. II was hard !
TO deal with such man. If he once put |
his foot down there was no getting him to I
bulge until his humor changed
We were now coming close upon Water /
ford station, and had already done about |
five and twenty miles Of the journey. Ben's I
eyes were still upon the track. IL was all /
clear ahead. yet ! expected 70 see him close !
the throttle and slow down while passing 1
through the station.
But was mistaken With a roar and a /
rush we slaShed right through. and the .
next minute we were tearing along level 1
stretch on the Other->,dc.
More coal.' Not only the words them /
selves, but the manner in which they were F.
uttered caused me serious alarm. / began I
20 suspect that something was wrong. /
Still if hesitated it might only aggravate /
him, so flung in a small quantity.
go on-go on
What was TO do Ididn't dare 70 re-
fuse The wild look IN Norris eyes fright /
ened me and went on sbOyelug in the 4
fuel / glanced ac the gauge. Great /
heavens, IL marked ~, This pressure Of /
steam, where no cars were attached % the I
engine, meant fearful rate Of speed.
The engineer manner was strangely al /
tered. Instead u being silent and rnorOse,
he was now excited and tslaative
That's it." be cried, and ! could barely
catch the words above tie roaring q the /
engine. Vow we are travelling Ia, Ia, .
The President faster than the Grant, Not .
likely I'll catch up 70 her YET, see IL .
DON'T
Shall ever forget tae-e terrible words, /.
They actually seemed 20 pa-a.yz- me A. T.
stood there. c.iag..- fs- support % the /
side o. the cab t1e awful truth flashed .