Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1891-03-03
Ghostly Hand at the Lever.

was cne OF the olIest characters in that psrt
l3con o,iVe engineer. employed by bal! q
d; n roads at different times. and lA:,erig.
IN to five yeers age, by the Northern Pa
lilo on one of its western divisions. Those
who know his history say that the company
| oever had steedier hand ct tbs throttle,
uor claimed the serVice of man more tho
roush, to be dspeuded on in any imsei
nable emergency than he. The old man
| m ade his last tip four years ago. He was
taken from bile car after that trip in wild
| Gelrium The story of the cause which led
him to lsave his beloved cold No. s." ss be
| called bic engine, cannot be told better than
| in his owa words as he recounted 1t to cir
Gle OF brother engineers few weeks before
his death.
ut wore 10 'e5, long towards winter"
said the map, "as Bill Tanuer fell sick one
night His wits she comes down to the
sheds an she eaye 10 ms with tears ruDnin'
down face: Mr.. Basset', she says. Ri | can't
90 out this trip. He's awful bad with fever,
an the doctor says perhaps he'll die. He's
delirlous now che kept on, 'an' talkin' sll
the time about The engine, and tryin to
shovel coal' Well didn't like 1t much this
idee o. going out on run 'shout Bill. He
fred for me two years straight, and it SEEM
ed sort o. second nsu.' like for us two fell
lsrs to ge. into the cab at onct. Well, there
warn't no other way to do thsn to take
new man. There wsen't pc:hin'the d sitter
with him neither be was good msn, but
be warn't Bill Tanuer When We pulled
out that night it were raiain' like it didn't
never expeet 10 qnit, an ss dark as the dif
.ereucs between black au' white. We got
20 spinnin' aiopg 10 good shape, an it joat
seemed so We we're runnin' through clouds
that had dropped down low so's to make
;hpas ugly. ! knowed every turn 10 the
road, and could pretty near tell by the cross
ties and cuiverts, where we was. Seemed
to me ss we wasn't poundin' her down just
right, go says 10 the new man to give her
more coal and rake her up bit.
81 looked cut aheed aed couldn't see
notbiu' for mist and clouds aud the rain
drivIn' against the window In sheet.
siepa to the side window and looks out
Seemed to ms somehow SO there was
somsthin' wrong. an [ was trying to see
through the bazs, when my heart jumps
clear up between my teeth, for felt big
jerk an heard the drivers begin to bite the
track on the reverse. l jerks my head In
out o. chat, an there / saw light that iroZe
haod nor foot. Tho lever wss pulled clear
back to the last notch, an Bill Tanner stocd
there hold of it.
"Tbe DeW man had the furnace door open
ready to shove in more FIRE, an the red glow
of the blaza inside shone on Bill's blue over
alls, as was most white from the times his
wife had washed 'en. Warn't no mistake
about 1t, boys; 1t were Bill just as sure as
I'm ice Bessett, an' him hundred mile
sway on deethbed. Jumps off'n the wiz
dow seat an makes 8 grab for Bill, but there
warn't nothin' there. turns round to the
new man an sez, See here,' Isez. did you
touch that levcr9 so help me God, be
says, 7 was on the tender when she revers
ed su' kuowed II sfore asked hin. l
sits down again and puts my hands to my
head, for l thought l must bs getting q
touch of the fever, too.
"When come to myself the train was
stopped and the new mau was trying to pour
tea down my throat from his paunikin. l
got up an shook myself an then goes down
the track ways with lantern. I didn't
hev to 60 fur. We was seven miles from the
gorge. 1 knowed that by the cliffs on both
sidee. The rsin bad oosened up bout
thousand ton o. rocks from above the track,
an they was lying ten feet deep right In the
roRd hun0ren yetCs 6heeu oI tue engine.
Boys, when they got that track clear pull
ed my train to the END cf the divieloD. an
then got a dispatch I couldn't read 1t
then, but did after. Il we're from Bill Tar
ner's wife. Bill he'd died at $50, q few min
utes before be took The lever out of my
hands like az saved the train.
"I haiut never touched lever since, an
whenever I go a-near one my hand shakes
ha2 fat
old man, there's them as csn talk about
close calls nn' sich, but low as thsre amt
any OF 'em put in nighs like Joe Bassett
did on the Cascade la the fall of 'S5 "-St
Paul SpeciGI.