Connecticut western news., 1891-07-02
FORTY MINUTES LATE.

POhl l MllN U lIO LA1E.
 "The most fearful accident that ever happened on a locom otive?" echoed tho engineer, looking round at me. The brave man was a member of my parish, and was sitting at his tea table. After moment s thought he pushed back his chair, for the frugal meal was finished, and looked hard at his wife. It was a curious gaze of his honest eyes, and the lady met his glance with an almost pathetic entreaty: ssDo not tell itp' writ ten on her kind face.
 'She don't like 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 blushing scar and reveal ing that he had been dismembered of an ear. "But I am not so bad a looking fellow, after all," he said. In fact, he was singularly fine looking.
 s'It 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 I put the boy to bed upstairs"
 "It 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 r. c4o ocean. So of a connecting rod on pair of drivers. Now, think the thing am going to tell you is the most terrible ac- cident that can happen on 8 locomotive, because it is the worst ever expen- enced. It worked the most havoc and scared me more than any other I ever went through. I cannot get over the dread of it even now, and probably never shall. Still another man might single out another as the worst"
 My friend still runs, as he did that al- most fatal day, the fastest train that speeds between two large cities. At one end of it's flight the train is obliged to traverse long tunnel. Millions of peo- pie pass through that tunnel yearly in perfect safety. But if they knew the hairbreadth escapes of the first few years, and especially during it's construction, even now they might not always sit so comfortably; but the best of appliances have somewhat lessened the dangers.
 "When we were ready to leave the depot at - the new general manager of the division came along down the platform with the agent and was intro duced to me. I pulled off my greasy cap, and was about to get down, when he said, Never mind,' that he was going to run with us. Of course I offered do to your own father; for whoever rides in the cab he must take stand up or the freman's box, if the fellow is good natured enough to offer it. A big 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, 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 are heavier, our roads not so straight as the English.
 "'We are forty minutes late,' he said, as he straddled in front of the fire box and consulted his watch. 'This occurs about every day, my man, more or less, and it's about time the blamed practice was stopped
 Giraffe is heavy in October, sr,' said, trying to smile my prettiest.
 "'Can you drive this machine in on timer he kind O growled at me.
 'sI gave him a real Yankee stare back for moment, and then my blood was up. That was ten years ago, before I had any wife and babies. It is wife, babies, ten years and ditch or two that takes the dare devil out of a locomotive engi- neer. At first a man knows no fear, but any of the aforementioned things kind O tempers him down. He can't keep his pluck up as at first, do what he will. My wife, by the way, was expecting me to come round with the minis ter to be spliced week from that very day. She had sent out some we'd ding cards-rather showy for humble folks to do. The wedding had to be de- ferred," and he tried to smile as he re- ferred to that incident, though it was evident that the remembered tragedy was beginning to overshadow his own manly face, as it had his wife's before she left us. Well, pastor, just drowned on the Englishman, and said, If you'll choose which seat you'll take, and let my fire man get in some of his work, we'll show you what the Sagamore can do when she is mad
 "1 will take the stoker's box,' he said; that's English for ireman,' you know And he climbed up, rolling cigarette and lighting it with a funny kind of for eign machine in his hand.
 II started her easy. We pulled ten cars. We had run of seventy-four miles, schedule time two hours. was to run it in one hour and twenty min utes. There were to be three slow ups, and one dead stop at drawer. That would give me most of the miles to do in sixty seconds. We often do that for a mile or two. Every fast train does every day. But seventy-four such miles arc mighty trying on 8 machine, now I tell you, before you get through; and