Middletown transcript., 1891-07-23
A TERRIBLE RIDE.

months when i went on my nrst trll
as fireman. II III
1t was very near being my last.
firmly believe all the years Of fly
ing about 10 an express since | wa
made an engineer have not taken o
much out of me as that single turn o
an hour and a half. It occurred il
this way:E 5f Z q
One evening the superintendent a
Louisville received a wire from
Weston-a station about sevent,
miles down the line-to send al
engine to replace one which hat
broke down. He came to the shet
and selected the General Grant, on,
Of the finest on the, road. Then he
sent word to the engineer and fireman
to come on duty and start on their
Journey at Z o'clock. Tl HII
The driver, Ben Norris, was there
in good time, and busted himself with
his oil can. Bat Jim West, the fire
man, did not turn up punctually.
AT last, when it was near the hour
forstaftfng, he came TO the shed. -.
Oae glance at his bloodshot eyes
and unsteady walk showed me that
he was the worse for drink. Poor
fellow /! I 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
bis grief he had taken to liquor.
l knew he was utterly incapable Of
going on duty, and I also knew that
If he was discovered in this state il
would mean instant dismissal.
There was only one thing for it
another fireman must be found inn
mediately. If the matter was referred
to the superintendent it would be all
up with my friend Jim. From that
moment ! made up my mind to take
his place myself. ea
II gave him in charge of one Of my
mates, who promised to take him
home quietly. 1 thoughf that inc a
few hours he;would have slept off the
effects Of the liquor, aud / left word
to have him come on by the night
train to Weston. l had to explain
matters to the engineer, bnt he made
no objections to my plan, It struck
nae at the time that be took matters
very coolly !, in fact, he seemed per
fectly indifferent as to who went with
him.
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
When in the station ] took care to
keep bending down as if examing the
FIRE, SO that / should not be recognized,
but once clear of the town I stood up.
right and looked around. sii,e
It was glorious summer evening.
We skinned rapidly past meadows
and cornfelds and then dashed along
the bridge over the river. I began to
think | would enjoy the rus immense.
ly. .a4a aa.rs.,s
next turned my attention to the
engine. As l ran my eye over the
shining machinery I felt gratifed to
think that its neat order was chiefly
owing to my care. 1 was proud Of
the Grant, and wondered if the time
would ever come when ! should haye
charge Of it myself . Fl;
/ was SO elated that l thought my
companion ought to be more lively.
Ben seemed to think of nothing but
his work. He stood with bis hand on
the throttle and his eyes steadily fixed
upon, the track ahead. i made one
or two remarks. but he scarcely
me. When I was wonder.
ing at his silence be suddenly appear :
ed to arouse himself. He glanced at
the steam gauge, muttered something
which / did not understand but bent
down and examined the fire box. +
More coal !" he cried, in a voice
which almost startled me. as
] complied without word. Instead
Of throwing in the coal recklessly,
which I knew would only deaden the
fire. / piled it up carefully around
the sides. Very soon the speed of the
engine increased. We were rattling
along at grand rate. l examined
the gauge and saw that the hand
pointed to 124. / could not see the
necessity for this rapid travelling.
My companions attention was
again fixed upon the road before him.
Presently he turned toward me and
exclaimed, excitedly: fE Gfs s
Who says that the Grant is not
the fastest engine on the road ?"
/" Moxly declared that the President
was faster" replied.
Then he lied 7. cried Norris. " The
President faster--we shall see, we
shall see !"
I thought his manner very strange,
to say the least oft Butt knew his
ways and said nothing. He was al
ways considered rather eccentric. Be-
sides, he was easily excited and could
not bear to be .contradicted. Still,
there was not q driver on the line
better acquainted with his business.
And, by the way, I have forgotten
to say a word as to his appearance.
Well, then, he was a big, powerful
fellow, with abroad, red face and a
bushy beard. 1t was hard to deal
with such man. IF he once put his
foot down there was no getting him to
bulge until his humor changed.
We were now coming close upon
Waterford station, and had already
done about five.and.twenty miles Of
the journey. Ben's eyes were still
upon the track, 1t was all clear
ahead, yet I expected to see him close
the throttle and slow down while