The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-06-11
A Girl Engineer.
Her Name Was "Blazes" And She
Was A Heroine.

Old Ben Clark had been good
engineer at one time, but that time
was long since past. Ben had q
fondness for the flowing bowl that
had been his downfall. He had
been put down from the fast mail
to a passenger run, and finally had
to go hauling freight. When he was
sober there wasn't better or more
careful man on the road, but when
he wasn't-which was of the time
his fireman had to watch him
pretty closely. 1t was no uncom-
mon thing to see old Ben with No.
48 come in with the engineer
scarcely able to keep his seat, and
with his daughter, girl of seven
teen who knew more about an
engine than half the men on the
road, handling air and throttle like
an old engineer.
This motherless girl was a un-
iversal favorite among the en-
ployes, and Ben's shortcomings
were not so severely dealt with as
they would have been otherwise.
She was known as Blazes on ac-
count of her fiery temper.
Many of the trainmen, most of
them in fact, had fallen in love
with Blazes, for while she was not
by any means handsome there was
charm in her wild, hot temper,
and she had the brightest and
blackest pair of eyes in the country
around. Blazes however, didn't
seem to have very much use for
the men. Her exp erience with the
sex, as far as her parent was con-
cerned, was such that she thought
that she was able to take care of
herself about as we'll as any man
could care for her. With one ex-
ception.
Dave Gilchrist ran passenger
No. 5 out of Como and there wasn't
a more spruce looking conductor
on the road. He was u dashing,
handsome young fellow, and he
ruled supreme in the heart of this
fierce, untamed creature of the
round house and yards.
BlaZes had never been to school,
but she had a good deal more of
good common sense than is usually
allotted to we mortals. All her life
had been spent in the roundhouse
and around the yards, and she
loved the iron monster with a love
second only to her passionate af-
fection for Dave Gilchrist, whose
wife she had thought to be.
Now Dave Gilchrist was, after
the manner of his kind, something
of "masher," and though Blazes
did not know it and would not
have believed had it not been told
her, he was married already, but
manlike, he did not see as that
was any reason why he should not
f1irt with Blazes or any other girl
that took his fancy.
One evening as Dave and Blazes
were sitting on the sofa in Ben
Clark's little parlor-or, more
properly, as Dave was seated on
the sofa and Blazes, well, she was
on his lap-a picture dropped out
of his pocket and fell unnoticed to
the floor.
After Dave had gone Blazes saw
the picture, and picking it up, she
read upon the back "Mrs. Dave
Gilchrist." The picture was that OF
a fair girl, apparently about her
own age, and as she looked at il
Blazes realized that her lover had
been deceiving another trusting
woman as well as wrecking her
own happiness. Strangely enough
she did not hate the fair creature
whose counterfeit she was gazing
at, but rather she pitied her.
Checking back passionate sob,
Blazes went to bed, but it was lit.
tie rest she got that night. In the
early morning she crept out to the
shed where her favOrite old engine,
old Seventy-nine, was undergoing
the grooming, and slipping into
the cab, she sat and thought.
She felt drowsy and soon fell in
to light doze, from which she was
awakend by the sound of a whis-
pered conversation. One of the
voices she recognized as a man who
had been trying to incite the men
to a general uprising and the other
was that of a man who had been
discharged from the service few
days before.
"How about the telegraph,wires p
asked the walking delegate.
"I've fixed 'em o. H." replied
second. Wnhere,s only ono thinO I