St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-05-05

minute we stopped IL seemed as ii we
were in furnace. and naturally,
working as we were near hot fire
didn't improve things
On the home trip Bob was taken
sick and had ali he could do to hold
out till we got home as soon as
possible After the train was emptied
l ran the engine to the roundhouse,
expecting to go straight home and
wash up. But when l ran the engine
in the first thing l saw was my two
cleaners laid out on a heap of ashes,
dead drunk.
Here was a pretty mess, for it
would certainly take me until mid
night to get the machine in proper
trim for the next days run; and
hot, greasy job it was in any wealth
err, but on such a night as that it
was frightful to think of it. How
ever there was no help for it, and
started in
l had barely made beginning
when l heard some one coming in at
the door. Looking up saw that it
was Billy Thedford. In a very ex-
cited voice he asked where Hunter
was.
Home" 1 said, land so sick he
can't hold his head up"
"Heavens" said he; Il shall be
ruined !"
Then he went on to say that if he
wasn't in Chicago the next day,
some deal, think he called it, would
fall through, and it would cost him
a quarter of million.
There's a train goes through
Junction City at eleven-five that will
get you to Chicago in time" says l.
what good'll that do me ?" says
he. 1--WE been away for two days,
and only just now got the telegram.
If Hunter was here he might get me
down; but as it is 1 may as well go
home and let the money go"
Mr.. Thedford," said 1, Bob is
sick, but l can run this machine to
Junction City in time to connect
with the train you want; but you
will have to fire for me, as my two
cleaners are drunk, as you see, and
there isn't another man in this vii
lage knows the engine from the
tender hardly"
l hope that l have been forgiven
that lie, for there were two or three
men that could have fired all right,
but it struck me all of a sudden that
here was a fine chance to get even
with Billy, and let him see whether
it took any knowhow to fire an
engine for a 10 miles run. 1t so
happened that we had just wooded
up on the home trip at little sta
ton three miles from Georgetown,
so we had plenty of fuel aboard to
make the run with.
Can you do it?" says he. "Re-
member it is 40 miles, and it is $50
now, so you have only two and
half hours to make the run that
generally takes double that time
Il can do it," says l. ''if you will
jump aboard, pull off your coat, and
do just as 1 tell YOU
No sooner said than done, and in
ten minutes we had the old engine
on the turntable, turned her around
and were off.
If the road was rough when we ran
at our usual speed, that night,
making double time, 1T was awful. As
we flew around the curves it seemed as
if we should leave the track at every
turn of the drivers, and the poor old
machine rocked and swayed SO that,
used as was to it, I could hardly
keep on my seat by the lever.
If it was hard on me, what must
it have been to poor old Billy? 1could
hardly keep from laughing in his
face, as l watched him and heard
him groan as he handled the heavy
sticks we used for fuel.
The heat of the weather, added to
that of the furnace and the unusual
work, made him look as if he was in
Turkish bath. The water ran
down his face, his stiff, white collar
hung down on his shoulders like
wet rag, and his beautiful, smooth
skirt bosom looked as if some one
had thrown a pail of dirty water
over him. His hands were torn and
cut, from handling the wood, and
take it altogether he was the most
unlikely looking railway president
ever saw. Once in awhile had to
shout at him to lay the wood more
even in the furnace, and would tell
him he would get the knack of it in
time.
Whenever he tried to rest l told
him we were losing steam, and IT he
wanted to catch that train, he
| mustn't idle over the work. If had
thought to hitch car on when we
started we should have run much
smoother; but it was too late to
| think of that now, and so on we
rushed, now through woodlands,
now past grain fields, lurching first
to one side and then to the other,
until expected every minute to land
wrong side up in the ditch.
However, luck was with US that
night, and we pulled up at Junction
City at just II. Poor old Billy
could hardly climb down from the
engine, but he managed to gasp out
Come to my office at 2 O'Clock
next Saturday."