The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1893-06-23
IN THE CAB.
He alters was queer, Del was"

oDScTN dllDH WIS given WITHOUT SO
licitation. Jerome Bonner was not the
a to wait for an invitation to express
his opinion. His long habit of sitting on
the box with his hand on the throttle
ready to pull her open" did not inhu.
ence him in conversation. Only in the
cab, with the schedule before him, was
he amenable to signal. There he was
trusted. The superintendent considered
him the safest engineer on the road.
When he took II train out. the dis.
patcher breathed easily. for there were
some daredevil engineers in the employ
of that company, They would rattle q
train around curves and shoot down
grades with the greatest disregard for
the passengers comfort and fears. There
were men who delighted in the shrieks
Of the whistle. How they would laugh
when echo was frightened and screamed
back the strident voice of tho engine.
There were many such men in tho pay
OF the Kane and Carney railroad, but
Jerome Bonner was not n of them, nor
was Delehanty. He was q fireman and
had been on the road two years when
the wreck occurred on Kane hill. It
was the memory of the wreck that led
Jerome Bonner to remark to passenger
about D~elehanty's eccentricities.
a little group had surrounded jerome
ut the water tank and signal station on
Kane hill, where Il danger hag had pulled
MP the train The conductor WAS M
stairs waiting for orders. There was Il
wreck above-sOme coal cars on the
track-and there was II prospect of a
long delay Jerome had got ont of the
cab and was sitting in the sun on one of
the ground timbers of the tank ~trestle.
The fireman had made himself comfort
able on his box and with feet sticking
out of the window was taking n snooze.
The engine snortcd occasionally as if
impatient. Most of the passengers wee
wandering about aimlcssly, some chat
ting. others looking in the bush for Der.
RES of the wintergrecn, and all were be-
ginning to fret. Even those around
jerome were hoping he would take mat
tiers in his " hands and run the train
ovcr IT," hill He. however, attracted
their attention when to one of them he
spoke the woi IS Of the opening sentence.
Tell usabout him. won't You, please"
asked Il mite of Il woman. AN excursion.
list.
oh do, II Il Is Il Story. am so tired
of this stupid wait" said her companion.
not an cvcriarge Oma herself and arS
parently blasc.
"Fraid Dc!chanty won't ~intrest you
ladies much. He was Il commonplace
man, but porylar-mighty popular with
the boys, spite or lis queerncss."
Then do tell Us about him.
WAL, he ard me courted the same
gurl, Susan Briggs, II black eyed CURL rs
ever you see and purity, no mistake.
And mebbo that's why | thought Del
queer actin, and mcbbe he'd the same
'pinion Nv me. Scncc then | have all rs
noticed that men in luv with the same
CURL see each other bout as "a dplirium
tremcns sublec' sees snakes. Costly, try
them gauges.
Costly, the fireman, awoke out of his
snoo2e and tried the gauges, The tn
CINE was not supplied with an injector,
and Jerome wa DESTROYS OF knowing the
depth of water in the boilers. If it was
low he would have to run the engine up
the track 70 pump up" and that would
interrupt the story.
Two and Il half called Costly, and
fixed himself on the box again. willie.
satisfied with the report. Jerome rcsumcd
his story.
ii n On the road, and Del wanted
work, but there was no job for him. Ho
wanted to fire. One day Jim Morgan
got sick, and when ! went to the round
house the next mornin there wal Dele
hanty in bran new overalls rubin the
brass on No. 10. No. l2 was my engine.
! nodded to him and then hunted up the
foreman Of the %roundhouse. 'Del's goin
with you this trip. Jim Morgan's
too sick! There was no help fur it, SO !
went back, jumped into the cab and run
her ont into the yard. Del looked up
from tho handrail on the boiler with a
kind NV hurt look on his face.
The fircmen usually bring out the en-
CINE. Lettin him DO it was n way Of
sayin 40 could hc trusted to run an en-
CINE. Del kept on rubin the rod and
maxim it shine as | backed down and
coupled. mind lookin Mt him. He was
between me and the track, and | had to
look outer the side winder. lIo was biz,
and | knowcd things were not right be-
tween us, and | said nothin. He seemed |
hankcrin fur "a fight. Minute VIC cou- |
pied Del came in through his windcr, |
throwed tho waste IN the box and jcrlcd
open tho door OF the tirrbo& list then
the gong ruiz, and | give T. the steam. |
Del showed III some coal, and rs we got
under Roadway he came to my side OF
the cab and stood between it and the
tender.
IL knowcd what he come fur, ard 1t |
made mo mad. Susan Briggs lived list
ut tho edge uv the town and was alters
out fur my train, and Del knowcd it. SO
he wur gOin t. let her see him on the |
Same cab with me, and in Oycrans. |
VIM 50 dnrn mad | jist looked straight