Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1893-06-30
IN THE CAB.

AA AAANAN NNHa AhNNAN 1NA NhH
The observation was given without so
l~icitation Jerome Bonner was not tho
man 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-
once him in conversation. Only in the
cab. with the schedule before him, was
he ameuable to signal There he was
trusted. The superintendent considered
him tho safest engineer on the road.
When he took a train out, the dis
patcher breathed easily. for there wcro
some daredevil engineers in the employ
of that company. They would rattle a
train around curves and ehoot 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 the engine.
There were many such men in the pay
of the Kane and Carney railroad, but
jerome Bonner was not one of them, nor
was Delehanty. Ho was a 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 n passenger
about Delehanty's eccentricities.
A little group had surrounded Jerome
at the water tank and signal station on
Kane hill. where's danger flag had pulled
up the train The conductor was up
stairs waiting for orders. There was a
1911 nknrn- ~ gool ratsa ~, N1n
track-and there was q prospect of a
long delay jerome had got out 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 Il snooze.
The engine snorted occasionally as if
impatient. Most of the passengers were
wandering about aimlessly, some chat
ting. others looking in the bush for ber-
ries of the wintergreen, and all were be-
ginning to fret. Even those around
Jerome were hoping he would take mat
ters in his own hands and run the train
over the hill. He. however, attracted
their attention when to one Of them he
spoke the words of the opening sentence.
LGAA AonbhhN hAAAAN hOh Z l0af IA Aalt
asked q mite Of a woman, an excursion
list.
'Oh. do. if it is a story. am so tired
OF this stupid wait, said her companion,
not an overlarge woman herself and APP
parently blase.
Fraid Delehanty won't %int'rest you
ladies much He was a commonplace
man, but popylar-mighty popular with
the boys. spite er his queerness."
Then do tell us about him"
WAL, he and me courted the same
CURL, Susan Briggs, a black eyed CURL as
ever you see and purity, no mistake.
And mebbe that's why ! thought Del
queer actin, and mebbe he'd the same
'pinion NV me. Sence then l have alters
noticed that men in Inv with the same
CURL SEQ each other bout as a delirium
tremens subjec' sees snakes. Costly. try
them gauges"
Costly. the fireman, awoke out of his
snooze and tried the gauges. The en-.
CINE was not supplied with an injector.
and jerome was DESTROYS Of knowing the
depth Of water in the boilers. If it wa:
low he would have to run tho engine NJ
the track to pump up, and that would
interrupt the story.
Two and a half" called Costly, and
fixed himself on the box again, while
satisfied with the report, Jerome resumed
his story.
81 was on tho road, and Del wanted
work, but there was NJ job for him. Hl
wanted to fire. One day Jim Morgan
got sick, and when / went to tho round
house the next mornin there war Dele
hanty in bran new overalls rubin In,
brass on No. 12. No. ~ was my engine
nodded TO him and then hunted up TIN
foreman Of the roundhouse. Del's goiI
out with you this trip. Jim Morgan'i
too sickr There was no help fur it, so
went back, jumped into the cab and rur
her out into the yard. Del looked M
from the handrail on the boiler with
kind NV hurt look on his face.
''The firemen usually bring ont The en-
CINE. Lettin him do it was a way O
sayin he could be trusted to run an en-
CINE. Del kept on rubin tho rod anC
maxim il shine as | backed down ant
coupled / mind loOkina ut him. lie wa.
between me and tho track. and | had {,
look outer the side winder. He WAS big
and l knowed things were not right be
tween us. and l said nothin. He SCENE,
hankerin fur a fight. Minute we cou
pied Del came in through his winder
throwed the waste in the box and jerke,
open the door Of the irebox. Jist thel
the gong rung, and ! give t9 the steam
Del showed in some coal, and as We 60
under Roadway he came to my side 0
the cab and stood between it and tn
tender.
II knowed what he como fur, ard 1
made me mad. Susan Briggs lived jis
at the edge nv the town and was aller
out fur my train, and Del knowed il. s
he wur goin 10 let her see him on tn
same cab with me, and in overalla
wur 30 durn mad | jist looked straigh
ahead, while he nodded and laughed a
Susan, and ahe nodded and laughed a
him. He looked back till we got rounr
the curve ami then went GRIMM to hi