The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-10-17

that he would not get too far ahead,
anu then one day both of them found
places ION the left For several years
they occupied their positions as fire.
men, and during all OF that time they
kept up their old firm friendship. At
last on a happy day not long ago the
two friends were both "given engines
On the Northwestern road and they
pulled freight trains In and ont of
Chicago two or three times a week.
Everything ran smoothly until last
Monday. Early that morning John
left Jackson street to take his train
westward. 1t was a bright morning
and the engine ran smoothly. Just be-
fore reaching LaFox the throttle was
open and John was leaning easily out
of the little window. Some men APP
peared on the track and suddenly one
man. no one knows just how, tumbled
headlong across the track. John re-
versed the engine instantly, but the
wheels ground up fountain Of sparks
ard sped onward. In a frenzy of ex-
element the engineer sprang from the
door of the cab to the ground. His
body caught on the switch beam. then
tore away and plunged ito the bottom
OF the emhankment where it lay quite
still in bloody heap. q When they
picked him up life was extinct As
soon as the train reached Clinton, Iowa.
iOIii Ilc6dn HdS lcicSidpIleu IDI, anu
he came at once to attend the funeral
of his lifelong friend. Wednesday he
returned to Chicago, not having had a
wink of sleep for two nights and a day.
He IVES broken down, discouraged and
worn out with fatigue.
Tom told all that he could about the
accident and then he rnoped off to bed.
He was soon followed by all the other
boys and at midnight the street in
od hxy
motoring prairie wind on its way into
the city.
The street lamps still burned. vfeing
with the green and red crossing lamps
a half block away in deepening the
shadows around the Jacksons building
Suddenly there was crash as of break
ing glass, and a white figure shot
downward from one Of the second story
windows of the railway mems board
ing house. end lay very still where 1t
had fallen.
There were no Stnagglers in the silent
street, no one to shout an alarm. and
the white heap among the shadows lay
long unnoticed. At last some one
heard sound Of grooming. and Jack
sons was soon emptying its half-elad
boarders into the street
They picked up poor Tom Regain and
carried him upstairs. Then the doctors
were called. and after working over
him for a long time he became con-
ecious and told his story in a faint,
weak voice.
He said he had fallen asleep almost
as soon as he went to bed. Soon after
that he was on a locomotive running
westward thirty miles an hour. John
Haley was on the right, with his arm
resting easily In the cab window sill
and his hand grasping the throttle
lever. Tom himself was flring-he
knew 1T, because he could feel the fire
on his face and his back was tired. as
IL he had been shoveling a long time.
Tt seemed good to be with John; they
were not usually on the same loconlo-
tive together. Yet-and here the in
jured man raised his hand a little
John seemed hardly right; he looked
fixedly out of the window, and there
was a terrible expression of fear on his
face.
Suddenly there was a shout. Both
men on the locomotive looked out A
man was trying to turn a switch. An
other just behind him was about 10
spring across the track. He fell-here
the voice % the injured man rose almost
ITO a shrek.
John yelled to me Were going TO
run a man down Let's jump" Then 1
saw him go downward from the cab
and striks the switch, and then 1
jumped-and the speaker sunk back ex-
hausted.
The broken glass and castings of the
window showed all too plainly how he
had jumped. The dream of John had
led Tom to his death. The friends
could not be parted.