The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1895-03-20

- BlH0er wa
oiling her, and the fireman, as he
opened the furnace door and shoveled
in the coal, stood out like red Rem.
brandt picture in the cab against the
darkness beyond. As the engineer,
with his oil can, went carefully ar6uinTd
engine No. SO, John Saggart drew his
sleeves across his eyes, and a eulu
came up in his throat. He knew eyery
joint and bolt in that contrary old
,ep&ipssSthRs t.ssepteakesous -iroh
brute on the road, and yet, if rightly
managed, one of the swiftest and most
powerful engines the company had,
Notwithstanding the many improve
,ments that had been put upon locomo.
tives since SO left the foundry.
Saggart. as he stood there, thought
Of the seven yeaEN,hs .hsl1~psrt ~ 81
the footboard OF old SO, and of the
many tricks she had played him dur
ing that period. II, as the poet says,
the very chains and the prisoner be-
come friends through long associa-
tion, it may be imagined how much
of mans affection goes out to a
machine that he thoroughly under
stands and likes---Ss machine that is
his daily companion for years, in
danger and out of It. No. SO and
John had been in many close pinch
together, and at this moment Saggart
seemed to have forgotten that often
the pinch was caused by the pure cuss-
edness of SO herself, and he remem-
bered only that she had bravely done
her part several times when the situa.
tion was exceedingly serious.
The cry of ''All aboard |" rang out
and was echoed down from the high
arched roof of the great terminus, and
John, with a sigh, turned from his
contemplation of the engine and went
to take his place on the train. 1t was
a long train, with many sleeping cars
at the end of it, for the heavy holiday
traffic was on, and people were getting
out of town by the hundred. The
engineer had put away his oil can and
had taken his place on the engine,
standing ready to begin the long
journey the moment the signal was
given.
John Saggart climbed into the
smoking carriage at the front part of
the train. He found place in one of
the forward seats and he sank down
into it with vague feeling of uneasi-
ness at being inside a coach instead of
on the engine. He gazed out of the
window and saw the glittering electric
lights slowly slide behind, then more
quickly the red, green and white
lights of the station lamps, and finally
there Aickered swiftly past the brill.
liant constellation of city windows,
showing that the town had not vet
gone to bed. At last the flying train
plunged into the dark, and Saggart
pressed his face against the cold glass
of the window, unable to shake of his
feeling of responsibility, although he
knew that there was another man at
throttle.
He was aroused from his reverie by
a touch on his shoulder and curt re-
quest, "Tickets, please"
He pulled out of his pocket pass
and turned to hand it to the conduct
or, who stood there with a glittering
plated and crystal lantern on his arm.
''Hello, John, is this you?" cried
the conductor as soon as he saw the
face turned toward him. ''Hang it,
man, you didn't need pass travelling
with me-"
81 know it, said the engineer, ''but
they gave it to me to take me home,
and may as we'll use it as not. l
don't want to get you into trouble"
"Oh, I'd risk the trouble" said the
conductor, placing the lamp on the
floor and taking his seat beside the
engineer. 81 heard about your
worry to-day. It's too cussed bad. If
a man had got drunk at his post, as
you and have known 'em to do, it
wouldn't have seemed so hard, but at
its worst your case was only an error
of judgment, and then nothing really
happened. Old SO seems to have the
habit of pulling herself through. 1
suppose you and she have been in
worse fixes than that with not word
said about it"
"oh. yes" said John. "We'Ve been