Omaha daily bee., 1896-03-22

other point in favor of the special engi.
neer is the fact that he is due at no par
ticular point at any specified time, and
having no time card to hold him down he
may regulate the speed Of the train to suit
himself. He is always an experienced
runner who knows the road-knows every
low joint and high center, every curve and
sag on his division-consequently the Off
GERS put no limit upon the speed Of the
train, but leave 1t all to the good judg-
ment of the engineer. 1t was a clear, dry
day In the early autumn, the very best
time OF year for a fast run, and odd
Sam" had been gauging his speed for fifty
miles back so as to hit Coyote spur on the
on the. Alkali division.
By the rules of the road five minutes
were allowed for the variation of watches,
but the rule is not always wholly respected,
and as the man on the special was
known to be a daring driver the sewing
machine crew saw that they were in a
close place long before the smoke of the
approaching locomotive was seen. Now
nothing for the variation and the coveted
siding four miles away. II the opposing
train failed to respect the "fve-minute
rule she might, at that moment, be
passing the spur. At last there remained
but a single mile and only a minute to do
It in. The throttle was wide open and
the little engine was rolling 90 that the
bell rang continually. The fireman had
put in his last fire, and was now strain
ing his eyes to catch the smoke of the
special The engineer, with his left hand
on the whistle rope. chung to the side Of
the cab to keep from being thrown out of
the right Of way.
SO small that the best she could do was
forty five miles, and now when she came
down to the very last second there was still
a quarter of a mile between her and the
meeting point, but at that moment the flying
wheels of the special engine crashed over
the switch and shut her out. The little sew
ing machine, hid among the sand hills, was
straining every nerve to reach the passing
point at which she was already overdue.
The man on the special was Just beginning
to feel sure of his position when he rounded
a curve and saw the light engine emerging
from a shallow cut. or course he shut of
and tried 10 lessen the force Of the collision,
but to step was out of the question.
The fireman on the light engine saw the
special and warned his companion, for they
were curving to the left and the driver could
not see, but the four men knew that nothing
short Of a miracle could prevent a dreadful
collision and that in a few seconds time they
would all be piled up In a heap. Both driv-
ers had called to their fremen to jump, and
the fremen had turned TO their windows,
The special engineer was In the act of re-
verslng, that he might take the good opinion
of the official with him. The other driver
only showed the throttle lever in, braced him
Btlt II dMdlhNu ~ ohpthF
A man who has never lived up his last
moment on earth and survived to tell about
II afterward can never know how much
business one can transact. In his mind, dur
Ing that moment in which he waits and
listens for the swish of the scythe. But one
does not always review his past life at such
a moment; often he wastes time thinking
upon q mere trihe. EX-Representative In
LATE Pence was In a wreck the
next day after his election, and although he
had been democrat and had become a pop
ullst. he gave no thought TO the past nor the
future, but said to himself as the sleeper
plunged down an embankment, "Now, what
the devil was ! elected for?"
The driver Of the special engine had a
boy. and this boy had climbed up on a
picket fence TO kiss his father goodby that
at their home In Salt Lake, but he
slipped. fell and hung there with a fence
picket through the seat Of his first pair
OF trousers: and II was all so funny
that. now as the engineer recalled the
circumstance. he threw back his head and
as heartily as he had ever laughed
in his life. The fireman, casting a farewell
glance at his companion. saw him laughing |
and concluded. in his last moment. that the |
driver had suddenly become insane, but as
he glanced ahead where death was waiting !
he was not sure that he was sane himself.
The driver. having finished his laugh and
still feeling no shock. looked ahead. The
tack was clear. He Unmatched the reverse
lever and threw the engine in the forward
and the speed OF the train, which
had been but little checked. carried them