The Dickinson press., 1896-04-25

saw the Light En01n Emerging
From a Shallow Cut"
away toward the sewing machine, and
at the end of each minute the two loco
each other.
To be allowed to "pull" the general
manager is an honor earnestly striven
tanned it is carefully guarded. What
Of such q train is sure to count for or
lnder the eye of the management. The
run, for the train dispatcher, with his
own reputation at stake, can be de.
pended upon to keep the track clear.
he VIII hold a passenger train ten
minutes rather than hold the special
five. Another point in favor of the
special engineer Is the fact that he ia
fed time, and, having no time-card to
hold him down he may regulate the
speed of the train to suit himself. lie
knows the road-knows every low
sag on the ENTHUSIASTICALLY the
officers put no limit upon the speed of
the train, but leave it all to the good
Judgment of the engineer. 1t was a
clear, dry day in the early autumn, the
very best time Of the year for q fast
run, and 'Old Sam" had been gaugine
his speed for fifty miles back SO as to
hit Coyote spur on the dot, and break
the record for fast running on the Al
kali division.
By the rules Of the road Ave min.
s1+oc u,oYso o11orro1 ro~ &h> -n.loA4a-
Of watches, but the rule is not always
wholly respected, and as the man on
the special was known to be q daring
driver the sewing machine crew saw
that they were in q close place long
before the smoke Of the approaching
locomotive was seen. Now they had
barely five miutes left and nothing for
the variation and the coveted siding
four miles away. If the opposing
train failed to respect the "fve-minute
rule" she might, at that moment, be
passing the spur. At last there re.
manned but a single mile and only a
minute to do it in. The throttle was
wide open and the little engine was
rolling 80 that the bell rang continu.
ally. The fireman had put In his last
fire, and was now straining 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.
The wheels under the sewing ma.
chine were 80 small that the best She
could do was forty-ive miles, and now
when she came down to the very las,
second there was still a quarter Of 9
mile between her and the meetins
point. but at that moment the fyini
wheels Of the special engine crashed
over the switch and shut her out. Th,
little sewing machine, hid among til,
sand hills, was straining every nerv,
to reach the passing point at which
she was already overdue. The mai
on the special was just beginning t.
feel sure Of his position when Ii,
rounded q curve and saw the ligh
engine emerging upon a shallow cut
OF course he shut OF and tried to less
en- the force Of the collision, but t,
stop 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 AM
the driver could not see, but the fou,
men knew that nothing short of
miracle could prevent a dreadful col
lision and that in a few seconds tim,
they would all be piled up in a hear
Both drivers had called to their fire
men to jump, and the 1rsmen ha,
turned to their windows. The specia
engineer vas in the act Of reversing
that he might take the good opinio
Of the officials with him. The othe
driver only showed the throttle leve
in, braced himself and awaited til
shock.
A man who has never lived up hi
last moment on earth and survived
tell about it afterwards, can ev.
know how much business one ca
transact, in his mind, during that m
ment in which he waits and lister
for the swish of the scythe. But OF
does not always review his past Iii
at such q moment; often he waste
. time thinking upon q mere trife. E
Representative in Congress La.
Pence vas in a wreck the next ds
after his election, and although ]
; had been q Democrat and had becon
a Populist, he gave no thought to Il
past nor the future, but said to hil
= self, as the sleeper plunged down
embankment, 'Now, what the de,
was l elected for?"
The driver Of the special engine h,
| a boy, and this boy had climbed
z on q picket fence to kiss his faith
9 goodbye that morning at their ho1
In Salt Lake, but he slipped, fell al
hung there with q fence picket .throu,
the seat Of his first pair Of trousel
i and it was all 80 funny that now
the engineer recalled the circumstan,
y he threw back his head and laugh
e. as heartily as he had ever laughed
If his life. The fireman, casting q fa]
T. well glance at his companion, saw h
10 laughing and concluded, in his L.
moment that the driver had sudder
become insane, but, as he glanc
ahead where death was waiting.