The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-26

have taken it upon yourself to hold
a passenger train without orders to do
so?'
Before he had time to reply, heard
the whistle and distant rumble OF an
approaching train and, rushing to the
door, locked down the track, and there,
JUS coming round the curve, saw the
reflection of headlight, which, coming
nearer and nearer, finally stopped alto
gether, and l knew q ucrta1bound train
was taking the siding at the south end
of the yard. Then the situation sud
denly flashed upon me.
Il was being he'd for a n0rthSourd
freight train which evidently had not
been protected against the midnight
express.
i excltedgy thrust my hand in The
pocket of my blouse and drew out my
orders. Although the words seemed u
swim before my eyes, thzre could be no
ntgtake as to their meaning:
=. MfIr4Ssl.. express, Ems Murphy.
VIII run to Onakdlle regardless of all
trains
: .N5inigl1t express, Eng'r Murphy,
WIN neet extra, engine los Cond'r Grey,
ct Cnalfahe.
(''Sfgned.)
.Mercfful Cell Had rot that rel
light, which 7 dared to run by, stopped
. - "
among the Pennsylvania hills. tane mid
risnt express. vita Ks lcad of living
! freight would tuva met and crasl-ad
into the heavy EorthbCund freight I. an
net very far beyond thai curve! For n
! moment l pictured the awful horrors Of
such q calamity: Listened 70 the walls
ard shrieks CT tha dying, and saw in
Imagination the crushed and bloody
} ccTPses inteTn5asled with the debris
of That terrible wreck. Then my brain
seemed to coilecc my scattered senses.
! White thus engaged the young opera
/ tors came UP AID co-4Iy iaquiI d: Wen.
| cid man, have You found out wh1-
| tagged you for?' l shook mis- hand in
( a grasp that nearly crushed il and re-
piled: I knew something awful would
| happen tonight; but tell me how it all
| occurred.
1T was short story, briefly told.
while smoking his pipe to help pass
away the time and almost inYoluntaT-
lily listening to the messages that flew
| over the wires, he had heard an order
/ for extra north Conductor Gray, &c
meet the midnight express at Ring
town. Some time after this he heard
! the operator at Port Clinton tell tbs
/ dispatcher that owing to a hot box
! Grey would probably be 80 inmates late
| in getting out. 1t was now about
| o'clock. and he was just getting his
! good night from the operator at Dan
vile Ga mighty pretty young thing she
was. too}, when the dispatcher broke
( in with an order for the midnight ex-
press to meet extra north, Conductor
| Grey, at Onakake. 1t ives no uncom-
mon thing to cancel a train order. anC
while he listened. quite as a matter Ol
habit and not Of interest, it soon passed
from his mind. When, however, The
night express whistled for hinstoNu a
flashed upon him that he had not heard
/ anything over the wire cancelling tht
order Of the extra to meet the passenSel
train at Ringtown. He flew for his rec
| lamp. which ne quickly lighted and
! swung across the track just as the eX
press appeared over the brow of TIT
hill.
Who was to blame? Well, now,
don't care to answer that When tn
superintendent had US up on the carpe
the dispatcher furnished his order book
and there was the copy of a message T.
the operator at Onakake to flag ant
hold north. Conductor Grey for orders
which vas underlined to show that
had been repeated back, and had tn
usual operators o K in the left ham
/ corner.
The operator sWore point blank tina
he had not received such q message
consequently ne couldn't have repeate
it hack. Grey and [ were all right, 70
our orders we're straight, and we too
out our runs as usual the next day. tn
Onakake operator, poor devil, was free
but between you and me l thought mir
innocent, and believe to this day tina
that third trick man dcctored his orde
; book to cover up the lap But, a
Dooley used to say. It's hard to bea