The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-10-13

suckle-clad cottage just outside Of
town. There was ananswering flutter
of handkerchiefs, and the wife and
babies gazed wistfully for moment.
their faces illumined with light not
due to the June sunshine at the disap-
pearing dust cloud left by the train at
the curve. III II
She commenced working water at
the first heavy grade, and he lost min
ute. After that the fireman could
count the mile-posts, by the nervous
swapping of Jake's watch-case. By
taking water at certain tank he
could go in without stopping for wa
ter again, otherwise he would have to
make two water stops, but it was there
that he got the bad water last trip,
and it had caused him worry enough.
He had learned from the freight
runners that the water was about all
alike on the road, but he determined,
nevertheless, to make the two water
stops; it might be little better in the
other tanks. He regained ten seconds
of the lost time before reaching the
water plug. Admonishing the fireman
to hurry, he jumped down and oiled,
finding, to his great relief, all bearings
stone cold. In spite of their haste, he
left here 11A minutes late, and she be-
haved so badly that he arrived at the
next station two minutes late. He was
only half way yet, and the prospect
was pretty blue. The next station was
a junction from which three engines
ran on a branch out to some coal
mines. One of them would be there
when he arrived. He telegraphed
ahead to have her ready for him, his
engine being disab led. His conductor
and old friend, Phil Howard, as we'll
as every man on the train, knew that
Jake's record was in danger at last.
AS there was seldom any baggage at
w., and none to put off this trip,
Howard told the baggagemaster to
jump down and uncouple the engine the
moment she stopped, saying he would
take on any baggage that might be
there, in order to save time.
The baggagemaster uncoupled the
air hose, but, before he could pull the
pin, Howard called to him: "Never
mind that now, Jim; come up, here's
a funeral to co.
While the train crew were busy
loading the casket the station agent
handed Jake a message which read;
"No engine here. Have forwarded your
message to Lelands."
Lelands had been the end of :he d.
vision before modern methods COM
PEELED the company to lengthenit out to
200 miles. There was big roundhouse
there, and plenty of engines. The
deferential care with which a casket
must be handled caused them to leave
W three full minutes late-the
limit. Neither Jake nor Howard knew
that the baggagemaster had u;coupleG
the air hose, and in the hustle at the
station that worthy had failed to OBJ
serve that no change of engines had
been made. So Jake pulled cut with
no brakes on the train, and determined
to lose no more time if it was h:lmanly
possible to avoid it.
The roundhouse foreman at Lelanda
received an order to have an engine
ready to take train 10 on it's arrival.
She was due in rs minutes, and, Won
dering what could have happened to
''Old Reliable" as Jake was popularity
called, he got his whole force on the
jump. Within five minutes of 1915 ar
irving time he had an engine,
coaled, watered, and with her safety
valve simmering at 40 pounds to the
square inch, standing on the main
trackin charge of a hostler, just beyond
the station. 1t was mighty good job,
we'll and quickly done.
After leaving W, the "s7" be-.
haved little better; she had thrown
out much of the offending matter, and
would stand pushing bit; but ut her
best she had never made up quite a
minute between there and Lelands-
and she was far from being at her best
| now.
When he reached the summit of the
hill from which he could look down
into Lelands, mile away, he knew
he would arrive there only 21s min
utes late-technically on time. He
knew to an inch how far he could use
steam, and it was with sigh of relief
that he shut her off and dropped the
lever down. He blew for the station.
glanced curiously at the airbrake
gauge-which showed the proper
pressure-and leaned YEARLY out the
window with his hand Oh the brake
| valve.
AS the train rolled rapidly down the
grade he applied the brake-gently.
to slow it up. He felt at once that it
had no hold. He glanced in alarm at
the gauge, and turned the valve all the
way around. The truth flashed over
him with paralyzing chill. He had no
brake!
He set his teeth grimly, and the gray
eyes flashed with determination as he
swung his great weight on the reverse
lever and horsed her over into the
back motion. There was a great big
chance that his time had come. AS he
reached for the whistle cord to blow
a call for brakes-more for the infor-
nation of the man on the engine ahead
than from any faith in the hand brakes
he told his fireman to jump.
That single sharp blast of the whistle
sent chill to the heart of every rail-
road man who heard it. Jake was
coming in at the rate of so miles an
hour, and no brake!
The hostler leaped from the extra
engine and ran half way across the
yard. The telegraph operator showed
a blanched face at his window. and