Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-09-24

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"Hold No. s, lap order" The last two
words assured him that compliance with
this order was necessary to prevent a
collision. "No. 8 is gore," he replied.
"Hold her-T. J. G." came back to
him in an instant. The man is crazy,
thought the operator, but he would try.
AS he rushed from the Office light en-
CINE was just pulling out Of the siding
to take water. This locomotive belonged
to the crew Of work train, but the
train had been left in the siding. The
operator sprang into the cab and shouted
to the engineer to pull out and catch
No. 8. "Lap ORDER" he added, and that
was enough. The driver, without wait
ing for his fireman, who was some yards
behind tugging at stiff switch in an
effort to close it, pulled the throttle
open and bounded away up the steep
grade behind the passenger train.
Now they could see the rear end Of
No. just whipping corner. The road
master saw the approaching engine and
as she came nearer guessed that she
was running wild, riderless, or that
her rider had lost control Of her. It
might be that the engineer did not see
them. Theirs was heavy train. They
were losing time. He remembered that
they had been two minutes late at
Westcreek. He called the rear fagman,
who was "railroading" with deadhead
conductor in the smoking room of the
sleeper. The fagman took in the situa-
tion at a glance. His business was to
flag regardless Of circumstances and
vague possibilities, and before the road
master could stay him the fearless flag
man swung himself round and dropped
from the train. By the time he had re-
gained his feet and found his flag the
light engine, uttering a wild shrek,
dashed by him. The engineer, to avoid
running by red flag, turned his face
to the fireman side and refused to see
the danger signal Now he was near
enough to whistle the other engines
"down," and the engine men pulling
the passenger train shut off, and when
the driver of the light engine saw
chimney Of white steam shoot up from
each of the forward locomotives he knew
they had quit and slowed his own en-
gine accordingly. When they had come
up to the train, the operator ran to the
rear of No. 8, shouted "Lap order-back
upr' and hurried over to the head end.
The roadmaster reached for the rope
and signaled the engineers to back up. 6.
The drivers opened their throttles and
whistles and began to jam the train
back.
The driver of the light engine re-
versed at once upon dropping the oper-
ator, picked up the fagman and was
now backing away for Westcreek at a
frightful pace. His fireman, still at the
switch, let him in on the siding. No. s
dropped in after him, and just as the
operator and conductor had forced the
stubborn rails Rack to the main line the
presidents special crashed over the
switch.
lot soul on board the special knew
be W near they had been to death. Their
orders read to meet No. 8 at Westcreek,
and there she was, in to clear, just as
the daring driver Of the special engine
had expected to find her.
The conductor of No. 8, with his two
engineers, the roadmaster and operator,
wasted five minutes reading, checking,
comparing and examining the orders
they had received. They were all signed
"T. J. g." by the trainmaster himself.
The thing was plain. He had given a
lap order, but had discovered his mis-
take in time by the good fortune that
had left the light engine at Westcreek
to prevent al awful disaster. He was
good fellow, and they were all glad he
had saved himself, although the Incl
dent might work to his embarrassment
when be came up for promotion. Incl
dentally they were glad that they were
alive.
To appreciate the mysterious part Of
the tale the reader should understand
the value of time-not Of hours and
minutes, but of seconds-in handling
trains on a single track railroad. 1t will
be remembered that Goodlough discov-
cred his mistake at 9:27. No. 8 was due
to pass Westcreek at :28, and at 9 30
the superintendent had seen the train
master collapse. 1t will be remembered
also that No. 8 was two minutes late,
but the man who had sent the lap order
did not know it, and his nerve would
not last until he could find it out. The
order to hold No. 8-the order which
prevented the collision and doubtless
saved many lives-was sent at 9:Sl. 1t
was signed with the initials of the train
master, but at time when that gentle
man was dead to the world and had
been so for two whole minutes.
No man was in better position to
know these facts than the superintend-
ent, who was the only man in the dis
patcher's Office at the moment when the
mysterious message" flashed over the
wire and whose business it was to in
vestigate the whole matter. AS the in
vestigation proceeded the superintendent
became intensely interested in the mys-
terry. For awhile he kept the matter to
himself, but these things will out, and
in less than o months time the ''mys-
terious message" became the leading
topic in shops, cabs, way cars and board