Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-08-04
THE ENGINEER.

Will ~ WIS JuNU tlnlt 10 get out OIL Cn6
shed and take the : O'Clock express, one of
the cleaners comes to ne to SAY: Jim, old
So-and-so's took suddenly bad, and the
doctor says he won't do any more engi-
neering for days to come. You'd better
SEQ the superintendent
Well, l trots off to the office, and when I
got there, to my big surprise I found tho
boss talking to my brother Jack. He'd
just come in off a journey, and the super
intendent was telling him he'd have TO
work the express through that night.
"Here's your brother" says he, twill be
with you, and you both of you know the
road thoroughly well. You're about the
only mar on the spot that l can trust, and
when I tell you that my own wife and
little ones are going down by the 7 o'clock
you'll see how much confidence / have In
you"
Now, Jack he'd never run an express
before, but orders were orders, and we
were nearly a minute behind as it was.
So off we goes to the shed, Jack putting
on the pea jacket he'd just taken off and
shouting to n of the lads to get him a
tin bottle of tea and a crust. When we
started out, we were nearly three minutes
over the time, and it was one of those
journeys where we had to look lively at
ordinary times. We had to pull up those
minutes somewhere IN the line, and we
went in to make the engine do her level
best over a bit of straight road when we
knew everything would be clear for q run
Of Is miles.
We had got her up to a speed of over 60
miles al hour. We were fairly flying, and
the old lady went leaping along like a
greyhound. It's laundering hard work,
let Inc tell you, is firing on q job like that.
You'd hardly believe how the Goals are
gobbled up before you've hardly got them
into the furnace.
And an engineer wants just two pairs
Of eyes and three hands, besides a cool
brain, to look after his work, let me tell
you. 1t looks easy enough to stand there
and hang on to a lever and just keep your
eyes open for signals, but an engine wants
and the quicker you go the more she
wants watching.
Well, Jack had just started the whistle
IN the usual way as we ran into a tunnel
two miles long when a dreadful thing
happened. The connecting rod on the
right side Of the engine broke, and I just
heard Jack give one terrific yell as he saw
1t fly up and inward, when something
seemed to come down upon me like 40, 900
tons Of pain and blackness, and 1 knew
no more about it. 1 never heard exactly
how 1t happened, but Jack said that every
thing seemed to go to pieces in front and
around him, and he lost his senses too.
He woke up presently-it could only
have been a second or two-in awful ag-
ony, burned and scalded and almost blind,
to find himself lying on the tender, with
the flesh all peeled on his hands. And
then he remembered how the engine was
rushing away to certain smash If he
couldn't manage to get to the valve and
shut off steam.
He said afterward that he could see the
whole Of the people in the carriages like
as in a mental photograph, laughing and
chatting and carrying on, unconscious Of
the danger In front of them, and especially
he thought Of the superintendent little
yellow haired baby and his good natured
wife, budding up in each others arms as
we had seen them just before we started.
How he did it he never could toll, for
besides the rest Of the damage one of his
legs was badly broken, but he crawled
down from the top of the Goals, right into
the binding steam that kept on escaping
from the broken gauge and shut off the
steam and wound down the brake. There
was no Westinghouse then, and all we'd
got was the old fashioned style of thing.
When the front guard jumped out to see
what was the matter, he found that Jack
had fallen insensible in the six foot way.
As for me, they picked me up nearly a
mile back of where the train came to a
stand, and the two Of US were taken away
to the nearest house, while the guard went
to the next signal box and got them to
telegraph for help.
1t was many a weary week before l was
able to get about, and poor Jack he lay
between life and death for weeks longer.
But he pulled through, and l must say
all the time we lazy sick nobody could
have been kinder than the officials of the
company. As soon as we could 60 they
sent us down to Seatown, and there we
lived like fighting cocks till VIC were on
the upward grade again.
At last, when we were just beginning
go for short walks together and pick up
bit, there came a sudden message that
were wanted at a meeting in the com
pany's room, and off we toddled, wonder
what 1t could be about. When we got
there, the room was nearly full of folks,
and there was the chairman of the line
and the mayor of the town on the platform
and q whole crowd Of directors and other
gwells around them, with our superin-
tendent and his wife and daughter. As
goon as we entered there was such a hooray
rs you never heard before, and we were
along to the platform and helped
up the steps before we'd time to ask a
question. Then they gave us a seat each,
and the chairman of the line he got up to
speak.
Well, to cut 1t short, it turned out there'd
been q collection made, and there was q
gold watch and chain for Jack ON the ia.
bic, and a silver ditto for me, and a nice
new silk purse chock full Of money for my
brother and q crisp $50 note for yours
kruly.
Then Jack he gets up and rubs the
hears away with his sleeve, and he lifts up
The child and kisses her. But he wouldn't
lake the money. Instead of that he takes
hold Of n ringlet Of her pretty hair and
Ia1s quite quietlike, ''Can I have this in
Itsad, mA'amP"
And the superintendent wife, she says, )
ITO be sure you canl"
And then they cheered again and again
I'LL you'd have thought the roof would
split, and Jack and me were driven home
10 lodgings in the mayors carriage,
and there was no end Of a to do. And
when we were we'll enough there was a
big dinner in Jacks honor among the PEG.
pie Of the town, and another from the
people, and free tickets for us
10 everything in the place, and the ladies