The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-07-29
Joe Haliday's Courtship.
BY HERBERr E. HAMBLEN.

]
extra live minutes. So poor Harry--for
the sake of peace-had always run Just
as Dave told him to. But Joe was am
bilious; old fogy notions had no charms
for him. He began making changes at
once. He keyed her up all round, took
up lost motion all over her. started up
the feed on the oil cups. crawled into
the front end and did things to the
diaphragm and nozzle, and swedged
open the meshes OF the spark netting
to let her breathe. He got the valves
reset, by promising to stand between
the roundhouse foreman and cranky
Dave. He famIliarized himself with
and mastered her pet vices, spread the
light to the conductors, enthused the
fireman and went for new record.
Joe said nothing to Annie of the new
methods he was lnauguratIng, but her
father became well nigh unbearablei
however she saw Joe every other day,
so the law Of compensation more than
eYened matters up.
Dave snorted about In futile rage for
a week. He told his troubles to no
one; would hardly admit OF their ex-
istence himself. It was lncomprehensl-
BILE that "a kid Just on the freight"
should presume to maui about and
overhaul his engine. But there was
no let-up In the dissertation, and at
last It became unbearable; so down he
came one morning before Joe got away.
Stepping up to him with the air OF u
man bound TO do or die he said:
Say, young man, II you can't git
along with this engine the way she Is,
you better look for another job; I'm
gittin' about sick O. this monkey busi-
ness, ] run 'er quite spell fore you
got around, an she allus made out to
git thar with EN-"
Joe would have liked to conclliate An
nIe's father but he knew the utter fu-
tility OF attempting anything of the
kind, so he just remembered that he
was q cantankerous ola railroader, to
be effectually set upon right now. He
finished filling the rod cup, screwed the
end OF the rod n shake to try It's NJ
on the end OF the pin. Then he turned
to the enraged old engineer, and, look
ing him squarely In the eye, said, with
a firmness impossible to misunder-
stand:
"We'll settle this matter right now.
Dave. / own Just as much stock IN
this engine as you do. and I'm going
to fix things the way ! want them; II
they don't suit you. you can change
don't you come around trying to boss
don't you come around trying toboss
me, because won't stand II"
Completely flabbergasted, corked up,
his gun effectually spiked, old Dave
withdrew In disorder, while an irrever-
ent young wiper shouted: Flash in
the PAM" from under the engine. That
marked a new era. 1t was the last
time that Dave tried to run both sides
OF her. Ill-feeling Increased between
the two engineers, until Joe's love for
Annie was hardly. sufficient TO prevent
him from cordially hating her father:
Communication between them ceased
at once, but they heard from each
other daily. Brother engineers, hos
tiers and wIpers saw to 1t that they
were kept posted.
Joe made up all the time he could
and Dave wouldn't be beaten. The
| train came to be known as THE Fly
er!" and freight men quit specializing
as to how much OF her time they could
safely steal. All hands took sides. the
young runners hlnted at new blood,
while the fossils said they'd seen
''smartles" before, and predicted dull
and sickening thud.
| Neither had any advantage, Scientif-
ic running, the ability to get more work
out of an engine than she was built to
do, was the only thing that counted In
this contest. Green flags and slow
boards received acant courtesy, and
both men were had up on the carpet
and cautioned against reckless rum
ming. But competition was sharp, the
train was making name for Itself, and
nothing had happened yet; so the "su-
per" wlnked the other eye and the race
went merrily on.
ON the Fourth Of July Joe made up
seventeen minutes on the west-bound
duplicating the record. Next day
Dave left twenty minutes late and
made UP sixteen-nccording to the train
sheet, He had a row over It in the Of
fee, claiming seventeen, but had to &C
cept the official figures. He said he
would have made up the whole twenty,
only for old Flanagan holding the sem
aphore against him at Newtown, caus-
| ing him to shut off, lose his way and
crawl all the way up the mile and a
half grade to the station.
Joe laughed when he heard that, and
said he guessed the old man was losing
his nerve.
'LosIn' my nerve, be u" Dave roar
ed. when this was repeated to him.
SAY, II don't make that kid lose his
nerve fore he's follered me round the
division another thirty days, I'll take
hog on extra freight. Losin' my
nerve! Well, blast him!" and he dived
under her with an armul Of wrenches,
swearing TO himself and spluttering to-
bacco Juice In all directions.
When he left that trip-eighteen min
utes late-he told his fireman he could
pick himself out hog when he got
back. II he failed TO keep hundred and
forty on her every minute.
"Glt 'em there, Dave" the station
master called after him as he pulled
"In register %. IT, at Franklin to-
day or this mill WIN go to the shop on
n fiat car Tomorrow Dave shouted
back.
When through the tunnel and clear of
the freight yard. he dropped his hat in
the seat box and tied n red bandanna
around his head. He was out for busI-
ness. Then was seen bit OF slick run
ming. The old engineer brought into
play all the fine points he had learned
in twenty years ut the throttle. He cut
/ her back, or dropped her down n notch,
as she approached says and knobs so
! slight as to be imperceptible except to
his hnely-trained sense OF feeling. He
fed the cold water TO her with the pre-
cIslon Of a physician guiding q patient
through n crisis. and babbled and cOaXed
her like n spoiled child. And nobly she
responded she seemed TO lay her ears
back. take the bit in her teeth and fly.
The freman-mindful OF HIS chiefs
admonitIon. and that modlcum Of tho
credit OF success, as well as all the
odlum Of failure. would be hia-toiled
like galley slave. Between them
she carried the white feather at her
safety valve mile after mile, and the
steamboat train was wheeled ne It