The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-10-06

creaking on the twisting, curving trail,
and that, and the low breathing of the
air-punlp, was all we could hear. Pres.
emily the big black engine began to rise
and fall. At first it seemed that she
would climb the rail and then fall back
into the groove again. Now she was
h t!s i great deep signs: Noah II, No,
whole huge hulk Of machinery would
lift and fall, sobbing like troubled sea.
whats the matter with her now p
befor r: " "" @e' 'e' ''|i w ''"'
Not exactly that" said Noah. Eve
seen her cut good many capers, but
nothing like this"
she'll tote me in this time | promise
never to bother her again." and l saw
the fireman cross himself.
'"rhey don't have no mercy On a To-
comotivc,' Noah went on, staring
through the narrow window in front of
him. Engine amt had time to
Wei, now that he had mentioned it,
could sec that the. great engine was
heaving and falling like troubled
breast, though. as l remarked before,
was never the least bit supcrstitious.
AS VIC lay on the siding ut Shawan,
waiting for No. 10 l took the torch to
look her over. l noticed bright band
around the center Of the axle of the
pony truck. The front end of the for
rested on the axle when she had her
nose down hill, and the axle revolving,
would draw the equalizer forward and
lift it up, lifting the engine until it
could go no farther Then, with sud
den drop, the machinery would fall back
i'll place again.
l called Noah and tried to explain to
him that this might be the cause of her
signs, but he only smiled sadly and said
mourning for Moslcy. shell be as bad
as the Hundred Seven if she keeps
this up,"' he went on; "only she'll never
kill anybody"
wrote page about her in the work.
book ut the other end of the run, and
gave the one machinist in the round
house busy day. but she. was as bad
We were pushing that night, and when
we had almost reached the summit of
the Rockies she began to slip. The two
head engines pulled the train away from
me. until could feel them Juggling at
my pilot bar. Suddenly l saw great
glare in the snOwshed. 1t was the second
section coming for my tail lamps-three
powerful locomotives, all wide open
Having the benefit of the rail that l
walking into us with the speed and
weight of an ocean liner going up
against floating iceberg.
dared not whistle them down, for
the engines at the front of my train
might hear and shut off, and so increase
the danger of the 'Levcn- -Four, about to
be crushed as an egg.
fN
tank. and then the crash came. Nobody
was hurt. / got changed to another run
and Noah to another engine: BY and by
she came out again. but she never did
any good-she only made trouble for 9th
ers; and finally, after rebuilding her and
changing everything but her number,
they put her on a gravel train away up
the side of the mountain, and that was
the last of the 'Leven-Four.
Nearly every railroad man in the noun
tains, and mhiiy of my readers, know
about the Hundred and Seven. She was
mate to the Hundred and Nine, born on
Friday, her sister on Saturday; and the
Baldwins Of Philadelphia. who built her,
declare that the two engines were iden-
teal, piece for piece, from the point Of
their pilots to the tip of their tanks. But
their souls were as different as were
the souls of Jekyll and Hyde.
The Hundred-and-Nine was virtuous
honest and true. Her sister was faith
less. wanton, vain, whimsical and utter
ly constituencies. She killed more men
than any engine that ever climbed the
Rockies. Finally, when she made her
last wild leap-all gaudy in new paint
into the Gunnison river, this same Noah
was underneath her, and that was the
last of the HnndredandS Seven and the
last of Noah.-Philadelphia Evening
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