The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-27
q STUPID BOY.
But He Saved the Railroad Mans Life
With His Knife.

The bald-headed railroad man who
frequents the rotunda of the Great
Northern Hotel these evenings is usu-
ally the centre of quite a group of
loungers, for he has many interesting
INCIDENTS of adventure to relate
when l was a section boss down In
Texas he said the other evening, II
had the crookedest piece of track in the
state-&ouldn't see two telegraph poles
at one time at any point on my section.
Right where the tool house was there
was curve and at one end Of the
curve thereNWas a switch for a passing
track. l had my men working one day
around the curve, near the tool house.
and while they were filing in q piece
of track moseyed down to take a look
at the switch at the other end ,of the
curve. The men Were about a quarter
of a mile from the switch, but out OF
view around the curve. In those DAYS
we didn't take the pAecaution to put
blocks of wood in the ehinks of the
frogs and at the end of the guard rails
as they do now to keep brakemen from
getting their feet fast. If we had I
would not have been telling this story,
because it wouldn't have happened.
AS was poking around the frog got
one Of my heels wedged in one Of the
myself free. 1 tugged away and swore
little under my breath, but ma
chinist's wise could not have held that
heel tighter than the frog did. You
can easily judge the extent Of my
alarm when l heard a train whistle for
a crossing which knew to be mile
and a half from the point whore I was
fastened. 1 looked at my watchi 1t was
the A O'Clock cannon bali from the
west, and l knew that it would bear
down upon me in three minutes unless
1 succeeded in wrenching the heel off
my shoe, which appeared q hopeless
task The train would shoot around
the curve, the engineer would not have
time to even slow down in response to
my signal, and / would be ground be-
meath the wheels. The train was ap-
preaching from the direction Of my men
and I shouted, hoping they might hear
me and flag it, but 1t was vain hope.
and / heard the train roar across a
bridge less than mile away. was
beginning to despair, but cast a glance
around to see IL help was coming from
any other quarter, when | saw small,
tow-rea6ed boy standing in the middle
Of the track behind me.
run up there yelled, pointing to-
ward the tool house, and flag the cam
non ball.
The boy looked at me, but did not
Dudge.
Run, run / whooped again. 'or I'll
be killed! Don't YOU see my foots fast
and / can't get off the track!'
THE boy said nothing, but put his
hand in his pocket and pulled out his
jackknife. / thought he would look for
a stick next so he could whittle while
he discussed my proposition, as they
do down in Texas. l could hear the en-
CINE beel ringing to warn my men to
clear the track, and l knew that there
remained but few seconds between
myself and death, as the boy had stood
inactive too long to get any distance
away and signal the engineer.
But the boy was not as stupid as
had thought him to be: indeed, he was
not half as stupid as myself. He didn't
| look for stick, but he stepped up be-
| side me. stopped down, ran the keen
| blade of his knife over my shoe string,
Strengthened up. grlnned and said:
"'Yank yer foot out, mister; here she
comes s
81 rolled off the track and the train
swept past, Land the boy sauntered away
| down the track just as If nothing at all
= had happened" Chicago Chronicla.