Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-15

the switch. When the switch was open, its
rouEd, red target blazed a warning to ap-
thin edge of the sheet-iron target was in
visible. To render it absolutely safe, it
was interlocked with semaphore 800 feet
down the line
The rules required that the semaphore be
pulled down-to safety-oniy when in view
of the approaching engineer 1t could only
be pulled down when the switch was closed
because hole in the switch rod would then
be In position that would allow the SEM
aphore locking bar to pass through it, lock-
ing the switch. When the switch was open
the solid rod was presented to the point of
the locking bar, preventing the semaphore
being pulled down. With the seinaphore at
stop the locking bar would be withdrawn
from the hole and the switch could be
thrown either way, which was all right, as
no train would pass the semaphore when in
that position
surly old Mike Flanagan had been on
the day shift at the switch for years. He
vigorously enforced the rule everything
m ust be clear and the switch closed ten
minutes before firSt-cIass train was due.
strong In his Integrity, he showed but scant
courtesy, even to the roadmaster; so he was
respected for his fidelity to duty as heartily
as he was detested for his arrogance.
Wmie disconnecting, to put in a new set
OF nead blocks, the section gang broke the
bolt connecting the semaphore locking bar
TO It's crank; hence, for a night and a part
OF two days. the vital connection between
s Sc Ia and switch was broken Mike,
troFersy, when, with unnecessary insolence
ne drove the way freight engine back into
the yard. 1t slipped from his memory.
Dave nearly pulled the whistle off the dome
when he whipped around the curve and
Mike, the infallible, pulled the semaphore
down, with the switch open to the freight
yard.
When Dave saw the semaphore come
I down promptly in response to his whistle,
his faith in that Incompatible combination,
old Fiannigan and the fnterlocking system,
assured him that here was the safest spot
on the whole division. She was going like
a frightened deer, but he dropped her down
notch. The sharp, distinct rhythm of the
exhaust blended in a continuous roar, and
she fled, rolling wildly. toward the open
archway under the bridge.
The longer point of cutoff relieved the
boiler pressure, allowing the safety valve
TO seat. Without taking his eye from the
track, Dave reached in and shut off the in
1ector. Again that plume of feathery white
steam-indicau- g the 140-pound limit-ap-
peared at the summit of the dome. AS
Dave peered into the shadow of the coal
shed, the red target suddenly glared at him
like the eye of a basilisk. and he expert
enced the sensation railroad men know
when their time has come.
With her throttle open wide and roaring
like the incarnate fiend of destruction, she
entered the switch at a seventy mile-an-
hour gait
She heeled, her head whipped around, and,
rolling over. she powed through ties and
rails into the yard. The ripping up of
track was drowned in the clash of rending
iron and kissing steam when she hit the
way freight engine. The baggage car, de-
hected from its course before the coupler
broke, leaped over her and stripped
the way freight engine to it's boiler killing
the engineer and fireman. Four coaches
rammcd themselves into a chaotic mass of
spl1ntered wood and twisted iron against
the railroad bridge The rear one upended
itself on the pile-accentuating the horror
beneath-and stood at an unstable angle,
demonstrating What happens when an ir-
rSSlStlDle force meets lmmOVa BILE hO1V'
While ruin and death were rampant at
the NeWtoWn switch, Joe and Annie-secure
in Dawes abSence-were snugly enSconced
in shady corner of the back piazza. A
bobOlink ffuttered from the topmost twig Of
the great elm into the tall grass, filling the
silence with its joyful notes. A locust
droned its sleepy chant at their feet All
the voices of nature sang of peace, and
they were lost in the semi-oblivion of loves
grand, sweet dream.
A railroad contrast,
Although Dave plowed UP considerable
gravel, and knocked against the company's
property in a good many places, he was one
OF the first to assist the imprisoned pas
sengers, and Superintendent the loalinc of
MS engine on fiat car. He laid off for
thirty days, complaining of his back but
in one of the rare interviews they were now
able to get, Annie told Joe that she feared
her fathers nerve was gone and that he
would never run again. Joe would not ven
ture to call-nobody debut he nodded
cheerlly to the sour visage whenever he
saw 1t at the window as he passed
Dave came out of his shell and tried it
again, but it was no use. He made three
trips, but he would shut off at Newtown
switch in spite of himself, and was no good
for the rest of the trip. Finding himself
unable to make the time, he submitted to
the inevitable and applied for switch en-
glne. The old man could have given him
nice job in the passenger yard but there
are always old scores to be paid off on a
railroad. Dave had been sassy" when ne
was boss of the 81, and had the superin
tendent at his back, so now he got an old
WORKOUT hog, in the freight yard-and he
made no kick. His nerve was, indeed,
pretty well gone.
He took preliminary sweat under her
from maitland was half tired and wholly
neart-slck and discouraged when he started
IN on the twelve-hour day. He felt a terri
Die sense of disgrace. 1t was a come-down
ne mad never expected, and he was aware
mat there was a general sense of satisfac-
ton at his downfall. Not a man had
spoken word of sympathy. and he was
the oldest engineer on the road. Not that
he cared, but
The unfamiliar work, the continual ham
ding Of the reverse lever and stretch
out OF the window watching for signals
wrenched him and made every bone in
him ache. He was conscious of the sheer
ing fippancy of the yardmen, but he tough
ed 1t out.
Along toward evening he took advantage
OF momentary lull in the work to sit
down and lean his aching back against the