The National tribune., 1900-07-19

lOGSp oAlD IHE tNGlNEERs
| the engineer slipped up to them through
the darkness. He was greatly agitated.
the change by which the Union lines were
frustrate his plans. He declared he
would almost rather die than go back with
his train.
| Talk about Andersonville being so
bad" he said. 1T is only little worse
than the rest Of the internal Southern
Confederacy. and not so much worse than
| railrOading. I've been just as much a
prisoner for the last three years as you
have been, and without any hope of ex-
change. / may have had a little more to
eat than you had at Andersonville, but
I've bin worked at all hours of the day
and night, and worse N they'd work any
of their niggers, and all for nothin'. What
| they call my wages won't hardly buy me
prison grub. l take my life in my hands
every minute / am on that crazy old scrap
heap of an engine; and then the way I'm
| lorded over by every ignorant Yahoo with
chicken CUTS on his sleeves, like that Lieu
tenant back there, makes me so hot at
times that / can hardly keep from piling
up the whole train in the bottom of a
river and killing everybody on board. I'll
certainly do it, if they keep me here an
other MONTH"
II feel pretty sure we kin work you
through somehow, even If it is daylight"
said 81. Cant we, Shortly"
well, if we can't hope I may never
Shorty, awakened to the fullest interest
| by the double opportunity Of helping a
Union man and of hurting the rebels. .'If
we can't beat this gang of dumb rebel
steers in a little game Of that kind I'll
swear off gaming
They put their heads together to con-
coct scheme which could not and must
foil Tho haH
there before, and had some knowledge of
the way things were conducted. The
| train would run up to a short distance of
line of rebel guards stretching across
the track. A few rods in front of them
| and facing them was similar line Of
Union guards. The Yankee prisoners
| would get off the train and pass through
the lines in single file between a rebel and
Union officer, who checked their names
as they were called, and the men an
swered and passed.
"That'll be all right" said 81. 81 put
| Tom Radbone's name on my list which
| made out for the rebels down there at
Andersonville. Tom belonged to our COM
pany, and was killed just as we entered
| the abatis, in the charge at kenesaw. But
| / put his name down because there was
one of the fellers who worked on the
tunnel with us that we wanted to take
| along, but he was too sick to be moved
| anu WIS IeIt DeniHu. lou just WISH THAT
| smut often your face and hands and xiv
yer 'em with common dirt, and put on
them Yankee togs you spoke of, throw
| away your shoes, fall in with us, and
answer to that name, and you'll go
through all right
Il could've done that all right, if we'd
We come up in the night, as we expected,
for Pd've lodged around, same's I'm do
| ing now. But couple o the boys that
| went up ahead O. me skipped, and now
the rebels are keen that 1 shan't. l heard
| them give orders to the Lieutenant to put
| a man on the enjine with me when we
got near the lines, and not to let me leave
| the cab until I'd run the train clear back
| here"
This did not daunt 81 or Shorty, but
| called for still more careful planning.
| Nearly the rest of the night was spent in
| preparation.
Shorty had once fired for a few days
on locomotive, and gained some knowl-
edge of the rudiments of engine-running.
1t was decided that they would all get into
| the next car to the locomotive, and that
| the train should stop at some convenient
place Just before the rebel line was
| reached, and he and the engineer change
places. Shorty run the engine down, stay
on until the engineer was safely across
| the line, and then come up, demand his
place and go through with the rear Of the
| batch Of prisoners.
what the same age, hight and build. The
engineer brought pair of shears from his
box, with which he cropped Shorty'S hair
and beard to about the same stubble
length as his own. He had an extra pair
| of old oyer-alls, and capaciOuS pair OF
carpet slippers, which he had worn when
his feet and legs had become swollen from
long standing. These Shorty put on and
smeared himself literally with engine
CRIME The engineer used his last piece
of his carefully y-treasured soap in remov-
| ing from himself every trace of his char
| acteristic soilng. which he replaced with
a soldierly sweated dust.
The next thing was to manage the
guard in the cab. Shorty was in the mood
for Draining him with the monkey wrench,
and throwing his body off in the ditch,
but it was finally decided that when the
engine stopped 81 should do something to
engage his attention. and get him off the
| engine, when it would be started without
him.
The train was started early the next
morning, and ran along to within two
sharp curve to the left. This hid the
right side of the engine from the view
from the caboOse. The engineer jumped
off to this side, oil can and wrench in
hand, and walked to the rear truck and
stopped down as if to serutiniZe something
that had gone wrong there. Instantly,
Shorty was by his side, and some light
ming transformations of garments were
made in the shadow of the overhanging
trucks.
At the same moment 81, leaning far out
of the car-door, called to the guard:
Say, guard, do you like honey?"