The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-13


fore leave you in charge"
Then he told him how to run the loco
motive and after looking at his watch and
saying he'd be back in half an hour he
went over the cars TO the Masons and
Orville was alone with the engine-and the
fireman.
l dare say that if the people in the cars
had known that a boy of twelve was run
ming the train they would have worried
some; it is just as we'll they didn't know.
A worry that you don't know anything
about is a harmless affair.
OF course Orville being a boy was not
at all pleased at the speed which the
Train was making. I believe they were
going at something like forty-f1ve miles
an hour.
"Will she stand sixty?" said he to Dan,
the fireman.
She'll stand it all right If we don't run
into anything" said Dan, pausing in his
occupation of heaving coal into the fur
mace.
We'll. you can tell me if we're catch
ing up to anything and I'll let her 60"
II can't shovel coal and KEEP a look out,
young feller,' said Dan, who did not half
like being bossed over by a twelve year
old.
We'll, guess I'll see far enough ahead
to keep her nose out of anything in front.
Here goes"
In a minute the telegraph poles looked
like a tangle of fine hair, they were so
close together, and people in all the cars
said, They're making up lost time. Lucky
this is a four-track road"
All would have gone well If Orville had
kept to the main road, but when he reach
ed Bridgeport he thought it would be fun
to try run up the Naugatuck Valley
Road, which is a single track affair.
AS luck would have it the switch was
set for a local train that was going to
make up and start out on the n. V.
read in a few minutes, and Orville's ex-
press came along so fast that they
hadn't time 90 set the switch. This was
before the days of The block system. Don't
| make me lose time telling you about the
block system now. Ask your parents when
they are not rea ding.
To Orville's great delight the train Gid
| ed out on 20 the switch and was soon fly
| ing up the Naugatuck Valley at a 2:40
| clip.
Many of the passengers wanted to get
off at Bridgeport and they pulled the
| bell cord, but Orvile didn't know what
| that meant, and Dan was too busy show
| cling coal 20 notice anything else, so they
| sped on past Stratford at a speed that
| had never been known in the history of
| the N. V. road People few to their win
| dows to see a fast train go by and some
of them tainted for joy and some of them
| tainted of fright, but that didn't stop the
| train, which went on totally unconscious
| that there was freight train on the same
| track not five miles ahead.
Dan, who was very near sighted, didn' t
i notice that they had left the main road,
| and the engineer for a time was so alb
| sorbed in his business talk that he did
not notice either. But when ne did he
| leaped to his feet in an instant and said:
| II beg pardon, but that son of yours has
made mistake in the road and the train
has lost its way and its right Of way and
| therell be trouble in a minute unless I
go back"
Then he took off his oily cap to Mrs.
| Mason and swung himself up on the roof
| and ran to the engine.
| In the meantime Ory1lle was naturally
| delighted at the wonderful speed he was
making and that on q new road He ad-
| mired the scenery and yelled to Dan to
| coal her up, and shouted with delight at
the thought that he was master of train
| of eleven cars. AND I'm afraid the
| thought that he was going to land a lot
| of people miles from their destinations
rather pleased him, for he was a mis-
| chievous boy.
The rest is history.
Just above Derby the freight, which
was running ahead OF them, jumped the
| track not five minutes before Orville' S
| express reached that point. It was load
| ed with absorbent cotton, and the tracks
| were embedded yards deep In the soft
| stuff.
! Just "a the engineer reached the tender
the train rounded a curve and the wreck
| lay ahead Of them. 1t was too late to do
| anything, and really Orville didn't know
what to do, so he let her slide. The en-
| gtneer was unable to reach the cab before
| the collision occurred.
1 tremble to think what would have hap
pened If the freight train had been loaded
| with granite. But cotton. Well, the train
just lay down in It as a sheep lies down
In the grass. The terrified passengers
| jumped from the open windows, and not
a soul was injured except the fireman,
| and he barked his shin, and / think It
| served him right for not paying more at
| tention TO where Orville was going.
That young man felt he was something
| of a hero, for he took a flying leap
| through the cab window and landed three
cars ahead in the cotton, but he changed
his views when an old gentleman came up
and scolded him roundly for taking too
much of a responsibility upon his shoul-
| ders.
AS for the engineer he was laid off for
three months for talking business during
| business hours (Which seems queer and
Mr.. Mason was asked to resign from his
dictatorship, and 1t is now an unwritten
| rule of the N. Y. ". X & 2. r. r. that
no boy under 10 can run an engine without
| a permit signed by all the directors
|