The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-22

hear the moment after my eyelids closed.
I hastily prepared for my return journey
to Pittsburg, as the clerks make TWO
round trips in succession. found the rest
of the crew in the trainshed, and we were
a dejected-looking group, but with the hasn
OF coming headlights every form, became
animated and soon all were eagerly at
work. NV arms were stiff from the pre-
vious days labor, but among the dying let
tiers and papers that was forgotten Be
fore nightfall we had retraced our Journey
of sS4 miles. and were again on the historic
ground of Fort Pitt Early we sought our
lofty sleeping rooms in the postoffice The
many twinkling lights on the hiiislde iao-
ed and the time until morning was
blank.
Before the sun was up we again sat III
our room at the station listening to Grum-
ple. Again. as two days before, came 'iie
long line of mail cars from Jersey City
with their costly load. Again, all day. we
toiled careful to lose not moment OF
time. At the end of this trip an order was
received saying, Continue on Kansas
naner run two round trips" The strain Oh
unceasing hurried movement had pro-
duced soreness in every limb but was UNI
.,,,,,,s +o make an excuse of this nature.
l Four davs more. therefore, I went back
and forth on the long journey, constant
companion of mail sacks except "heh
asleep at each terminus. After TINS L GER
| tainly expected rest, but clerk whose
mother-in-law had come on a VISIT re-
ouested me to run four days for him.
signed an agreement to do this. and at the
| end OF the period found there was still neeo
. of an extra Kansas clerk. The chief clerk
EXPLAINED that ] was not required 10 con-
tinue longer unless perfectly willing and
able IN do So Yet l seemed to be the only
available man. and the peculiar neces-
sitv'' compelled me to continue another
series of four days. had travelled so con-
| stantly that the great distance seemed
| short. like the years do to an old man. L
became too extremely weary of brain and
muscle to think of aught but my immedi-
ate surroundings and past events were en-
yeloped in blue haze of distance. Sur
| rounded constantly by newspapers yet
| lost nearly all trace of the outside world
| and did not know even the day or the
week inquired when it would be Sunday,
| and some one said yesterday" The n.y.
| ing landscape was ever before me- but only
| as picture. The real outside world to me
was the destination of my mail.
After sixteen days flying back and forth
| I began to feel like a shuttle. l was re-
| lieved from duty by the chief clerk. but
| was again confronted by responsibility.
clerk had become suddenly i'll and his run
would go by default unless taken by me.
| Not department orders, therefore, but ''pe-
| cuIiar necessity compelled me to remain
| at work. No part of the machine must
| stop. so we went back to Pittsburg, as my
partner remarked, latter another load"
| and it was truly a load that came west
| that day. We scarce could find room In
| the cars to work. 1t seemed as If there was
| a paper for every man, woman and child
| in the West Some one said, MANY of them
were going to people who had been dead
| ten years" Apparently, everybody had
| written letter to everybody and expected
| it to go speedily. Near or far. we must send
! them flying like carrier pigeons home
1--WE can't move fast enough to work so
much MALL some one remarked. Let out
| another link" rejoined the clerk in charge.
| I felt as If the last link had been let out,
| but shared the determined feeling of the
crew. who FASTENED the work as / had
never seen before. The train seemed to
travel faster than ever, and L imagined
the engineer was bent ending our
| journey before the work was completed.
| We accused the publishers of unkindness
| and charged the department with all man.
ner of sins. Extra men came to our relief,
/ and our spirits revived as many skillful
| hands swept over the tables and the papers
| rained into the sacks mouths. "It all de-
| ponds on what we get here" said my part
| ner upon our arrival at Columbus, o. Our
| spirits fell again, for there stood ten truck
| loads of mail. Open came all the side
| DOORS the mail was tossed in the cars and
we were off with scarcely time to eat
| morsel what did the Kansas car get?"
asked Mr.. Checkley. Eighty sacks of
| Comfort, one stall of Hearthstones and one
| stall of Starved ROSTERS" was the reply.
From car to car went the tidings kansas
car stuck on Starved BOOSTERS" This re-
| ferred to a paper very tedious to distri-
| butte having on its front page the picture
| of an emaciated chicken. We felt now that
| the odds were against us, but labored on
desperately. hoping the train might be de-
4 layed by some harmless accident until we
| could finish the work. Our hope turned to
| despair, however, and we went into In
/ dtanapol1S on time, with the starved
| BOOSTERS undistrbuted. 1 now did an I'M
| wise thing. An extra Kansas clerk for the
| west division failed to appear, and I Of
| fered to continue on to ST. Louis in his
| place. The necessity of the case" COM
PEELED me to go. By midnight an intoler-
! able drowsiness had come upon me. A
| mist pervaded the car and objects did not
| appear in their proper relative positions.
| In my extreme WEAKNESS 1 begged to be
/ allowed five minutes sleep, but some one
| shook me and said 1--WE must put these
| Starved BOOSTERS to bed first Don't you
| all see we are running like a scared dog
| and only sixty miles from st. Louis?" Just
| then the engine shrieked hideously and the
| airbrakes were applied with a crash, while
| the car seemed ready TO stand on its end.
| Hang on to the rods. We're going into
something" yelled my partner.
1 In my haste to reach the safety rod
| fell and lay trying to hold to the floor, ex-
/ pecting every moment to be my last. When
| we came to a stop 1 peered out but saw
nothing in the gloom except the white
/ stones Of neglected graveyard Three