The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-06-20
BRAKES REFUSED TO WORK.
TALE or THE MEXICAN CEN
 IR4L.
How the Engineer Kidnapped His Guard of Mexican Soldiers.

I'm not hankering to see it any mole--
 at least not where it marks the and o1
 Uncle Sam's land.
 Yet there was a time when the RiC
 Grande was the prettiest stream l eyer saw And the place where l saw 1t last and welcomed it as l never before did
 a river was the place where it's at it's
 worst where it's dust-dry 10 months iu
 the year and flooding the country Che
 other two.
 Tt was while I was running an en- zine on the Mexican Central. That's
 not bad job now. and it was better
 then, You get your pay in gold, and
 you pay your living in silver, and if
 ever a man can save money, that is his
 chance. That's what took me there,
 and the same thing tempted the rest
 of the boys. for, with the exception of
 the brakemen, all the train crews were
 American born. The Mexican is good
 in many ways, but is isn't up to run
 ming an engine or punching tickets
 Tt was a good job, all right, but it had It's drawbacks. One of these was the trick the Mexican government has
 of locking up the American part of the train crew whenever there is an accl- dent. If they locked them up when they are to blame, it would not be so
 sad; but down there they lock you up
 and then forget about you. In the
 course of a year or two they may re-
 member you, and when they have sat isfied themselves that the accident was
 an accident, and not piece of cold
 blooded deviltry on your part, they l2t
 you go. But they don't apologize, and you don't get pay for lost time. So an
 engineers job isn't pure joy down In
 Diaz-land.
 T didn't know about these draw
 backs when I took the job. But once had 1t, I wasn't going to back out, and, besides, I figured on not having any accidents For a. year it was all right Then it had to come, l was running on the north division of the road, from Moctezuma to Paso del Norte-it's Juarez, now, Charley Rob inson was my conductor and Bill Elk ins was firing. We had made the hun to Ojo Caliente and were just pulling out, when Robinson jerked the air brake like mad. I knew something was up, but I couldn't see from my side of the cab. I wasn't waiting to look though, and the way I handled the old machine to bring her to a stop was shameful. Just as I succeeded Eikins called out from the foot board, where he had swung himself:
 Too late, Dick. We've done it.
 q knew what that meant. My first idea was to jump and run But where could I run to? We were a hundred miles from the border and I knew there was no chance. There wasn't time to think twice. In half jiffy a swarm of police and soldiers, who are always about the stations, were in the cab and all over the tender. They had | Elkins and me on the platform in | minute and looked as though they were going to shoot us at once. Then an- other company or two of soldiers came up with Robinson. He told me how it | was. A Mexican full of tequila had | made a run for the train as we pulled | out. He tried to jump on the step, but his legs tangled up, and he went under the wheels before Robinson could get | to him.
 We expected to be lugged off to jail, but one thing saved us for the time. There wasn't a man in Ojo Calientc who could take the train on. 50, the captain commanding the soldiers didn't know what to do. Finally, at Robin sons suggestion, he teegraphed for to let us finish our run under a guard of his men. That seemed the 1nly way out of it, and after the wires were kept busy for half an hour, the order came for us to go ahead. Six soldiers climbed into the cab, and sat, some on the tender and some on Elk ns seat, with their guns pointed un- at us as we pulled out. A pig batch were scattered through the rain to keep watch of Robinson.
 I don't think the fellows in the cab enjoyed their ride much but I know Ell<ins and I enjoyed 1t still less. h. tead of going home at the end of the 'un, we were going to jail; and from what I knew of Mexican iails there would be no joke about it. especially when ilt might be years before we got trial
 Tt was a 40-minute run to San Jose, he next station, and in those 40 min ties Elfins and I did some tall think { ng.
 It's pretty tough to take the ma hine so close to the river and not be ble to get across, yelled Bill, as he ook a rest from shoveling coal, I'd make 9 run for it if there was a nance, but ther is no show, with these usses watching like they are T knew there was no show, once we { ad stopped in Paso del Norte But, ( omehow, Bills words put an idea into ( " head. When we got to San Jose l | limbed down and made abluff at look l lg over the engine. The station gent was an American, as they were, e len, all along the line. While I was | to look at the wheels and f , test things generally, I signaled to t i'm and Robinson to come uD. When r ley came, you would have thought ley were leading a review of the whole c [eXican army, there were so many n aggy-breeched soldiers tagging along. p here was one good thing for us about S lose soldiers, though. and that was a lat they didn't savez English. Still a wasn't taking any chances, and I F ept on with my bluff of looking over t le engine, until Robinson and the gent wondered what ! wanted. Up '' Something wrong with the old girl. G -night,' I said finally, pointing in at tt e trucks. e "The agent bent down to look, but if understood that something l sl