The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-12-05

"h0io uC COulu 6Cc anu ucAI al
that passed between the designing vii
IAN on the tank and myself. The flow
OF water continued for three or four
minutes without any admonition on the
part of the fireman to me to cease my
heroic efforts to get enough water in the
rank to take the train up Wocdburn
nil. He was so deeply engrossed in
watching me toll that he failed to OBJ
serve the tank was nearly full. The
hrsf animation he had that crisis was
at hand was when the water boiled over
the top of the inlet and ran gurgling
down into the coal.
"Shut her of! Shut her of!' he yell
ed, dancing up and down, waving his
arms excitedly, his feet in about four
inches of water.
Having been beguiled into the belief
that the flow was wholly regulated, by
my own exertions, l gladly suspended
operations. But the watery tide was
not to be at all affected. Its rushing
current continued to pour in vast
flood into the tender. 1t gurgled past
the coal board, flooded the deck, and
fell with loud splash to the rails. The
engineer, who was oiling his machine,
heard the water surging, and thinking a
plug had been blown out and the steam
was rushing into the frebox, hurried
back from an inspection of the. journals
OF the forward trucks. 1t was so dark
that charcoal would have made white
mark on the gloom, and before he real
lied the situation he was sloshing about
in three or four inches of water at the
side of the track.
"What the hotel, Bill" he exclaim-
ed, as he backed away, a good deal
after the dainty manner. of a cat with
fypaper sticking to its feet.
'Shut it of! Turn that wheel, you
Internal idiot" howled the fireman,
climbing to one side of the tank and
balancing himself on the faring edge
to avoid being drowned.
By this time 1 was greatly alarmed
but not having yet detected the humor
of the base deception played upon me,
had no more volition than a wooden
Indian. l seized the wheel that COVER
ned the valve, but in the excitement of
the moment turned it the wrong way.
The flow at once increased about so per
cent. For an instantI feared the fire
man would lose his mind. We were in
imminent danger of flooding the station
and washing out culvert when Glaze,
heaven preserve him, always for it,
emerged from hiding between the cars
and hurrying over to where l stood in a
trance, gave the wheel a couple of turns.
The flow ceased, and in a minute only a
few dismal drops remained to remind us
OF the threatened inundulation. At
this interesting stage came the anti.
climax. Reno, the conductor, who had
been over to the telegraph office getting
orders, came striding to give the engi.
neer copy. Blandly ignorant of the
trouble, he hurried up to the gangway
to tell the engineer we were to meet
second section No. IL at Brush Siding.
There was depression on the side on
which he was, and before we knew of
his presence he stepped into this hole
and sank almost to his knees in a pool
of cold water. The remarks he made,
though viewed through the mellow haze
of long years, would look garnish in
print. recall that he did not speak
kindly of the fireman, who was sitting
on the end of tie wringing the water
from his socks. The engineer, big, red
headed fellow named Tom Hocksworth,
when he was let into the secret of the
joke, proclaimed that "was brick. %
"You fellows have no heads" he
said. Then, after momentary medita-
ton he added, Eyes, we have; but SO
have pins.'
When the train reached Murray
Hocksworth, who seemed to enjoy lot
of secret satisfaction at the discontinue
OF the fireman, told me to couple onto
him." and we'd 60 over to the "pie
foundry" and "feed." Get your fire
box up against the COUNTER" he ex.
claimed, boosting me upon stool,
"turn on the blower, open the furnace
door to yer face, kid, and bank yer fire
box for a run for q hill. Shake yer
CRATES we'll and turn on the pump, fer
ogin' to take on fuel with me-" The
above was the lingo in the parlance of
the rail with which the ruddy faced
giant extended me an invitation to be
his guest at lunch.
The incident was revived in memory
by Injecting up" with Bill Glaze, on
the station platform at Osceola last
week. had not seen him for many
years. Noticing perceptible limp in
his walk, asked the occasion for it.
"Well, you see," he said with just