The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-10-15
.HORRIGAN'S VICTORY
BY OTTO KNEy.

tended along on both sides of the division,
and even beyond. Horrigan hated Marty,
the foreman, as did every man on that Sec
ton, Marty had an overbearing way about
him, which he got bossin' dagoes on a CON
struction job" as Horrigan put it.
Section s comprised the stretch of track
etween BN and Mn, and owing to the heavy
trattlc over it was being repaired constantly
by Martyrs gang. Marty lived near Bx,
while the section house was at Mn, but for
some reason he was allowed to live at BN.
Pull, said Horrigan.
Marty had two ways of getting home after
work. One was to flip the six o'clock freight,
which left Mn any time between six and
midnight. The other was to 60 home on the
handcar, after inveigling two Of the crew to
pump him home. The reward for this
was SOM sort of a snap job on the next day,
and, while Martyrs personal popularity
wouldn't carry him far, yet there were al
ways two men ready to run him home on
the car on occasion.
Naturally Horrigan was never seen pro-
polling Marty home, and this fact angered
the boss, because Horrigan was the only
member of the crew who refused to do that
service. If hard work was to be done Hor-
rigan was ordered to do it. If there was any
way of working Horrigan overtime without
entering it in the time book it was done.
Horrigan's reciprocation was sincere. A
section hand has very few opportunities of
returning such %favors, but when they were
found the principal was returned with good
ly interest. If anything could be lone to up
set Marty, Horrigan did it. In fact, he came
to look on it as a duty as much as his pc
riodic visits to the priest. If Marty would
order some useless piece of work done, Hor-
riuop would pnSS tho wink down tho limo
and the orders would be carried out, even if
every man jack of the crew knew that the
work would have to be done over.
Horrigan argued it this way: "Are we
the boss? Don't he get crisp when we don't
obey orders? We're laborers, not foremen!
He's the boss"
When Marty found out his error he would
have it rectified, Tuning inwardly all the
time, because he would not admit that he
was wrong. But though he patched up his
reports so that the loss of time incident to
the error did not show, yet they came back
almost invariably with a query as to the
cause Of the delay in finishing up a piece of
track or a complaint as to the time required
to do a certain job.
So it went on all the time, boss and crew
at pick points. Frequently Horrigan's name
would be sent in to the office for insubordi-
natlon, WlUu q recommendation 1OF ulS-
charge, but it would come back with a re-
quest for complainant and defendant to re-
port at headquarters. The inevitable result
of the joint dance on the carpet" was that
Horrigan never missed the pay car.
Things kept going on this way for a year,
and all concerned were tired of it. Marty
did not dare to ask for a transfer, nor did
he want to give in. Both savored of a tar
nish on his dignity, and that was unbear-
able. One day late in the spring the gang
was working on the track, and Horrigan was
replacing a worn rail, with the assistance of
Dugan. The other men were spread along
the track for a considerable distance. 1t
was mid-morning, and Horrigan did not
want to take out the rail until the limited,
due at $50, had passed. But this morning
the limited was late, and in its stead a light
freight train was moved along the block.
Marty had not noticed that the limited had
not passed on schedule, as his back had been
turned while drinking with a farmer in a
field along the track.
1t was ten o'clock, and Marty, thinking
that the limited had passed, ordered the de-
fective rail taken out. Naturally Horrigan
was averse to breaking the line until the
limited had passed. Marty, unobservant,
took Harrigan's backwardness for laziness,
and spoke to him sharply:
Say, you solder, do you think you're the
president? How much work do you expect
to do in a day."
Horrigan's answer was drowned in the
torrent of abuse spouted by Marty, and
with Dugan for a witness that he had pro-
tested against breaking the rail urtil the
limited had passed, proceeded to draw the
spikes from the rail, meanwhile keeping out
a wary eye for the %semaphore at the end of
the block.
Out came the rail, and the new one was put
in position. just as the tishplates were be-
ing bolted in preparatory to spiking the rail
the hoarse whistle of the limited's engine
was waited down the track.
They've got a new whistle on her. said
Marty TO one of the men, with the freight
in mind.
Guess So" replied the man, tamping at
a tie, with that ready acquiescence gen
orally granted Il superior, be he right or
wrong.
With the freight in mind, Marty allowed
the two men to finish replacing the rail
alone, as he figured that it would be com
pleted by the time the freight arrived. But
the llmlted-never running on a freight
schedule-hew on in an effort to gain some
of the lost time. The signal tower operator
saw the track was not clear, and threw the
semaphore to danger the limited stop
ping just beyond the new rail.
On seeing the cause of the delay the engi-
neer cursed the track crew with that tiuency
peculiar to railroaders, and was vigorously
joined by a newcomer who ran up with the
conductor.
what, do you mean to hold up the lin
tied on a job like this?' angrily inquired the
conductors companion. Where is your
boss?"
And Marty r~uefully stepped forward. 81
thought the limited had passed us on sched-
ule time, sir"
well, it seems not" answered the gem
eral superintendent, for it was he. ! guess
you had better go back to farming. Come
along with me in to the office" And Marty
took his first ride in the limited in apparent
reluctance.
You man in the red shirt, you run this
gang until you hear further"
Here, You mokes," yelled the red shirt,
at this accession of authority. to the bal