Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-18


new train made up. 1t consisted of fourteen
refrigerator cars loaded with oranges,
which had come in mysteriousy the night
before. 1t was announced that the silk
would be held for the present and the
oranges rushed through. Bright and early
the refrigerator train was run down to the
ice houses and twenty men were put to
work icing the oranges. At I o'clock Nc
Curdy pulled in the local passenger with
engine 100. Our plan was to cancel the
local and run him right out with the
oranges. When he got in he reported the
100 had sprung a tire; it knocked our
scheme into a cooked hat
There was q Authenticated conference in
the roundhouse
What can you do?" asked the superin-
tendent, in desperation
There's only one thing / can do. Put
Bartholomew Mullen on IT with the A. and
put McCurdy to bed for No. tonight" re-
sponded Neighbor.
We were running first in, first out; but
we took care to always have somebody for
l and who at least knew an injector from
an air pump.
1t was o'clock. I looked into the loco
motive stalls. The first-the only-man in
sight was Bartholomew Mullen. He was
very busy polishing the A. He had good
steam on her, and the old tub was Wheel
ing as if she had the asthma. The Al was
old; she was homely; she was rickety; but
nose as deferentially as If she had been a
spick-span, sptderdriver tail-truck mail
racer.
She wasn't much-the A. But In those
days bartholomew wasn't much: and the
A was Bartholomew
'How's she steaming, Bartholomew" I
sung out; he was right in the middle of
her. Looking up, he fingered his waste
modestly and blushed through a dab of
crude petroleum over his eye.
Hundred and thirty, sir. She's a terrible
free steamer, the old A; I'm all ready to
run her out"
''WhO'S rnarLyad nm n Era
tholomew?'
Bartholomew Mullen looked at me fra
ternally.
"Neghbor couldn't give me anybody but
wiper" said Bartholomew in a sort of
wouldn' t-that-kill-you tone.
The unconscious arrogance of the boy
quite Knocked me. soon had honocs
changed his point of view. Last night a
despised wiper; at daybreak an engineer;
and his nose in the air al the idea of TAX
ing on a wiper for fireman. And all so
innocent.
Would You object, Bartholomew" I sug-
gested, gently, Ito a trainmaster for fire
MANI"
Il don't-think so, sir"
Thank you; because / am going down
to GAINESVILLE this morning myself. and I
thought I'd ride with you. Is it all right p"
on. yes, sir-if Neighbor doesn't care"
1 smiled. He didn't know who Neighbor
TOOK orders from; but he thought, evident
ly, not from me.
Then run her down to the oranges Rar-
tholomew. and couple on, and We'll order
ourselves out. See?"
The A really looked like a baby carriage
when we got her in front of the refriger-
ators. However. after the necessary pre-
llminaries we gave a very sporty toot and
pulled out: in a few minutes we were sail
ing down the valley.
For fifty miles we bobbed along with our
cargo OF iced silk as easy as old shoes; for
l need hardly explain that we had packed
the silk into the refrigerators to confuse
the strikers. The great risk was that they
would try to ditch us.
was watching the track as a mouse
would cat. looking every minute for trou-
pie. We cleared the gumbo cut west of the
Beaver at pretty good clip, in order to
make the grade on the other side The
nrldRe there Is hidden in summer by a
grove OF hackberrys. I had just pulled
open to cool her a bit when 1 noticed how
nleh the backWater was on each side Of
the track. Suddenly l felt the fill going
soI5 under the drivers-felt the Al wobble
ana slew. Bartholomew shut off hard and
Threw the air as l sprang to the window
Inc peaceful little creek ahead looked as
angry as the Platte in April water. and the
bottoms were lake.
Somewhere I'D the valley there had baan
q cloudburSt. for overhead the sun was
bright. The Beaver was roaring over its
banks and the bridge was out. Bartholo-
NEW screamed for brakes; it looked as If we
were against it-and hard
A soft track to stop on, torrent of
storm water ahead and ten hundred thou
sand dollars worth OF silk behind-not to
mention equipment.
yelled at Bartholomew and motioned
Tor him to jump; my conscience Is clear on
that point. The Al was stumbling along
trying, like drunken man, to hang to the
rotten track.
Bartholomew" yelled; but he was
head out and looking back at his train.
while he 1erked frantically at the air lever,
l understood: the air wouldn't work. #
never Will on those old tubs when YOU need
IT, The sweat pushed out on me- l was
thinking or how much the silk would bring
US after bath in the Beaver. BarthoIo-
NEW stuck to his levers like a man in a
signal tower, but every second brought us
crosse 10 open water. Watching him, intent
only on saving his first train-heedless of
saving his life-I was really a bit ashamed
to jump. While l hestated he somehow
got the brakes to Set; the old A bucked
like broncho
train nobly at the last but 1 saw nothing
could keep her from the drink I caught
barthoIomeW terrific slap and again I
yeiIeo; then, turning to the gangway, I
dropped into the soft mud on my side The
A hung low, and it was easy lighting.
bartholomew sprang from his seat a sec
oho later, but his blouse caught in the
teeth OF the quadrant. He stopped quick
as thought and peeled the thing over his
mead. But then he was caught with his
hands in the wristbands. and the ponies of
Al tipped over the broken abutment
Pull as he would he couldn't get free The
pilot dipped Into the torrent slowly: but,
losing her balance, the Al kicked her heels
into the air like lightning, and shot with a
frightened wheeze plump into the creek,
dragging her engineer after her
The head car stopped on the brink Run
ming across the track. I looked for Barthol-
omew. He wasn't there: I knew he must
have gone down with his engine.
Throwing off my gloves, 1 dove Just as I
stood, close to the tender, which hung half
submerged. / am a good bit of a fish un-
der water. but no self-respecting fish would
be caught In that yellow mud. l realized
too, the instant / struck the water that /
should have dived on the upstream side,
The current took me away whirling; when
came up for air 1 was fifty feet below the
pier. felt 1T was all up with Bartholo-
NEW as l scrambled out: but to my amaze
ment, as shook my eyes open, the train
crew We're running forward, and there
stood Bartholomew on the track above me
looking at the refrigerators. When 1 got
to him he explained to me how he was
dragged in and had to tear the sleeves out
of his blouse under water to get free.
The surprise is how little fuss men make
about such things when they are busy 1t
took only five minutes for the conductor to
hunt up a coil Of wire and a sounder for
me, and by the time he got forward with
1t Bartholomew was halfway up a tele-
graph pole to help me cut in on live wire.
Fast as could rugged a pony, and began