Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-18
| tholomew was not only not at fault but
| that he had actually saved the train by ms


that he had actually saved the train by MS
nerve
I'm tell you. Neighbour" I suggested,
when we got Strengthened around, give us
the 100 to go ahead as pilot, and run the
stuff around the river division with foieS
and the 216."
"whatn you do with No. g." growled
Neighbor. Six was the local passenger,
west.
"Annul it west of McCloud," said I, in
stantly. 'SWe've got this silk on our hands
now, and I'd move it If it tied up every
passenger train on the division. If we can
get the Internal stuff through 1t Will practl-
cally beat the strike. If we fail it Will beat
the company"
BY the time we backed to Newhall juno
ton Neighbor had made up his mind my
way. Mullen and / climbed into the 100,
and Foley with the PIG, and none too good
a grace, coupled on to the silk, and, flying
red signals, we started again for GAINESVILLE
over the river division.
Foley was always full of mischief He
had a better engine than ours, anyway, and
he took satisfaction the rest of the after
noon in crowding US. Every mile of the
way he was on our heels. / was throwing
the coal and distinctly remember.
1t was after dark when we reached the
Beverly Hill, and we took it at a lively
pace. The strikers were rot on our minds
then: it was Foley who bothered.
When the long parallel steel lines of the
upper yards spread before us, flashing
under the arc-lights we were away above
yard speed. Running a locomotive into
one of those big yards is like shooting a
rapid in a canoe. There is a bewildering
maze of tracks lighted by red and green
lamps to be watched the closest. The haz
ards multiplied the minute you pass the
throat, and a yard wreck is dreadful tan
gle; it makes everybody from roadmaster
to fagmen furious. and not even Barthoio-
new wanted to face an inquiry on yard
wreck. On the other hand, he couldn't af-
ford to be caught by Foley, who was chas
ing him out of pure caprice.
I saw the boy holding the throttle at a
half and lingering the air anxiously as We
jumped through the frogs; but the rough
est riding on track so far beats the ties a s
a cushion that when the 100 suddenly stuck
her paws through an open switch we
bounced against the roof of the cab like
foot balls. I grabbed a brace with one
hand and with the other reached instinc-
lively across to Bartholomew's side to
seize the throttle he held. But as | tried to
shut him off he ierked it wide open in
spite of me, and turned with lightning in
his eye.
mol" he cried, and his voice rang hard
The 100 took the tremendous shove at her
back and leaped like a frightened ho Sc.
Away we went across the yard, through
the cinders and over the ties My teeth
| have never been the same since. 1 don't
then l have kept off. At the moment [
was convinced that the strain had been too
m M IN, Bartholomew was stark crazy.
ing to his levers like a lobster
But his strategy was dawning on me; in
fact, he was pounding it into me. Even
the shock and scare of leaving the track
and tearing up the yard had not driven
from Barthoomews noddle the most i'm
portant feature of our situation, which was
above everything, to keep out of the way Of
the silk train.
| felt every moment more mortified at
my attempt to shut him off | had done
the trick of the woman who grabs the reins.
1t was even better to tear up the yard than
to stop for Foley to smash into and scatter
the SILK over the coal chuteS BarthOlO-
news decision was one of the traits which
make the runner: instant perception coupled
TO instant resolve. The ordinary dub thinks
what he should have done to avoid dis
aster after it is all over; Bartholomew
thought before.
On we bumped. across frogs, through
switches, over splits. and into target rods,
When-and this is the miracle of 1t all
the 100 got her fore feet on split switch
made a contact, and, after a slew or two
like begged horse, she swung up sweet
on the rails again, tender and all. Bar
thoiomew shut off with an under cut that
brought us up double and nailed her feet
with the air, right where she stood.
We had left the track, ploughed a hun
dred feet across the yards and jumped on
TO another track. 1t is the only time
ever heard of its happening anywhere, but
was on the engine with Bartholomew
Mullen when it was done
foley choked his train the instant he saw
and ran back. He had stopped Just where
we should have stood if I had shut off. Bar
tholomeW ran to the switch to examine if
The contact light. green. still burned like
false beacon; and lucky 1t did for It showed
the switch had been tempered with and ex-
onerated Bartholomew Mullen completelv
The attempt of the strikers to spill the silk
right IN the yards had only made the repu-
tatlon OF new engineer Thirty minutes
later the million dollar train was turned
over to the eastern division to wrestle with
ana we breathed, all of us, a good bit
easier.
Bartholomew Mullen, now a passenger
runner, who ranks with Kennedy and Jack
Moore and Foley and George Sinclair him
ser, got personal letter from the general
manager complimenting him on his pretty
wit; and he was good enough to say moth
ing whatever about mine
we registered that night and went to
supper together-Foley, Jackson, Bartholo-
NEW and l. Afterward we dronned into
the dispatcher's Office. Something was
coming from McCloud, but the operators
TO save their lives, couldn't catch il. i
listened minute; it was Neighbor Now
Neighbor isn't great on dispatching trains
he can make himself understood over the
poles, but his sending is like a bows saw
Ing wood-Sort of uneven
however though l am not much on run
ming yards, l claim to be able to take
the widest ball that was ever thrown
along the wire, and the chair was ten
oered me at once to catch Neighbours ex-
traordinary passes at the McCloud key
They came something like this:
To Opr:
Tell Massacre Chat was the word that
stuck them all, and l could perceive Neigh
Dor was talking emphatcally; he had ap-
parently forgotten Bartholomew last
name and was trying to connect with the
one he had disremembered the night be-
fore)-tell Massacre repeated Neighbo)
that he is al-l-l right Tell him I give i'm
double mileage for today ali the way
through. And tomorrow he gets the 100 to
keep. NEIGHB-R-OR.
Temperance Reform in Chicago.