Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1902-03-27


noa,u yU1ne one coming IN at the
door. Looking up, I saw it was Billy
Thedford. In very excited voice he
asked where Hunter was.
Home" said, land so sick he can't
hold his head up"
"Heavens!" said he; 81 shall be
ruined!"
Then he went on to say that, if he
wasn't in Chicago the next day, some
deal, 1 think he called it, would fall
through, and it would cost him quar-
ter of a million.
There's a train goes through juno
ticn City at 1905 that will get you to
Chicago on time" says L.
"What good'll that do me?" says he,
give been away for two days, and
only just now got the telegram. -
Hunter was here he might get Inc
down; but, as it is, may as well go
home and let the money CO."
"Mr. Thedford," said I, Bob is sick,
but can run this machine to Junction
City in time to connect with the train
you want; but you will have to fire for
me, as the two cleaners are drunk, as
you see, and there isn't another man in
this village knows the engine from the
tender hardly"
L hope that l have been forgiven that
lie, for there were two or three men
that could have fired all right, but it
struck me all of a sudden that here
svas fine chance to get even with
Billy, and let him see whether it took
any knowhow to fire an engine for a
110-miles run.
1t so happened that we had just wood
ed up on the home trip at little sta
ton three miles from Georgetown, so
we had plenty of fuel aboard to make
the run with.
"Can you do it?" says he. "Remem-
Der, it is 10 miles, and it is $3.50 now,
so you have only two and half hours
to make the run that generally takes
double that time"
81 can do it," says 1, eff you will jump
aboard, pull off your coat and do just
as tell you"
No sooner said than done, and in ten
minutes we had the old engine on the
turntable, turned her around and
were off.
If the road was rough when we ran
at our usual speed, that night, making
double time, it was just awful. AS we
flew around the curves it seemed as if
we should lose the track at every turn
of the drivers, and the poor old ma
chine rocked and swayed so that, used
as L was to it, 1 could hardly keep on
my seat by the lever.
If it was hard on me, what must it
have been to poor old Billy? l could
hardly keep from laughing in his face
as 1 watched him and heard him
groan as he handled the heavy sticks
we used for fuel.
The heat of the weather, added to
that of the furnace and the unusual
work, made him look as if he was in a
Turkish bath. The water ran down
his face, his stiff white collar hung
down on his shoulders like a wet rag
and his beautiful smooth shirt bosom
looked as if some one had thrown a
pail of dirty water over him.
His hands were torn and cut from
handling the wood, and take it alto
gether he was the most unlikely-look-
ing railway president 1 ever saw.
Once in awhile had to shout at him to
lay the wood even in the furnace, and
would tell him he would get the knack
of it in time.
Whenever he tried to rest I told him
we were losing steam, and if he wanted
TO catch that train he mustn't idle over
the work.
If 1 had thought to hitch cat on
when we started we should have run
much smoother; but it was too late to
think of that now, and so on we rushed,
now through woodlands, now past
grain fields, lurching first to one side
and then to the other, until expected
every minute to land wrong side up
in the ditch.
However, luck was with us that night,
and we pulled up at Junction City at
just II. Poor old Billy could hardly
climb down from the engine, but he
managed to gasp out:
"Come to my Office at two o'clock
next Saturday"
LEARNED afterwar6 that, finding the
Chicago train was behind time, he
hunted up clothing store and rugged
himself out so as to look like civilized
man. which he didn't when he left me.
managed to find fireman who was
willing to make the run back with me,
and finally got home at three o'clock,
and, finding the cleaners a little So
bered up, got to bed as soon as possible,
for was clean played out.
/ told Bob about my trip next day,
and thought he would die laughing to
think of old Billy playing fireman. But
all he said was:
s'I'm afraid that'll settle yonr bash