The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-10-12

By Frank Fl.
SDearH7aH.

Swing up, Pat. We're on"
The Five-Ni gathered herself with
a spring. Even the engineers heart
+ quailed as they got Roadway.
He knew his business, and he
knew that If only the rails
hadn't buckled they were perfectly
safe, for the heavy truss would stand
lot of burning before giving way
under a swiftly moving train Only.
as they few nearer. the blaze rolling
up in dense volume looked horribly
threatening. After all Il was fool
hardy, and he felt Il; but he was past
the stopping now, and he pulled the
choler TO the limit. II seemed as IL
she never covered steel so fast. I'm
der the head she now had the cracking
4 bridge was less than FIVE hundrs d.
four hundred-three hundred-two hum
dred feet, and there was no longer
time to think. With a stare Sinclair
shut off. He wanted no push or pull
on the track The McWilliams Special
was just tremendous arrow, shooting
through a truss of fire, and half a
dozen speeches. men on either side of
the river waiting for the catastrophe.
Jerry MacElroy crouched low under
the gauges. Sinclair jumped from his
box and stood with a hand on the
throttle and a hand on the air the
glass crashing around his head Ike
hail. blast of fiery air and flying
cinders burned and choked him. The
engine. alive with danger. flew like a
great monkey along the writhing steel
So quick, so black. so hot the blast. and
/ so terrific the leap, she stuck her nose
into clean air before the men in the
cab could rise TO II.
There was heave in the middle ike
| the lurch of a seasick steamer. and
/ with il the Five Nine got her paws on
cool iron and solid ground, and the
Mattaback and the blaze-all except A
dozen tongues which licked the cab
and the roof of the baggage car a
minute-were behind. George Sinclair,
/ shaking the hot glass out of his hair.
looked ahead through his frizzled eye
lids and gave her a fun head for the
western bluffs of the valley; then he
looked at his watch.
1t was the hundred and ninetieth
mile post just at her nose. and the
dial read O'Clock and SIS minutes 20 a
second. There was an hour to the
good and seventy-six miles and a wa
| ter TO cover; but they We're seventy
six of the prettiest miles under ballast
anywhere, and the Five-Nine reeled
them. off like a cylinder press. Sew
enty-nine minutes later Sinclair whis-
| tied for the Denver yards.
There was a tremendous commotion
among the waiting engines. If there
was one there were fifty big locOmo-
tives. waiting TO charivari the Nc
Williams Special The wires had told
the story in Denver long before. and
as the Five-Nine sailed pOnderously
up the gridiron every mogul. every
consolidated. every ten-wheeler, every
hog. every switch bumper. every air
hose screamed an uproarious welcome
| 10 George Sinclair and the sky
scraper.
They had broken every record from
McCloud to Denver. and all knew IT,;
but as the McWilliams Special drew
swiftly past. every last man in the
yards stared at her cracked, peeled,
| blistered, haggard looks.
What the deuce have you bit into?''
cried the depot master. as the Five
Nine swept splendidly up and stopped
depot clock
sMattaback bridge is burned; had TO
crawl over on the STRIKERS" answered
Sinclair, coughing up a cinder.
Where's McVVflliarns 80
Back there sitting on his grief.
reckon"
While the crew went up to register,
two big four-horse trucks backed up
to the baggage car. and in a minute
dozen men were rolling specie kegs
| out of the door. which was smashed
| in, as being quicker than to tear open
the barbados.
Sinclair, MacElroy, and Francis with
his brakeman were surrounded by a
| crowd of railroad men. AS they stood
answering questions a big, prosperous
/ looking banker, with black rings under
his eyes, pushed in towards them, &C.
companied by the lame fellow. who
had missed the chance of a lifetime to
die rich. and by Ferguson. who had
told the story.
The banker shook hands with each
one OF the crew. you've saved US
boys. We needed it, There's a mob OF
5000 Of the worst scared people in
| America clamoring at the doors; and
by the eternal. now we're fixed fol
| every one of them. Come up to the
bank. 1 want you TO ride right III
with the coin, all of you"
II was an uncommonly queer oc-
| easion, but an uncOmmonly enthu-
siastie one. Fifty policemen made
the escort and cleared the way foi
the trucks to pull up across the side
walk, so the porters could lug the kegs
IF gold into the bank before the very
eyes of the ratified depositors-
In an hour the run was broken. Blu
when the four railroad men left ths
bank, after all sorts of hugging by
excited directors, they carried not Onll
the blessings of the officials, but eaci
In his vest pocket a check, every one
of which discounted the biggest youeh-
er ever drawn on the west end for ;
months pay; though / violate no con
fidence in stating that George Sin
clair's was bigger than any two of IN
others. And this is how it happen
that there hangs in the directors room
of the Sierra Leone National a yer.
creditable portrait of the kid engi
neer.
Besides paying tariff on the specie
the bank paid for a new coat of pain
for the McWilliams special from ca
boose to pilot She was the last trail
across the Mattaback for two weeks