The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-08-19
The S:o-y 81 Inc Engineer.

Let rae z IT, name down
tii4st-I can't y lon3s:'
It was q T. ribbon meeting.
and the man as a locomotive
engineer, broazed and strong,
having eyes full OF deep le1errl;
nation. lie signed his name il
a bold, plain hand, tie;; a red rib
bon IN bis button-hole. and as he
left the hall he said:
as the Lord looks down upon
me, I,llnever touch li42cr again"
Have you heen a hard drink
err" questioned a mar who va <
ed beside the engineer.
;;No. Fact is. was never. drunk
i'll my life. I've swallowed con-
siderable whislsej;-:: bat 7 never
went far enough &c sc! drunk. ]
shouldn't miss It CT be the worse
OF for an hour il al the intoxica
ting drink ii the world vas drain
cd into the ocean.
Bat you seemed eager to sign
th2 pledge
$50 I vas, ana II! keep it
through thick 2n& thin: and talk
temperance to every man on the
road. ="
.ycu must have strong reasons. ;"
s:WelI, If you,ll walk down to
the depot III tell you a sto1y on
the way. It hasn't been III the
papers yet, aud only a few. Of us
isnow the facts. You know run
the night express Oh the B
road. iTe always have at least
two slecpers and q coach: and
sometimes we have as many IS
two hundred passengers. It's a
good road, level as iooE: and
pretty Straight, though there's &
bad spot OF Two. The night eS-
press has right CT way, and We
make fast time. It's 80 rare thing
for US TO skim along at the rate
Of fifty miles an hour foc thirty
o. forty miles, and We rarely 60
below thirty. One night ! pulled
out Of Detroit with two sleepe:s,
two coaches and the baggage
and mail cars. Nearly all the
bertlhs IN both sleepecs were full,
and most Of the seats III the
coaches were occupied. It was
a dark night: threatening all
the time to rain: and a lonesome
wind whistling around the CAB
as we left the city behind. We
were seventeen minutes late, aGt;
that meant fast time al the way
through.
We'll" he continued after .
moment. . everything ran all
right up to midnight, The track
was kept clear for US: the engine
was in good spirits: and we ran
into D as smooth as you
please. The czprcss coming east
Should meet nS fifteen miles west
Of -, but IL operator at that
station had fa;.:ed to receive his
usual report from below. That
was strange. and yet it was not,
and after a. little consultation the
conductor sent ne ahead. We
were to keep the. main track.
Night after night our time was
so close that we did rot keep them
waiting over two minutes and
we're generally III sight when
they switched ii.
:TEhen we left D we went
ahead alta rafting speed: fully
believing tlaat the other train
would be on time. Nine miles
from D is the little village Of
Parto. There is q telegraph sta
ton there, but the operator has
nc night work. lie closed his
Office and went home about nine
o'clock, and anyanessages on the
wires f07' him were held aooVe OF
below until next morning. When
T sighted the station I saI" g red
lantern swinging between the
rails. Greatly astonished ! pull
cd up the heavy train and got q
BIT Of news tilat almost lifted mc
out OF MY boots. II was Cod 5
lneccz-. as plain as this Dig depot.
1t was the operator who was
swinging tie lantern. lie had
been aroused frcnl sleep BY the
whistles OF q locomotive, when
there wasn't one II ten miles CT
him. He heard tie toot! toot:
while he was dressing and al the
way as he ran TO the station,
thinking he had been siSnaiieG.
10. there vas no train there.
Everything was as quiet as tie
grave. Theman heard his ::1si!'@-
mcnt clicking away: ana leaning
his ear against the H,jnoc1*: he
caught these words as they Ealit
through to D.
For Gods sake, switch the
Eastern express Oil quick. EnGia-
Ger on the Western express ora3E
drunk, and running q mile l min
ute
The operator sig21al!e4 Is; at
cnce. We mad Lett U-- nine
miles away. and tie message
couidn have caught Is anywhere
except at tH;asrrtto. Six miles fur
lher' down vas The long switch.