The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-09-20
By F. II. Spearman

the han door opened like uncanny thing ana we all
started as Callahan burst in on us go
What's SOP he echoed. WHAT'S nm .beroy v,-,,.
all? BucNsE Is everybody struck dumbei 80
Bucks spoke There's lap order ONT o., ami 49,,
theatrical special Callahan We DOM znoly 49,
happened, said Bucks sulenly. Blackburn here has
gone cra4y-or ne Knows rnehoW-there won't b.
any wreck added the superintendent slowly and be-
wilderedly- ITS between O'Fauou's and salt Rocks
somewhere Callahan take the key" he cried OF y
sudden. There's call now. Dispatcher Don't
speak; ask questions Get that message" ne ex-
be news"
And it was news; news from Anles station REPORTING
that the Irving special in at 1;52 m.-Out 1:54.
We all heard IT together, or it might not have
ina orders bs5 Ie,,51 t+ ri+fr 49, 49, - NEE nee
ger or of accident. that they had seen No.
not a word nothing In an so out al 5i Ana tis
business the Irving special-thats what We got from
Callahan looked around Gentlemen, what does
this mean? Somebody here is insane. I don't know
whether it's me or you. Blackburn Are you horsiug
1ne?' he exclaimed raising his voice anEry If YOU
are want TO say consider it a damned shabby
Bucks put up hand and without word Of com
ment repeated Backburns story just the despatch
er had told IL. In any event there's nothing do
now it's on us or ives past it, Let US wait for No.
Callahan poured over the order book. MAY be-, he
asked after while didn't you send the orders right
and copy them wrong in the book, Blackburn
The dispatcher shook his head. They went
they stand. The orders Tapped Callahan Wait till
o. J. / j
Sucks was pacing the floor. Callahan stuck silent
to the key taking what little work came, for L saw
neither Of the chiefs wanted TO trust Blackburn
ny ne s1; IoolHs TOT lne most part NacanIy INTO
the fire. Callahan meantime had the orders repeated
had said; they did lap; they had been just the
order book showed There was nothing for # but
wait for Rosebud hear from No l. When the night
operator there called the dispatcher again brought
Blackburn out of his gloom like thunderclap.
Give me the KEY" he exclaimed. There is Rose
bud" Callahan pushed back Blackburn, dropping
into the chair, took the message from the night Oper
NO. l. in 2:O3 a. m"
Blackburn answered him, and strangely, with an
the easy confidence of his ordinary sending. He
and took and sent like one again master OF the stu
ASK Engineer Sampson to come to the wire. said
he TO Rosebud Sampson, not Maize. but his brother
Arnold, pulling No. I that night
Engineer Sampson here came from Rosebud pres
entity
ASK Sampson where he met special POP tonight
We waited, wrought up, for in that reply must
the other end of the wife; then Rosebud answered.
Sampson says he viii tell you all about it in the
That viii not do" tapped the dispatcher. This is
Blackburn. Superintendent Bucks and Callahan are
here They want the facts Where did you meet spe-
There was another wearing delay. When the an
sWer came IL was slowly at the engineers dlctaton
My orders were to hold at O.Fallons Tor special
POP clicked the sounder repeating the engineers halt
ing statement when we cleared salt Rocks siding
and got down among the QHakers, was cutting along
u pretty hard to make the canyon when I saw,
the river 1t startled for L knew the 202
special could not be very far west of us. Anyway.
1 could make for Salt Rocks siding Before We had
got a mile L saw the headlight again and 1 knew the
POP was against our order We got into the clear just
the special went by humming. Nobody but our
train crew and my fireman knows anything about
this"
The three men in front of me made no comment
as they looked a each other. How it possible
for one train seen the headlight of another
among the buttes of the Peace river country"
Tt was-possibe- just possible But to figure once
n how many times a vista would have opened for a
single second so engineer could the light of
another would staggeT a mulupying machine. Chance
Well, yes perhaps But there were no suggestions OF
that that night under the despatchers lamp az
the Wick1p with the storm driving down the pass
that night and yet ut Peace river where the
clouds never rested that night was clear Blackburn
getting up, steadied himself on his feet
GO in there and lie down" said Callahan to him.
You're used up, old fellow, can see that III take
the key. Don't say a word
Not a word Blackburn put in Bucks. resting his
big hand the despatchers shoulder There's no
harm done: nobody knows il. Bury the thing right
down"
He took their hands; started to speak; but they
pushed him into Calahans room; they didn't want 20
hear anything
All the night it stormed at the Wickiup In the
morning the Irving special flying toward Chicago was
far the Platte No I was Steanlng west deep
in the heart of the Rockies Blackburn lay in Gala
hans room. 1t was 9 o'clock and the stream
ing through the east windows when Fred Norman
even when he sickest. Have a hemOrrhage one
day scare everybody death and back to his tick
Blackburn, when they pointed 20 Galatians door
Fred pushed il open and went 10. CRY brought the
operators to him. Blackburn was stretched on his
knees half the floor. half face DOWNWARD on the
sofa His head had fallen between his arms. which
vere~stretched In his hands, clasped tight,
they watch with the picture of his wife and
his baby Had he asked when he first went into that
room that nght-whcn he vrested Ike Jacob OF old In
agony of prayer-that his life be taken II only
their lives the lives OF nose in ms Aeplis L'ls %
spared? do not know. They found him dead.