The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-09-26
lis Jack holding his


mot tonight"
"How about the pusher?'
"All the way over the Horseback tonight"
"Thats the stuff"
"rhat's Bucks Bucks is the stuff" said Pat Fran
els, arbitrarily picking up his lamp to go forward
Two minutes later he was in the smoker, bending
the Italian and shaking him.
"Got your ticket Tony?'
mo gotta ticket :
Money!"
come on, then!" Francis grpped him by the
collar
"Whata do?"
Throw you off,
The italian drew back to resist. They parleyed
a moment longer only because Francis was bluffing.
If he had meant to stop the train at point, he
would have said nothing-simply dragged the fellow
out by the hair.
half It was only enough to check him to Red Cloud.
He wanted to go through, and the fare was eleven
dollars and twenty cents
The silent conductor stuck the money in his pocket
and drew cash fare slips. Just then the pusher
whstled stop signal Francis started, suddenly my
pocket he hurried vesttbule and put his head
angrily out Ahead he saw only old John Parker's
lamp and streamers. John had slid his door before
Francis could open the vestibue. That was why the
conductor loved him. because nobody, not even him.
SELF ever got ahead of John. When Francis poked
his head out look for trouble. John Parkers head
already in the wind inspecting the trouble which
came this time from the hind end Looking back,
Francis saw blaze leaping from a journal box
"Just as expected" he muttered with a. freezing
word 'That hind end couldn't smell a tar
bucket if you stuck his head into it, Get grease
john" he shouted to the old oaggaseman ana a pair
There was hardly time the to slip into
their overcoats, when Moore made sudden STOP
old John Parker was ready and waiting ahead OF
the stop, with a of grease because John didn't
have any overcoat. He hustled bad nights without
an overcoat; for his two girls were at boarding
school back in Illinois. John picked up enough
every month carrying dogs to buy an overcoat put
the dog money went largely for music and French
which extras in illinois, SO the girls parlez
vous'd and John piled out without any overcoat-
Pat Francis storned worse than the mountains as
he followed him. All the scheming to save a single
stop blazing away In the hot box Moore on the
head engine was too angry to leave his cab. 1t was
just bit too exasperating. The pusher crew stood
by, and the second engineer helped just a little:
But it Pat Francis and john with the safeties
ing confdingy. down their and with the water
soaking t1nawares mp their Was Pat and
John, silent stubborn dug bitterly at the
sizzling box flung out the blazing waste, set the
screw. twisted 1t, hooked out the smoking brasses
showed in the ones, dumped the grease, stuffed
the waste and raised their lamps for Moore before
the last Of the bad words blown out of the head
cab and down the canon. With a squeaking and
grooming and jerking, with a vicious breakaway and
anxious interval whenever a pair OF drivers Jet
co. Moore got load rolling up the grade
again. and kept her rolling hour after hour along
curve and tangent to the Horseback, and across.
At the crest, day broke, and the long. heavy tran
far above the night the Storm screamed for the
summit yard. slowed up halted, and every man-1ack
of the train crew and engine crews jumped off to
spite of it all, schedule and hair better.
How'd you ever do it, JACKIE" asked Pat Francis
at the head engine, as Moore crawled out OF his
undersdes.
"How late are we?" returned the engineer, slowing
his can and calling for wrench.
Three hours"
with a face lobster. "Coudnt done 1t, Pat, il
you'd stopped anywhere. wouldn't done it-no1
for anybody. Burdick is knocked clean out, too Are
you all ready, back there?" The pusher dtscon'
nected galoped by, with jubilant kick, for thu
roundhouse; and the double headers watered an6
coaled afresh, started with No. down the mountain
side. - %&!a ~
A different start, that-a-running past the wind
instead it; Slowing that brought excursion
lists up in tumble the seepers swung laria-1ik
around the corners. 1t was only case o
hang-on after that, hanging on all the way to Wit
Hat and then, just the Columbian Pacific trail
passengers left their breakfasts at Benton No. l, graz
and grimy, the junction, thirty-five min
late, and the agony was over. The connection
was safe, but nobody noticed who made it. Every
body was much occupied with the sunshine an
the to observe pair OF disreputable' nag
gard streaked, holow-eyed tra1nps who made thei
way modestly along the edge of the crowd tina
thronged the platform. It was only Pat Francis an
Moore, conductor and engineer of No. l.
. The agony for everybody but Pat Fran
= els. days later, Bucks, superintendent of tn
, mountain division sat in his den at the Wick1u]
reading a letter from the general manager:
"Sir: On Thursday, June 2Sth, Conductor P. Fran
u cis leaving M. B. on No. l, collected cash fare
three dollars and fifty cents from Of specis
4 service He failed to issue cash fare slip fe
required; furthermore, he carried this
~ ger all the way to Benton Kindly effect his dis
charge Let it be distinctly understood that all delir
" quencies this nature will be slmmarily dealt wit
~, "A. W. ZIMMERMAN,
= =: -:rss General Manager
~ ~ 1t wasn't a letter to go to the stove-not thu
10 kind of a letter. but Bucks fingered it much p
a ought to- fingered the clever detecti'
IS who turned from the chair car to the smoker
8 him. and from q cattleman to q "dago"
Bucks called the trainmaster.a Francis was Yves
J., due to leave Benton that afternoon No. 2, and,
luck would have it, bring back the Brooklyn par
ID from the Yellowstone. 4 And the passenger depar
& ment in Chicago was again heating the wires wi
njunctions to take care of them, and good care
s Them because: the excursion business on new III
is not only nrofitahle but iii hard up