The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-03

mad no Idea OF letting him escape that
way. When scorn became clearly useless
she tried cajolery-she smiled on Bull
head. Not till then did he give up; her
smile was his undoing. 1t was so abso-
lutely novel to Bulhead-Bullhead, who
had never got anything but kicks and
curses and frowns. Before Nellies smiles
judiciously administered, Bullhead melted
like the sugar she began to sprinkle in
his coffee That was what she wanted;
when he was fairly dissolved, Nellie like
the Coffee went gradually cold. Bullhead
became miserable and so her life at Goose
River was once more endurable. ~
1t was then that Bullhead began to sit
up all day, after working all night, to get
a single smile from the direction Of the
pie rack. He hung utterly miserable,
around the lunchroom all day, while Nell
lie made impersonal remarks about the
| colorless life Of a mere operator as COM
pared with life in the cab of ten-wheel-
er. She admired the engineer, Nellie-was
there ever dough-nut girl who didn't?
And when one or two rose smoking out of
the alkali east or the alkal west and the
mogul engine checked its gray string of
sleepers at the Junction platform, and
Bat Mullen climbed down to oil round
as he always did-there were the liveliest
kind Of heels behind the counter.
| Then Mullen would take as much az a
minute of his running time to walk for
ward to the engine with Miss Cassidy, and
stand in the lee of the drivers chatting
with her, while Bullhead went completely
frantic. a-E
It was being ignored in that way, after
her smiles had once been his, that crushed
the night operator. 1t filled his head with
schemes for obtaining recognition at all
hazards He began by quarreling violent
ly with Nellie, and things were coming to
a serious pass around the depot when the
Klondike business struck the Mountain
division. It came with rush and when
they began running thru freight extras by
way Of the Goose River short line day
: and night, the Junction station caught the
thick Of it.
On a certain night, windier than all the
; November nights that had gone before,
, the night operator sat alone in the office
facing resolve. Goose River had become
intolerable. Medicine Bend was not to be
thought of, for Bullhead now had a sus-
, picion. due to Callahan, that he was a.
good deal of a chump, and he wanted to
get away from the ridicule that had al
ways and everywhere made life burden.
There appeared to Bullhead nothing for it
but the Klondike. On the table before
the moody operator lay his letter of resig-
nation, addressed in due form to J. s.
. Bucks, superintendent. Near it, under
the lamp, lay a well-thumbed copy Of the
!. book Of rules, open at the chapter on
! designations, with sub-heads on e..
Resign, who should %&a
Resign, how to.
Resign, when to. (See also Time.)
The fact was 1t had at last painfully
forced itself on Bullhead that he was not
0 fitted for the railroad business. Pat
{ Francis had unfeelingly told him 80. Cal
d lahan had told him SO; Neighbor had told
e him so; Bucks had told him so: On that
d point the leading West End authorities
6 were agreed. Yet in spite Of these dis.
It couragements he had persisted and at las
5, made show. Who was 1t now that hat
G IA iC Cff
t hardly dared confess. But 1t was un
doubleday one who put up to be no author
n 1ty whatever on motive power or trail
= service or operating-1t was Matt Cas-
", sidys girl.
:. While he reread his formal letter AM
- compared on spelling with his poke
y, Webster, a train whistled. Bullheat
~ looked at the clock: 11:4o p. m. It wa
- the local freight, 80, coming in from tn
=, west working back to Medicine. From
- the east No. had not arrived: she wa
, six hours late, and Bullhead looked Oh
"a at his light, for he had orders for tn
IS freight 1t was not often that such /:
" thing happened, because 1 rarely went OF
ss schedule badly enough to throw her int
K: his turn. He had his orders copied an
Al o: K.'d, and waited only to deliver them
r; When the conductor Of the NJ
lg 30 train opened the station door, tn
ly wind followed him like a catamount. TIL
Is stove puffed open with a. down draft an
Is shot the room full Of singing smoke TIL
lg lamp blaze flew UP the chimney-out-an
tn left the nghtman and the conductor /
OF the darkness. The trainman, with
swear, showed to the door, and Bullheat
e. the patient, turned over his letter Of res
J. ignation quick In the dark, felt for
p match and relighted his lamp. Swearin
again at Bullhead, the freight conductc
d. staggered over to his table, felt in a
&; the operators pockets for cigar, tun
t. bled all the papers around, and once more
as on general principles, swore.
to Bulhead took things unoomplainingl!
re but he watched close, and was determine
1e l. to fight If the brute discovered his lette
or Of resignation. When the trainman coul
OF think Of no further indignities, he too
" his order to meet No. / at m Sack
i'd ley, the second station east Of Goose Rive
OF After he had signed, Bullhead asked hi
i'd about the depot fire at Bear Dance tha
L. had been going over the wires for tw
hours, reminded him Of the slow orde
l. for the No. culvert. and as tn
at rude visitor slammed the door behind hin
IN held his hand over the lamp. Then h
ut sat down again and turned over his lette
Id of resignation. >".. w. l3 h. s
A. To make It binding, 1t lacked only hi
a. signature-James Gillespie Blaine Lyon
~ now himself, Of the opinion Of every on
~ else on the West End; that he was Jus
So a natural born blooming fool. He lifte
al his pen to sign off the aspirations Of
~, young lt1et1mo Wnen the SOunOer Degd
- to snap and sputter and call. It was tn
=, dispatcher and he asked hurriedly If NJ
r. 33 was there. -
~ mo. 80 Is on the W answered Bull
= head es r. s..F. ..... F..
Then came train order. 'tHold N,
~ 80 till No. arrives
ne Bullhead repeated the order, and gc
ay back the o. K. He grabbed his hat an
e- hurried out of the door to deliver the ne
re order to the local freight before it shout
an pull out
he To reach the train Bulrhead had
ey cross the short line tracks The wind WE
e. securing the flats. and as he tackled up tt
RS. platform the dust swept dead into hir
1y, At the switch he sprang across the rail
'as thinking Of nothing but reaching the Ell
VS. CINE cab Of the local-forgetting about Il
WI track he was crossing. Before he cou
elf think or sec or Jump q thru freight on tt
lie short line, wild, from the west stormir
nd down the grade behind him, struck Bul
at head as a grizzly would gnat-hurls
,ht him, doubling, fifty feet out on the spur
re- and stormed on into the east without
culver out Of the ordinary. One fatal
The followed another. The engineer Of Il
aat short line train did not see the man
es. had hit, and with the nightman lying u,
nd conscious in the ditch, the local freie
TT pulled out for Sackley.
err Bullhead never knew just how long
asst lay under the stars When his head b
md gan to whirl the wind was blowing ca
,h- and strong on him, and the alkali du
lrrracJ e1S y{Sare{ x.4~ LII