The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-17

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over, there was glory aboard. Penn
sylvan1a nobs, way-up railroad men,
waiting to see what for motive power
we had in the woolly west; how we
climbed mountains and slkirted canyon
walls and crawled down two and three
per cent grades. Then with Bucks
himself in the private car-what won
der they let her out and swung De
Molay thru the gorge as maybe you've
seen particularly buoyant kite snake
Its tail out Of the grass and drag it
careening skyward. When they slowed
Second Eighty, and Bucks named the
mileage, the Pennsys refused to be-
lieve it for the hours run. But fast
as they had sped along the iron trail,
Martin Duffy's work had sped ahead
of them, and this order was waiting:
Photographic Train Order No. 70. G. and
p, third No. 80, Rat River. @. and e.
Special 1926, Elcho.
Third No. 80, Engine 210 and Special
y. M. c.,
D.
"a. With this meeting point made, it
would be pretty much over in the
pushed his sallow hair back for the
last time, and, leaving young Giddings
to get the last o. KS and the last
Complete on his trick, got out Of the
chair.
It had been tremendous day for
Giddings, a tremendous day. Thirty
two specials on the dispatchers, and
Giddings copying for the chief. He sat
down after Duffy, filled with riotous
Importance, because it was now, in eff
feet, all up to Giddings, personally;
at least until Barnes Tracy should
presently kick him out of the seat Of
honor for the night trick. Mr.. Giddings
sat "a fry
of the orders.
Very soon Pat Francis dropped off
De Molay Four, slowing at Elcho, ran
straight to the operator for his order,
signed it and at once Order 70 was
thr9bbing back to young Giddings at
p. m: when Giddings gave back the
complete and at 7:55 Elcho reported
special 326 "out,' all just like clock
work. What a head Martin Duffy has,
thought young Giddings-and behold!
all the complicated everlasting head
work Of the trick and the day, and Of
the West End and it's honor, was now
up to the signature of Third Eighty
at Rat River. Just Third, Eighty's
signature for the Rock Point meeting
and the biggest job ever tackled by a
single-track road in Al erica (Gid-
dings theught) was done and we'll
done. " .'---
Of a pocket mirror inspected a threat
ening pimple on the end of his chub-
by nose, palming the glass skillfully so
Barnes Tracy couldn't see it even If he
did interrupt his eruption, and waited
for Bob Duffy, the Rat River night
man, to come back at him with Third
Eighty's signature: Under Giddings'
chronOmeter-the watch that split
the seconds and chimed the quarters
and stopped and started SO impos-
sibly and ran to a second a month
the watch that Bucks (who never did
things by halves) had given little
Martin Duffy with the order that made
him chief. 1t lay at Giddings' fingers,
enamel dial Z o'clock IS, Sc, Z, So.
Young Giddings turned to his order
book and inspected his entries like a
methOdical bookkeeper, and Martin
Duffy's chronometer chimed the
fourth quarter, 8 o'clock. One entry
he had still to make. Book in hand,
he called Rat River.
order 70 and hurry them out" he
tapped inpatiently at Bob Duffy.
There was a wait. Giddings lighter
his pipe the way Callahan always
lighted his pipe-putting out his lips
to catch all the perfume and blowing
the first cloud away YEARLY, as Cal
lahan always did YEARLY. Then he
listened, and got suddenly this from
Bob Duffy at Rat River: -,
IT forgot order 49," came Bob
Duffy's message. II let Third Eighty
go without it. They left here 7-50'
so something. *Giddings never
heard fifty what. The match went
into the ink, the pipe into the water
oil hof0 Dab
finished, like a drowning man was
calling Elcho with the life and death
the 10 call - %2L
"Hold Special 1851" he cried over
the wire the instant Elcho replied.
But Elcho steadily answered this:
Special e-twenty-six-left -
here seven fifty fve.'' %'f T.
| Giddings, with both hands on the
table, raised up like a drunken man
The West End was against it. Third
Eighty in the open and going against
the De Molay -Four. Bucks, Callahan
wife-everybody- Rock Point E
blind siding that no word from any.
body on earth could reach ahead Of
/ Third Eighty.
Giddings sprang to@the open window
and shouted to anybody and everybod5
to call Martin Duffy. But Martin
Duffy spoke behind him.
What do you want?" he asked; Il
came terribly quick on Giddings as he
turned.
..What's the matter?" exclaimed
Martin, looking into the boys face
Speak, can't you? What's the mat.
ter. Giddings?"
Bob forgot Order IS and let Third
Eighty go without-and Special 326 i:
out of E1cho," choked Giddings.
| 'sWhat?''
"Bob at-Rat River-gave Third
Eighty clearance with the Order TO-
Martin Duffy sprang straight up il
the air. Once he shut his lifted
hands; once he looked at Giddings
staggering again thru the frightfu
news, then he dropped into the chair
i looked wildly around, seized his Ike,
like a hunted man, stared at his trail
sheet, grabbed the order book, ant
listened to Giddings cutting off on,
hope after another Of stopping Specia
4 326. His fingers set mechanically ant
he made the Rat River call; but Ra