The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-10-04
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West. stoiming down the grade behind
q gnat.,,.hurled him. doubling, fifty feet
out on the spur--and stormed on into tho
East without culver out of the ordinary.
engineer of the short Inc train dld
not see the man he mad hit. and with the
nightman lying unconscious in the ditch,
fullhead never knew just how long he
lay under the stars. When his head be.
gan to whirl the wind was blowing cool
and strong on himn, and the alxan dust
ed hours. to pull himself together and to
put up his hand unsteadily 70 feel what II
hair; then to. realize that lac had been
struck by short line train; to think Of
what q failure he had lately acknowledged
himself to be; and Of what 1t was he was
holding order for Number Thirty. &c
raised his rcelng head; there was a drift
Of s.t In through the dust cloud. but
gone; With that consciousness came a
recollection-7he had forgotten to put out
his. red light
OF what 1t meant before him. He had
started to deliver an order without put
ting out his light, and. Number Thirty
end collision staring the freight and the
helated passenger In the face. Number
Thirty, running hard on her order to
make Saclley for the meeting and One,
running furiously. as she always ran
tonight worse than ever.
He lifted his head enraged with him
self; cnraEed. He thought about he
self he blamed, nobody elseNstudying
the rules for lifetime and lust when 1t
would mean the death Of trairload Of
people forgetting his red signal. He lift
eel his head. IL sick deadly RiCk. But
up It must come, Thirty gone. and it
wabbled. swooming sick and groggy as
self. One thing he he could Nd, see SC the faint
outline Of the station and his lamp blaz-
ing smoky In the window. Bulhead fig
ured a second; then he began to crawl.
had ,~c,it orf ava'r. hefo-e Ne Went
completely silly. he might yet save himself
ana number one
1t wasn't IN him to crawl til he thought
Of his own mistake. but there was a epur
in the sweep of that through his head
Ills brain, he knew. was 1yabbling. but
ne could crawl; and ne stuck fainting
to that one idea, and crawled for the light
of his lamp.
IT is q bare hundred feet across to the
Y. Bullhead taped every foot Of the
to call on for help; he Just stuck to the
crawl, grinding his teeth in bitter self
vproach. They traced him. next morn
and his struggle looked tho track of
wounded bear. Dragging along one
crushed leg and half crazed by the crack
on BIS forehead Bullhead ID. climbed q, to the
10 the door. He can tell yet about roll
Ing his broken leg under him and ra'sing
himself to grasp the thumb latch Not
IN til he tried to open 1t did he remember
|. was a snr'ng lock and that he was out
side. He felt in his pocket for his keys
but his leys were gone.
There were no rules to consult then.
No way on earth Of getting into the
Office in time to do anything: to drag
himself to the lunch room, twice TURNER
than the station. was out OF me cues
key In spite Of all bad things, and Bull
head knew the way He struggled 1aSt
around to the window. Raising himself
beat at the glass with fis fist. Clutching
tile sash ne drew himself up with hand,
and with the other tore away the mum IN
stuck his heaq 81, anf hand on the KEY and
called the first station east, Blaisdell. with
the IL. Life and death that call meant;
the 18Th the dspatehe ems G ffs eVes
the wire, and baptizing the call IN his
own biood-that is the way Bullhead
earned. 10 be a railroad man. H., .orn-
ing. and had Number One on the SID
west curve. headed by, sackley. While
Yin hole in his head that would have
killed anybody on the West End. or, for
that matter, on earth. except James GIL
After Number Thirty had passed IS SO {,
rather cautiously to Goose al, River. . Pc Pc
blamed station. They decided. OF course;
that Bullhead was asleep, and fixed
everything at the Wickiup to send new
,n5 fira III for good
a' But t about out one o'clock Number One
rolled bad-tempered. into Goose RIVER
JUNCTION and Bat MI ~ tSe s. stpptoa h1t
M smssh earl in the IL door With his heel. ana
the trainmen sWa ai n1 IN ana ,or oes the
nightman. The stove was red;hot. but
he was not asleep In the Armenian, nor
mapping under the counter on the nd s d{p
Covered the broken window. and thought
n nj Z ani' had spilled something that
nTdsp poa as OVER oy ss s there
a hand print that looked nky on an
omen letter addressed to the superintend-
ent-and little pool OF something t'Ao
n som nmies yAs said i'd suicide; but Bat Null
lee suddenly, stuck his lamp , out PIT OF t 70
broken WINDOW put ms settnr his a
term down on the platform. he. crawled
through the broken sash and picked UP
S Next morning 1t was all over the West
A "And Bullhead" cried =, everybody;
THAT'S what pggi HtSs Pc 9e Who'd have
Wien they al sGt up 9od there ev and saw
agreed that. nobody but Bullhead could
i'1 The a blot bar of the short line mogul
in ywpIng Bullhsnd pnmere af HIM nat
had let a great light in on the situation.
Whereas before every one else on the
Bulhead now saw that he an himself nno,,,b had td
stand up and say 50; When the big f fsl,
Francis, saw his trail next morning, saw
the blood smeared over the table, ; 2 and nd
s signed in Ills own blood manual.
and and heard his straight.out story
But that morning, the morning after,
callahan eksd pB the letter ths e ave po
the order book and Locked .f both in h' g
a talk with Bullhead,. and he spoke then