The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-13
The MCWillidmS Special
BY FRANK H. sPEARMAN.

better speed than the train itself ever at
tempted-and he kicked more.
After all the row. it seems incredible, but
they never got ready to leave Chicago till
O'clock, and when the Mcwilliams special
lit into our train system it was like drop
ping a mountain lion into a bunch of steers.
Freights and extras, local passenger
trains even. were used TO being side
tracked; but when il came to laying out the
flyers and q whisper this the White mail
and the Manila express. the oil began to
sizzle in the journal boxes. The freight
business, the passenger traffic-the mail
schedules of a whole railway system-were
actually knocked by the McWilliams spe-
cial into a cooked hat.
From the minute IL cleared Western ave-
nue. it was the only thing talked Of Di-
visional headquarters and car tank shanties
alike were bursting with excitement.
On the West end we had all night to pre-
pare and at 5 O'Clock next morning every
man In the operating department was on
edge. At precisely 1858 a. m. the McWii-
| liams special stuck it's nose into our divi-
sion and Foley-pulled off No. L with the
466-was heading her dizzy for McCloud.
Already the McWilliams had made up thirty
minutes on the one hour delay in Chicago
and Lincoln threw her into hands with
a sort OF There, now, You fellows-are
you any good at all on the West end?'' And
We thought we were.
Sitting in the dispatcher's Office, we tagged
| her down the line like a swallow. Har-
ward. Oxford. GAINESVILLE, Ashton--and a
| thousand people at the McCloud station
waited for o'clock and for Foley's muddy
cap to pop through the Blackwod bluffs;
watched him stain the valley naples with
stream of black and white scream at
the junction switches, tear and crash
| through the yards. and slide Kissing and
| painting up under our nose, swing out OF
| his cab, and look at nobody at all but his
watch. We made IL $50 a. m. central time
| The miles, 1856; the minutes, 121. The sched-
| ule was beaten-and that with the 136 miles
| the fastest on the whole 1,026. Everybody
in town yelled except Foley; he asked fol-
/ % chew of tobacco, and not getting one
handily bit into his own piece.
While Foley melted his weed George Sin
clair stepped out of the superintendent
office-he was done in a black silk shirt
| with a blue four-in-hand streaming over
| his front-stepped out TO shake hands with
Foley. as one hostler got the 466 out of the
way and another backed down with a new
/ sky-scraper, the 500.
But nobody paid much attention to all
this. The mob had swarmed around the
ratty old blind-eyed baggage car. which,
with an ordinary way car, constituted the
Mcwilliams special.
| Now, what does a man with McWil-
liams's money want to travel special in an
4 pld hot the hot for
asked Andy Cameron, who was the least
/ bit huffed because he hadn't been marked
up for the run himself. You'd better take
| him In a cup of hot coffee, Sinkers." sug-
| gested Andy to the lunch counter boy
"You might get a $40 bill If the old man
isn't feeling too badly. What do you hear
from Denver. Neighbour" he asked, turning
to the superintendent of motive power. lis
the boy holding out?"
I'm not worrying about the boy holding
out; it's whether the Five-nine will hold
OUT
Aren't you going to change engines and
crews at Arickaree?"
mot to-day" said Neighbor. grimly;
1--WE haven't time"
Just then Sinkers rushed at the baggage
car with a cup of hot coffee for Mr.. Nc
| Williams. Everybody, hoping to get peer
at the capitalist. made way. Sinkers
climbed over the train chests which were
dashed to the platforms and pounded or
the door. He pounded hard. for he hoped
| and believed there was something in it, But
| he might nave pounded until his coffee frozt
for all the impression it made on the sleepy
McWilliams.
| Hasn't the man trouble enough without
tackling your chickory?" sang out Felix
Kennedy, and the laugh so discouraged
Sinkers that he gave over and sneaked
| away.
At that moment the editor of the loca
paper came around the depot corner on the
run. He was out for an interview, and, as
| usual, just a trifle late. However, he In
sisted on boarding the baggage to ten
der his sympathy to McWiliams.
The barricades bothered him, but ht
mounted them all and began an emergency
pound on the forbidding blind door. I'm
agine his feelings when the door was gently
opened by a sad-eyed man. who opened the
ball by showing rifle as big as pinch bal
under the editorial nose.
MY grief. Mr.. McWilliams." protested