The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-27
Soda-Water Sal. A Railroad Story
By Frank II. Spesrmsn

TO the track or the engine. From the coal
to the fire, the fire TO the water, the water
70 the gauge. the gauge 10 the stack, and
back again 10 the cOal-that was Burns
Neither eyes nor ears nor muscles for any
thing but steam.
Such a firing as the West End never saw
till that night: such a firing as the old en-
CINE never felt in her choking fiues till
that night: such a firing as Dad Sinclair,
king of all West and East End fremen,
lifted his hat tO-that was Burns nTlng
that night on Soda Water Sal; the night she
chased the Acton runaways down the line
10 save George Sinclair and No. l.
II was a frightful pace-hOw frightful no
one ever knew: neither old man Sinclair
nor Dick Burns ever cared. Only, the crew
of a freight, side-tracked for the approach
ing Flyer, saw an engine flying light; knew
the hunter and the quarry, for they had
seen the runaWays shoot by-SaW then,
minute after, star and "A streak and
trail of rotten smoke fly down the wind.
and she had come and passed and gone.
Ii was just east of that siding, so Burns
and Sinclair always maintained-but 1t
measured 10000 feet east-that they caught
them.
A shout from Dad brought the dripping
fireman up standing. and looking ahead he
saw in the blaze of their own headlight the
string of cOalers standing still ahead of
them. So IL seemed to him, their own speed
was so great, and the runawaTs were almost
equaling il. They were making forty miles
an hour when they dashed past the para
lyZed crew.
Without waiting for Orders-what orders
did such a man need?-without a word,
Burns crawled out of his window with a
pin and ran forward on the footboard cling
ing the best he could, the engine dipped
and lurched, climbed down on the cow
catcher and lifted the pilot-bar to couple
~ was crazy thing to attempt; he was
much likelier to get under the pilot than to
succeed; yet he tried it,
Then it was that the fine hand Of Dad Sin
clair came into play To temper the speed
enough, and just enough; TO push her nose
just enough, and far enough for Burns TO
make the draw-bar of the rUnaway-that
was the nicely of the big scanned hands on
the throttle and on the air; the very magic
OF touch which, on a slender bar of steel,
| could push hundred tons of flying metal
up, and hold ii STEADY IN a play of six
inches on the teeth of the gale that tore
down behind him.
again ,, and again Burns tried to couple,
ahead. caught sight of the headlight of No.
| l rounding O'Fallon's bluffs.
He cried to Burns, and, incredible though
IL seems, the fireman heard. Above all the
| Internal din. the tearing of the fianges and
| the roaring of the wind Burns heard the
cry; 1t nerved him to supreme effort. He
| slipped the eye once more into the draw
and managed to drop his pin. Up went his
| hand I'm signal.
Choking the steam. Sinclair threw the
| brake-shoes flaming against the big drivers.
| The sand poured on the rails, and with
| Burns up on the cOalers setting brakes,
the three great runaways were brought 70
| with jerk that would have astounded the
most reckless scapegraces in the world.
While the plucKy fireman crept along the
| top of the freight cars TO keep from being
| blown bodily through the air, Sinclair, with
| every resource that brain and nerve and
| power could exert. was struggling to over
come the terrible Roadway of pursuer and
| pursued, driving now frightfully into the
| beaming heao of No. l.
With the Johnson bar over and the drivers
| dancing a gallop backward; with the sand
/ striking fire. and the rails burning under
| it, with the old sky-scrapeT shivering again
| I'm terrific struggle. and Burns twisting
| the heads off the brake-rOdS; with every
| trick of old Sinclairs cunning and his boy
| duplicating every one of them in the cab
/ of No. 1-still they came together. 1t was
/ too fearful a momentum to overcome, when
minutes and tons are reckoEed by thou
sands.
They came together. but instead of an
| appalling wleck-destructiOn and death
| II was only bump No. l had the speed
when they met, and it was car of coal