The Washington times., 1904-01-03
"LARRISONS LAY-OFF." Blu FRANCIS LYNOTT

= TRICTLY speaking. there were
two Of them. with only a short
~ forty-mile run intervening, ana
there was no doubt about his
having armed them
it happened I'm this wise: harrison was
running the fast mail with his regular
engine the big GO Train No. Z. the
Pacific flyer was badly off time. and
the mail which had left the Missouri
River terminal SIX hours later. over
took the passengers at Grand Butte.
Here the division dispatcher made a
slip. The mails time was faster than
that OF the DELAYED flyer. hence. Dis
patcher Perkins should have let IL pass
No. . 81 the Butte.
But Perkins gave Z the order to go,
and ten minutes later he let the mail
follow
As it CHANGED. I was a passenger on
No that morning. the guest Of Super
intendent BiaisdeH Of the Prairie divi-
sion. Our car which was the superin-
tendent's private Office. on wheels. was
the last in the long train. Through the
plate-glass rear windows we had fire.
auent gllmpses of the mail as harrison
whisked into the tangents Just as we
were leaving them.
IF we were on the other side Of the
hill that young Berserker would have a
good chance 70 repeat MacCartney's bad
break" remarked the superintendent,
chewing grimly on his half-burned
cigar.
] nodded. MacCartney was one of the
mall engineers. who. under precisely
similar conditions. had chased No. Z to
within a hands breath Of rear-end col
lision.
Perkins will doubtless hold us at the
summit and let the mail pass" 1 ven
tured.
But again the dispatcher missed his
opportunity. And few minutes later
the chase had transferred itself to the
Western slope. with the added hazard
of a precipitous down-grade TO make
Il more exciting.
Say, by Georgei this thing is get
ting interesting" said the superintend-
ent. when McGrath. our engineer,
slammed the long flyer at a curve in
q way to make our heavy special
firt with her trucks like a light-footed
dancer trying to kick of the clogs.
glanced up at the dial Of the speed
measuring mechanism with which the
special car was fitted The index had
passed the sixty mile-an-hour mark
and was still mounting by impercept-
lille Jerks. And I.arrison. with his ten
minute handicap now cut down to less
than one. was pacing us so evenly that
we might have been towing him with
a hawser.
The catastrophe came on a bit OF
straight track near the bottom OF the
hill A herd Of range cattle browsing
near the line took a notion TO STAN
pede and cross ahead Of us. McGrath's
whistle shrieked the danger signal. and
The pointer of our speed recorder
dropped like the arm of miniature
scmaphore.
The next instant Mr.. Blaisdell and his
guest were doing involuntary somer-
saults on the brown plain 10 right and
left Of the rear platform. and Teddy
harrison had earned his vacation with
out pay.
Il was a pretty bad smash; though
thanks TO the vestibules and the empty
private car TO take the force Of tbs
blow. there were no lives lost. But
the big 6l9 had plowed a third of the
way through Mr.. Blaisdells private Of
Gee.
harrison was the only cool atom in
the chaos. You fellows had ought to
KEEP gut O. my way" he growled. when
We had dug him out OF the wreck.
n the hills 70 the northwest OF Grand
Butte lies the seigniory of one Barton
Howison. cattle king. and thither Teddy
betook himself at the beginning Of his
month OF leisure. Now. from the Bad
Lands TO the Three Tetons. you would
not find a curster Ishmaelite than this
man Howison. But he had taken a
fancy TO Teddy: and Teddy. like every
other unattached bachelor in the Chug-
water country, was desperately in love
with Mary HoWisOn-