The commonwealth., 1904-11-26

L ~ NHShS; AANhp want up. L uu R(
III out in 80 minutes. Hi, Dick,
Dick! | say, Dick, roll out Dispatcher
orders. No palayer. Come, get goin
Dick! you morphine-eater, I'll maui
you if"
Eleven loads, seven empty, IS ALL
mumbled the sleeping man. Clear fo,
No. s at Haysville, open track to-
But a violent wrench of the nose
brought Dick to a sitting posture.
After comforting himself in couple
of heavy yawns he drawled to the
one-legged man beside the bed. Hello,
Stumpy what's doing?"
You're doin', OF, at least, ought to
be. You take out special with the
Superintendent at 2:30. You've less
than 80 minutes, so cut loose"
Not any for me, Stumpy. Tell
the old man amt well; I'm down
with grip Tell him broke my leg on
the front steps, and my wife has small
pox. Tell him anything under heaven,
but give me eight hours sleep. Fifty
six hours on duty, and hundred min
utes in bed! It's against human ma
ture. / amt going" and he snuggled
down among the blankets.
But Stumpy had awakened weary
trainmen before. With one dexterous
sweep Of the arm he whipped the
blankets clear of the bed.
sa1r
simply must get up. No. is showed
up at the end of the line, and you've to
take out special and get her clear.
Hustle nowi"
Cant you get some one else?
Where's Graham?"
Hospital with pneumonia. On
duty " hours. Bad cold May go hard
with him. briefly explained Stumpy.
How about Stuart?'
Ran into an open switch and broke
his Leg"
Lucky dog! Try Mckenzie, then"
He's taking a wrecker out on the
main. It's no go, Dick. The Sup. is
going on that train, and you are going
to pull him." and Stumpy's wooden
member clattered down the stairs.
And they wonder why, sometimes.
man runs full-steam into eternity"
soliloquized Dick, as he hastily drew on
the clothes that were still warm.
"Fifty-six hours on duty, and hun
dred minutes in bed, and only twist
ed rail, or broken flange, or a care
less signal-man between me and the
Judgment seat Sitting there, hour
after hour, with the CLINT of that ever,
lasting thread of steel tugging at
sleepy eyelids, and old Shorter pant
ing a lullaby in ones ears. 0, some
times 1t happens Then the wrecker
pulls up, and while the doctors inspect
the CHASTITY heaps on the bank, the re-
porters and sightseers stand by the
scrap-heap. That's where they pulled
him out says one. He and his
fireman crushed to jelly. Brakes set;
engine reversed, but too late
Then fool newspaper runs out a
ecare-head Engineer Disregards
Signal-Plunges Scores into Eternity
Stuck to his Post at Last o yes,
did you ever hear of an engineer dodg'
ing death when the crash came? No, {
sir! not even for his wife and children! |
But the paper doesn't say that the
sleep from which that engineer wakes '
in eternity began 10, Is, 20 miles before !
the wreck"
Dick heard the gate latch behind him J
as he turned up the street. well J
paid for 1t, are we? Yes, twentieth
part Of what the G. M. draws. And {
we invest more than he does. Just our c
of old age" t
A gusty wind swept little eddies of /
line snow across the tracks. The h
electric light threw the shadows OF |
'alling fakes upon the whitened earth, h
70 that 1t seemed alive with insects. y
The moon was at the full, but only
misty dimness struggled through the p
eaden banks of cloud. t
No. 800 stood on a siding with her s,
og up. Harry, the fireman, dozed d
peacefully on his cushions. Dick mad u
carce reached his seat when Baker 7
'oked in his head. a
Hello, Dick, you pull me tonight, W
10 you? Well, we've an open run, SO el
ut her loose" he said, as he handed n
lp the order sheet.
What's our load?" asked Dick. h
Four Goals to give you weight, the al
ups car and my dog-house. Give W
he old man a whirl for his whiskers.
Dick studied his order sheet. Con. q
'aker, Driver Henderson" be read OF
No. 10, special. Open track over y
ntire division. Run regardless oil tV
Ime. Stop for orders at division al
criminal"
Harry slept peacefully "Ali rignt, ~
ID boy, take it easy for awhile, SAID ca
lick, as he threw on few shovelfuls 10
coal. He opened the blower and IN OF
lew minutes heard his safety threat qu
ming. Forward went the reversing "
r;then, as he gradually opened tne ~ -
lrottle, he felt the drivers grip tne n
Ills and the engine swing ahead. ln AZ
train-length be was hitting ~ - -
Iile clip. tn
The sWirling snow dashed against z. -
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