The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-10-09
BY JOHN A. HILL

]
idea"
Then you stay and I'll change" said
he, with a determined look, and leaned
out of the window and said no more All
the way IN.
did not go home chat day. cleaned
| the Roger William from the top OF
that mountain of sheetiron known as q
wood burner stack TO the back casting
on the tank. and tried 10 think what
! had done wrong. or not done at all.
10 incur such displeasure from Dillon.
He was in bed when I went to the
! house that evening, and l did not see
/ him until breakfast He was in his
usual spirits there, but on the way to
the station and all day long he did not
! speak to me. He noticed the extra
cleaning, and carefully avoided tar
nishing any of the cab fittings but
the awful quiet. / could hardly bear
/ It, and was half sick at the trouble
the cause Of which I could not under
stand. I thought that if the patched
| bill had anything to do with IL. Christ
mas morning would clear il up.
Our return trip was the night ex-
press, leaving the terminus at $50.
As usual. that night l got the engine
] out oiled. switched out the cars and
took the train TO the station. trimmed
my signals and headlight. and was all
ready for jim TO pull out Nine
o'clock came. and no Jim. At $40 I
sent to his boarding house. He had
not been there. He did not come at
leaving time-he did not come at ALL
At 10 o'clock the conductor sent to the
engine house for another engineer and
st 1915, instead Of an engineer, a fire.
man came. with orders for John Alex
ander to run the Roger william I'M
til further orders. / never fired a 10
connective again.
I went over that road the saddest-
hearted man that ever made a maiden
trip. 1 hoped there would be some
| tidings of Jim at home-there we're
none. can never forget the blow Il
was to mother: how she braced up
on account of her children-but oh.
that sad face, Christmas came, and
with 1t the daughter. and then there
were two instead of one-the boy was
frantic the first day, and playing mar
bles the next.
Christmas day there came a letter.
1t was from Jim-brief and cold enough
but it was such a comfort TO moth
er." 1t was directed to Mary J. Dill
ion and bore the New York postmark.
1t read:
"Uncle Sam is in need Of men. and
those who lose with Venus may win
with Mars. Enclosed papers you will
know best what to do with. Be a
mother to the children-you have three
Of them. JAMES DILLON"
He underscored the three-he was a
mystery to me. Poor mother. She
declared that no doubt "poor James
head was affected" The papers with
the letter were a will. leaving her all.
and a power of attorney allowing her
TO dispose Of or use the money in the
bank Not a line Of endearment or
love for that faithful heart that lived
on love. asked only for love, and cared
for little else.
That Christmas was day Of fasting
and prayer for us. Many letters did
we send, many advertisements We're
printed, but we never got word from
James Dillon, and Uncle Sans army
was too big TO hunt in. We We're a
changed family: quieter and more
tender of one another's feelings but
changed.
In the fall Of "a they changed the
runs around and / was booked to run
into NJ. Ed, the boy, was firing for
me. There was no reason why moth
err should stay in Boston, and we
daughter, who was a second mother
all over. used to come down to rheet
US at the station with the horse. and
/ talked sweet TO her; yet at a GER
tain point in the sweetness 1 becamc
dumb.
Along in May, 'S5. mother" got a
package from Washington. 1t con-
tanned a tintype of herself; a card
with a hole IN it made evidently by
having been forced over a button), on
which was her name and the old adj
dress in town: then there was ring
and a saber. and on the blade of the
saber was etched. Presented to Lieu
tenant James Dillon for bravery on
the field of battle" At the bottom of
the parcel was a note in strange
hand, saying simply: Found on the
body of Lieutenant Dillon after the
battle of Five Forks
Poor mother Her heart was
wrung again. and again the scaldinS
tears fell. She never told her suffer-
ings. and no one ever knew what she
bore. Her face was a little sadder
and sweeter. her hair little winter
that was al.
I am not a bit superstitious-don'
believe in signs or presentiments or
pre-nothings-bu when / went to get
my pay on Dec. IA, 1866. it gave me
little start to find I'm Ia bill bearing
the chrome of the Goddess of Liberty
with the little three cOrnered piece of
court plaster that Dillon had put on
her windpipe. I got rid OF it at once,
and said nothing to mother about
it. but kept thinking of it and seeing
it ally the next day and night.
on the night of the 18th was oiling
around my Black Maria TO take out a
local leaving our western terminus jus.
after dark. when a tall, slim old gen
tleman stepped up to me and asked
# I was the engineer / don't suppose
looked like the president, I confessed,
and held mp my torch so / could see
his facP-a pretty tough looking face.
The white mustache was one of that
military kind. reinforced with whiskers
on the right and left flank OF the mus
tache proper. He wore glasses, and
one OF the lights was ground glass.
The right cheek bone was crushed IN,
and a red scar extended across the eye
and cheek; the scar looked blue
around the ted line becaus of the
cold
Il used TO be an engineer before the
war" said he. DO you go to Boston?"
NO, TO Al"
NJ. Thought that was on a
branch
1T is, but is now an important manu-
featuring point. with regular trains
from there to each end of the main
line.
When can I get 10 Boston,"
Not until Monday now; We run no
through Sunday trains. You can go
10 NJ With me tonight. and catch
a local TO Boston in the morning.
He thought for a minute and then
said: We'll. yes; guess l had better
How is il FOR rfde?''
Good; just tell the conductor that /
told you TO get on"