Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1906-04-27


1t was the swing of the sailor into the
sllrouds, of the Cossack into the saddle.
of the yacht into the wind II was like
FILLING down or falling up or falling on
the grace Of mastery of gravitatlon
that was Shockley's swing on the
footboard Of the yard engine as It shot
snoring past him.
iIIe's all right" muttered Callahan.
1t was enough.
A man who filpbed tender like that
was not Ike to so very wrong even in
that chaos Of rails and ties and string
ers and coal
Nov" continued Callahan to him
self. timldly hopeful, 'ff the cuss only
doesn't get to drlnking" He watched
apprehenslvely. dreading the first time
he should see him entering Pat Barlie's
place, but Shockley didn't appear to
know Pat had a place. The cowboys,
too, watched him. waiting for his lamp
to CLEAN. at night down in the yard.
but their patience was strained for
long time. Shoekley got all his work
done by dayllght..sd Az,
To the surprise Of Callahan. and
probably on the principle of the watch.
ed pot, the whole winter went without
brush between Shockley and the COW.
boys. Even Peg Leg Reynolds let him
alone Ties the fickiest fellow on
earth, /" remarked Callahan one day at
McCloud in reply to b question from
Bucks about Shockley. There hasn't
shot been fired ut him all winter"
He wasn't always lucky" comment
ed Bucks, signing batch of letters.
HE came from Chicago" Bucks
went Jn after silence. HE was
switching there on the Q at the time OF
the stockyards riots. shockley used to
drink Ike pirate. | never knew just
the right Of 1t. understood it was In
a brawL Anyway. he killed q man
there-sbot him and had to get away
In a hurry. was tralnmaster. Shock
ley was q striker, Out I'd always found
him decent and when his wife came to
me abott il / helped her out little.
She's, dad since. His record isn't just
right back there yet. There's some,
thing about the shooting hanging over
him. Ilnever set eyes OH the fellow
again TIL he struck me for n job at
McCloud then l sent him up to you.
He claimed he'd quit drinking Guess
he had. Long as he's behaving himself
l believe In giving him a chance, h'm"
1t really wasn't any longer n case of
giving linn chance; rather Of whether
they could get on without him. When
the Colorado Pacific began racing us
into Denver that summer 1t began to
crowd even Shockley to keep the yard
S SsIn He saw he would have to have
Chris, what do uuey sr.ss -
tinkering up the ties2" asked Shockley
one day. t''
dollar an half.".i ''1
"Why don't you take hold of switch.
ing with me and get $3T'
Chris was thunderstruck. First he
said Callahan wouldn't let him, but
Shockley guessed yes" Then Chris
figured. To save the last of the hun
dred dollars necessary TO get the wom-
an and the babies over-it could be
done in three months instead of six II
only Callahan would listen. But when
Shockley talked Callahan always lis
tened, and when he asked for new
switchman he got him. And Chris got
his So, to him a sum unspeakable.
BY the time the woman and the chill
dren arrived in the fall Chris would
have died for Shockley.
The fall that saw the woman and the
stunted subjects of the car slowed
away under the bench in Little Russia
brought also the cowboys down from
Montana to bait the Russians.
One stormy night, when Chris thought
1t was perfectly safe to venture up to
Rubedos after groceries, the cowboys
caught him and dragged him over to
Pat Barlie's.
1t was Z when they caught him and
by 0 they had put him through every
pace that civilization could suggest.
Peg Leg Reynolds, as always, master
of ceremonies, then ordered him tied to
the store. When 1t was done the COW.
boys got into big circle for n dance
The fur on Chris's coat had already be.
gun to slzzle, when the front door opens
ed. ShOckley walked In. io u, a.
Straight, in his ambling, hurried way,
he walked past the deserted bar through
the ring of cowboys at the rear to Chris
frying against the stove and began cut
ting him loose. Through every knot
that his knife slit he sent very loud
and very bad word, and no sooner had
he freed Chris than he jerked him by
the collar as II quarrelng with him,
toward the back door, which was
handy, and before the cowboys got
wind he had showed him through 1t.
Hold on therev'. cried Peg Leg Reyn-
olds when 1t was Just too late. Chris
Vuos ont of II and Shocl,lev turnad