Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1906-10-24


and curses and frowns. Before Nellie's
smiles, tudiciously administered, Bull
head melted like the sugar she began
to sprinkle In his coffee. That was
what she wanted; when he was fairly
dissolved Nellie, like the coffee, went
gradually cold. Bullhead became mis-
cradle. and to her life at Goose River
was once more endurable
1t was then that Bullhead began to
sit up all day, after working all night,
to get single smile from the direction
of the pie rack. He hung utterly mis-
erable, around the lunch room all day,
while Nellie made impersonal remarks
about the colorless life of mere oper-
ator as compared with life In the cab
of ten wheeler. She admired the en-
gineer Nellie. Was there ever
doughnut girl who didn'tf And when
No. or No. 2 rose smoking out of the
alkali east or the alkali west and the
mogul engine checked its gray string
Of sleepers at the Junction platform.
and Bat Mullen climbed down to oil
round-as he always did-there were
the liveliest kind of heels behind the
counter.
Such were the moments when Bull
head sat in the lunch room, unnoticed.
somewhat back where the files were
bad and helped himself aimlessly to the
sizzling maple sirup, Nellie rustllng
back and forth for Engineer Mullen.
who ran in for quick cup and consult
ed, after each swallow, Il dazzling open
faced gold watch thin as double eagle,
for Bat at twenty-one was pulling the
fast trains and carried the best. And
with Bullhead feeding on flannel cakes
and despair and Nellie Cassidy looking
quite her smartest. Mullen would drink
his coffee in an impassive rush. never
even glancing Bullhead's way-abso-
lutely ignoring Bullhead. What was
he but n nightman, anyway? Then
Mullen would take us much as a min
ute of his running time to walk for
ward to the engine with Miss Cassidy
and stand in the lee of the drivers chat
ting with her. while Bullhead went COM
pletely frantic.
1t was being ignored in that way, aft
er her smiles had once been his, that
crushed the night operator. 1t filed
his head with schemes for obtaining
recognition at all hazards. He began
by quarreling violently with Nellie, and
things We're coming to serious pass
around the depot when the Klondike
business struck the Mountain division.
1t came with rush, and when they
began running through freight extras
by way of the Goose River short line,
day and night, the Junction station
caught the thick of 1t. 1t was some
thing new altogether for the short line
Bullheads night trick, with nothing to
do but poke the fire and pop at coyotes,
became straightway busy and i'm
portant post.
On certain night, windier thnn all
the November nights that had gone be-
fore, the night operator sat alone in the
office facing resolve. Goose River
had become intolerable. Medicine Bend
was not to be thought of. for Bullhead
now had suspicion, due to Callahan,
( that he was good deal of a chump,
and he wanted to get away from the
rfdicule that had always and every
where made life burden. There ap-
peared to Bullhead nothing for 1t but
the Klondike. On the table before the
moody operator lay his letter Of resig-
nation, addressed in due form to j. s.
Bucks, superintendent Near it, under
the lamp, lay well thumbed copy of
the book Of rules, open at the chapter
on designations, with subheads on
Resign, who should.
Resign, how to.
Resign, when to. (See also Time)
The fact was it had at last painfully
forced itself on Bullhead that he was
not fitted for the railroad business. Pat
Francis had unfeelingly told him so;
Callahan had told him SO; Neighbor had
told him SO; Bucks had told him so. On
that point the leading West End au-
thorities were agreed. Yet in spite of
these discouragements he had persisted
and at last made show. Who was 1t
now that had shaken his stubborn con-
viction? Bullhead hardly dared con-
fess.
While he reread his formal letter and
compared on spelling with his pocket
Webster, a train whistled. Bullhead
looked at the clock; 40 p. IN. 1t was
the local freight 80, coming in from
the west. working back to Medicine.
From the east No. l had not arrived.
She was six hours late, and Bullhead
looked ont at his light for he had or
ders for the freight. 1t was not often
that such a thing happened, because
No. l rarely went off schedule badly
enough to throw her into his turn. He
had his orders copied and o. KID and
waited only to deliver them.
1t was fearfully windy. The 2G6
engine, pulling 30 that night, wheezed
in the gale like a man with the apo
pleXy. She had new fireman on who
was burning the life out of her, and
as she puffed painfully down on the