The Havre herald. [volume] (Havre, Mont.) 1904-1908, 1906-03-09

DOCK. PutNng 1t down almost Mt once
and holding the page open with his
left hand. ae plugged Callahan's house
wire and began drumming his call
Cailahan's Aye, aye" came back In.
side OF minute, and Blackburn tap
ped right at him, Come down. And
! began to wonder what was up.
There was an interval; then Gala
han asked, What's the matter?"
got up and walked over to the wa
ter tank for drink. Blackburn again
pressed the key and repeated to Gala
han precisely the words he had used
before, Come down."
His face was drawn into the very
shape OF fear, and his eyes, bent hard
on me, were looking through me and
through the shivering window know
1t now-and through the storming night,
horror set, into the canyon of the Peace
river.
The sounder broke, and he turned
back, listened moment, but it was
stray stuff about time freight. He
pushed the chair from behind him,
still, like man, listening, listening;
then with an effort plain even to me
he walked across the office, pushed
open the door Of CaHahan's private
room and stood with his hand on the
knob, looking back at the lamp. 1t
was as IL he still seemed to listen. for
he stood undecided a moment: then he
stepped into the dark room and closed
the door behind him, leaving me alone
and dumb with fear.
The mystery lay, I knew, in the or.
der book. Curiosity gradually got the
better Of my fright, and 1 walked from
the cooler over to the counter to get
courage and showed the train register
around noisily | crossed to the dis
patchers' table and made pretense Of
arranging the pads and blanks. The
train order book was lying open where
he had left 1t under the lamp With
my eyes bullying, read the last two
orders copied In it:
G. and e. No. L. Ames:
No. !. Eng. 81, will hold at O'Fallon'a
for Special 202.
G. and e. Special 2O2, Rosebud:
Special 2o2. Eng. 63s, will run to Salt
kSoChS regardless OF NO. !.
Salt Rocks! I glared at the words
and the letters Of the words.
reread the first order and read again
the second. O'Fallon's for No. l. That
was right. O'Fallon's it should be TO,
the Special POP, Of course, to meet her.
But it wasn't; it was the first station
east Of O'Fallon's he had ordered the
special to run to. 1t was lap order.
My scalp began to creep. A lap order
for the Irving special and the No.
and 1t doomed them to meet
head on somewhere between O'Fallon's
and the Salt Rocks, in the Peace river
canyon.
My mouth went sticking dry. The
sleet outside had deepened into a hail
that beat the west glass sharper, and
the window shook again in the wind.
asked myself, afraid to look around,
what Blackburn could be doing In Cal
lahan's room. The horror of the wreck
through his mistake began
to grow on me. I know what suf-
Tered; ask myself now what he suf-
Tered, inside. alone, in the dark.
Young as was I realized that night
The meaning Of the career to which my
little ambition urged me. The soldier.
he officer, the general, the statesman,
ne president, may make mistakes, do
make mistakes, that cost a life or cost
10000 lives. They redeem them and
I've honored. It Is the obscure dispatch
n under the lamp who for a single
apse pays the penalty Of eternal dis
race. felt something of 1t even then.
md from my boys heart, in the face of
ne error, IN the face of the slaughter,
pitied Blackburn.
Caliahan's room door opened again. |
nd Blackburn came out of the dark,
mad left the table and was standing
front Of the stove. He looked at me
lmost eagerly; the expression of his
ace had completely changed. never
I my life saw such change in so few
11nutes on any mans face, and, like all
ae rest, 1t alarmed me. 1t was not for
le to speak IL had been able, and he
i'd not. He walked straight over to the
able, closed the order book, plugged
allahan's house wire again and began
alllng him. The assistant superintend-
ut answered, and Blackburn sent him
1st these words:
You need not come down.
| heard Callahan reply with a cues
on: what is the matter?"
Blackburn stood calmly over the key,
ut he made no answer Instead, he re-
Gated only the words, "You need not
,me down"
Callahan, easily excitable always.
as wrought up. Blackburn" he ask
over the wire impatiently, What In
DDS name is the matter" But Black
Urn only pulled the plug and cut him
1t and sunk into the chair like a man
carried.
"Mr. Blackburn" I said, my heart
JUMPING like an injector, "Mr. Black
lrn?" He glanced vacantly around;
emed for the first time to see me. "Is
ere anything" faltered. 81 can do?"
Even Ii the words meant nothing the