Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-07-03
fcUNTINUED.l

CONTINUED
Medicine Bend had the alkali pretty
we'll washed out Of Its eyes, and never
before in Its history had it appeared
really gay. The old Wickiup was deco
rated till 1t looked like a buck rugged
for q ghost dance. Right after day
break the trains began rolling In on
Harold Davis trick. Duffy had an
nulled all local freights and all through
Rlds and evens. all stock tramps east
and all westbound empties-everything
that could be had been suspended for
that Sunday, and with 1t all there were
still 1--WE times more trains than ever
before rolled through Medicine Bend In
twentyfOur hours.
1t was like festival day in the
mountains. Even the Indians and the
s,liaw men turned out to see the fun.
There was a crowd ut the depot by 5
o'clock, when the first train rolled up
the lower gorge with st. Johns COM
mandery, No. 3, from Buffalo. and the
Pullmans were gay with bunting. The
Medicine Bend crowd gave them an
Indian yell, and in two minutes the
knights, with their scalps In their
hands as a token of surrender, were
tumbling out of their sleepers into the
crisp dawn. They were just like school
boys, and when Shorty I.ovelace-the
local curiosity who had both feet and
both hands frozen off the night he got
drunk with Matt Cassidy at Goose Riv-
er Junction-struck up OH his mouth
organ, Put Me or at Buffalo," they
dropped seven dollars odd and three
baggage checks into his hat while the
crews were changing engines.
All day it was that way-train after
train and ovation after ovation. The
day was cool as q Observation-Disclosures
and bright as baby's face all
through the mountains, and the Tem-
plars went up into the high passes
with all the swing and noise we could
raise. Harold Davis took 1t all morn
ing steady from 4 a. IN. at the dis
patcher's key. He was used up long
before noon, but he stayed, and just
at II O'Clock, while big Templar
train from Baltimore was loading It's
commandery in front Of the Wickiup
after an early dinner and big Tem'
plar band played Il tingling twostep,
Martin Duffy stuck his dry. parchment
face into the platform crowd, elbowed
his way unnoticed through 1t, climbed
the Wickiup stairs, walked into the
dispatchers room and, throwing of his
hat and coat, leaned over Harold Da-
Wis shoulder and took transfer.
Young Giddings had been sitting
there in u perspiratiOn half an hour
then. He copied for Martin Duffy that
day. At noon they figured to get the
last Templar over the Eagle pass with
the set of the sun. When Duffy took
the key he never looked his force clean
er only he was '.red. Giddings could
see that. The regular man had been
sick week, and Martin had been I'LL
ing in. Besides that, all Saturday, the
day before, he had been spiking the
line-figuring what could be annuled
and what couldn't, what could be run
extra and what could be put into regu-
lars. Callahan had just got married
and was going out to the coast on bis
wedding tour in Bucks car. He had
| refused TO look ut an order after Sat
urday night
4 n.mn:" after Martin Duffy sat In
the conductor Of the train below regis
tered out. There was yell pretty
soon. and away went the Baltimore
crowd - and they were corkers, too,
those Baltimore fellows, and Travelled
like lords.
At 3 o'clock In the evening the trains
| in the West division We're moving just
like clocks OH the hour and the half
thirty minutes, thirty minutes. thirty
| minutes-and, as far as young Giddings
could see, Duffy, after five booming
hours. was fresler than when he took
the chair. The little dispatcher's ca
| Dacity for work was something enor-
nous. 1t wasn't till after supper time.
with the worst Of the figuring behind
him and In the letting down Of the anx-
iety, that Martin began to look older.
and his dry Indian hair began to crawl
over his forehead. BY that time his
eyes had lost their snap. and when lie
motioned Giddings to the key and got
up to walk up and down the hall In the
breeze he looked like wiltei potato
vine. His last batch Of orders was
only a little one compared with those
that had gone before, but with the
changes to the different crews they
read about like this:
Tslsgraphic Train Order No. g. Noun
| tain Division.
Superintendent ONCE. Aug. 8, 1892.
For Medicine Bend to c. and E. Of En-
| gines C64. 49, $40. 3o6 and 826.
Engines ga. 73s $40 and S26 will run as
four specials. Medicine Bend to Bear
Dance Engine s26 will double head Spe-
cial 32G to summit Of Eagle pass
First No. ". Engine l7s. will run two
hours thirty minutes late Bear Dance to
Medicine Bend.
Second No. 50. Engine a. will run three
hours and fifteen minutes late Bear Dance
to Medicine Bend.
Third No. ". Engine a0. will run four
hours and thirty minutes late Bear Dance
to Mediciue Bend. ]. NJ. c.
/ d.
When young Giddings sat In, the sun
was dropping between the Tetons. In
the yard the car cleaners were polish
ing the plates OH Bucks private car
and the darky cook was pulling chick.
ems out Of the refrigerator. Duffy had
thirteen conclaves moving smoothly on
the middle trick. The final one was due
aud the hOstlers were steaming down
with the double header to pull 1t over
the pass. This. the last Of the COM
mandery trains, was to bring De Molay
commandery, No. 4, of Pittsburg, and
the orders were to couple Bucks car on
to it for the run west. De Molay--and
everybody had notice-was Bucks old
commandery back In Pennsylvania
end he was going to the end OF the d.
vision that night with the cronies Of bis
youth. Little fellows thev were In rail-