The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-04-07

of India ink himself, and himself be-
came a craftsman, and soon, with some
cursing from Brodie and a LUX a
tina noWt" from his paralyzed daddy
became chief craftsman in Brodie's
office. Haley was no college a Hal
lev was a Brodfe man. Single mind on
single mind, concentration, absolute.
Mathematics, drawing, bridges, brains
that was HALEY. But no classics ex-
cept Brodie, who himself was a classic
All that Brodie knew HALEY had from
him, and where Brodie was weak Han
ley was strong, master OF hlmselr.
When Brodie shamed the image he was
made in HALEY hid the shame best he
eouId-though eve touched or made
1t his oWn-and BrOdie, who hated even
himself, showed still a light IN the
wreck by molding HALEY to his work.
For one day, said Brodie in his heart,
this boy shall be master of these
bridges. When I am rot he will be
here What I ought to have been-this
Irish boy@and they will say he was
Brodie's man And better than any Of
these dough heads they send me out,
better than any of their eastern gradu-
ates he hal be, II he was made ngi-
neer by a drunkard. And HALEY was
better-far, far better than the gradu-
ates. better than Brodie. and to HALEY
caue the time to Wrestle h Spider
Stronger than any man before or
since he was for that work. All Bro
die knew. all the Indians knew. all
that a life's experience, eating, living,
watching, sleeping, with h big river
had taught him. that HALEY knew, and
when rode bridge went out Haley
was ready with his new bridge for the
Spider water which should be better
that Brodie's. just as he was, better
than BrOdie. It was to be such a
/ bridge as Brodie's bridge. with the fire
water left out. And the plans for a
Howe truss, two pier, two abutment.
three span. pneumatic caisson bridge
to span the Big Sandy river were sub
mitted to headquarters
But h cost! The directors jumped
their table when they saw the figures.
We were being MIXED at that time-to
put 1t bluntly, being sucked, worse
than emOns-by a Wall street clique
that robbed good road, haved our
salaries, impoverished our equipment
and cut our maintenance to the quick.
They talked economy and studied pira-
cy. In h matter of appropriations
for themselves they were f~reeboOters;
for US, they we're thrifty as men of
ed a thousand guilders for his Spider
water bridge they laughed and said,
Come, take fifty" He couldn't do
anything else, and he built a fifty gull
der bridge to bar the Spiders crawl.
It lasted really better than the average
bridge, and since Haley never could
get a thousand guilders at once he
kept drawing fifty at a time and throw
ing them annually at the Spider.
But the dream OF his lfe-this we all
knew and the Sioux would have said
the Spider knew@was to build a final
bridge over the Spider water. a bridge
to throttle It for all time.
II was the n subject on which you
could get a rise out OF HALEY any time,
day or nightzthe two pier, two abut
ment, three span, pneumatic caisson
Spider bridge. He would talk Spider
bridge to a Chinaman. His bridge
foreman, Ed Peeto, a staving big one
eyed French Canadian, actually had
but two ideas IN Iife-one was Haley,
the other the Spider bridge. When the
management changed again, when the
pirates were sent out or the plank sc
many good men a walked at their
command, and a great and public spir-
tied mar ook control of the system,
Ed Peeto kicked his little water span
lei in a frenzy of delight. Now, Sport,
old boy" he exclaimed %riotously, wei
get he bridget"
So there were many long confer
ences at division headquarters between
Bucks. superintendent, and Callahan,
assistant, and HALEY, superintendent
of bridges, and after, Haley went once
more to general headquarters Juggling
all his estimates revised and all his
plans figured. All his expense esti-
mates outside the Spider bridge and
one other point were Slight, because
HALEY could skin along with less
money than anybody yer IN charge OF
the bridge work He did It by keeping
everything Up; not a sleeper. not a
spike-nothing got away from him.
The new president, as behtted a very
big man. was no end Of a swell and
received HALEY with a considerate dig
nifty unknown on our end. HIS listened
carefully to the superintendent's state
ment of the necessities at the Big San
dy river. The amoun looked large. hui
/ tfn nr-rrN0A-t e44-~A-4@z 49, ---
Of statistics, was convincing. Three
bridges in ten years, and the California
asst freight business lost twice. Hal
ley's budget called, too, for a new
bridge at the Peace river-and a good
one. Give him these, he said in effect
and he would guarantee the worst
stretch on the system for a lifetime
against tie-up disasters. HALEY STAYED
over to await the decision, but he was
always in a hurry, and he haunted tbs
general Offices until the president told
him he could AVE the money. To Hal
ley this meant, particularly, the bridge
of his dreams. The wire flashed the
word to the West End. Everybody a
the Wickiup was glad. but Ed Peetc
burned red fire, and his little dog
Sport ate r~attlesnakes.
The old shack Of a depot bufIdfns
that served as division headquarters Al
Medicine Bend we called the Wickiup
Everybody in It was crowded for room
ana LAa4A|94 WAOS6 snare was Wual
was left, had HARD work to keep out
of the wastebasket. But right away
now 1t was different. Two extra Of
fees were now assigned to HALEY, and
he took his place with those Who sport
ed windows and cuspidors-in q word
had departments in the service. Ole
Denis HALEY went very near crazy. h
resigned as section boss and took 6
place at smaller wages in the bridge
carpenters gang so he could work or
1.-THE hnW'G hFidVa nnH I'd DHaf0 uo-ror az
with responsibility, strutted around tn
Wickiup a cyclone
For a wonder. the bridge materia
came in fast, the Spiders stuff first
and early in the summer Haley, very
quiet. and Peeto. very p~rofane, with al
and several their traps and slaves anC
belongings. moved into construction
-h-eaaauartars At the Sni5ar and Ii.