The Columbus journal., 1906-08-08
cHAPTER u.-continusd. d.

that their ways, cOinciding for the mo-
!: ment, would presently go apart, leav-
= ing him free to do battle as an honest
,soldier in any cause must
The Rosemary party was rising. and
:. .Winton rose. tho. folding the seat for
Miss Virginia and reaching her wrap
from the rack. e.
Il am glad to have met y0u.". she
!. said, giving him the tip of her fingers
and going back to the conventional
ities as IL they had never been tg-
nored.
-; But the sincerity in. Winton's reply
transcribed the conventional form
OF it,. -, 80.
. :, Indeed. the pleasure has been
wholly mine, I assure you. hope
the future will be kind to me and Let
me see more of you"
WHO knows?" she rejoined. smiling
at him level-eyed The world has
: been steadily growing smaller since
Shakespeare called 1t narrow" -
= He caught quickly at the straw OF
hope. Then We need not say good
by" =. .... p. %
:. No: let it be auf wiedershen."" she
=: said: and he stood aside to let her
: join her party. .,
: Two hours later, when Adams was
reading in his section and WintOn was
smoking his short pipe in the mems
compartment and thinking things un-
.speakable with Virginia Carteret for
a nucleus. there was a series of sharp
whistle shrieks. sudden grinding OF
: the brakes. and a jarring stop OF the
-"Limited"-a stop not down ON the
time-card
= Nint0n was among the first to reach
the head of the long train. The halt
. was in little depression Of the bleak
plain, and the trainmen were In con-
. ference over badly derailed engine
when Wiuton cme up. A vast herd Of
cattle was numbering away into the
darkness. and a mangled carcass under
the; wheels of the locomotive SUM-
cientIy explained the accident.
Well. there's only one thing to dc" :"
was the engineers verdict. That's
y 1ot oouCVSAy W u1V6 OoSA ~ xAAhOyO
. to: wire for the wreck-wagon."
.: Yes. by gum! and that means all
: night" growled the conductor. &C.
=. There was. a stir in the gathering
throng of half-aIarmed and ali-curiOus
. passengers. and a red-faced. white
mnstached gentleman. whose soft
= southern accent was utterly at vari-
ance with his manner. hurled ques-
. ton bolt-iike at the conductor. o.
:-'All night. you say. sch? Then We
miss Duh Denver connections. ?"
: You can bet to win on that" was
: the curt reply. p
.~'.Damn!" said the red-faced gentle
= man: and then in a lower tone: Il
beg your PahdOn. my deah Virginia:
was totally unaware Of your pres
eacs." .-.....
:: Winton threw OF his OvercOat
= :'.If you will take bit Of help from
an outsider, think we needn't wait
for the wrecking car" he said to the
dubitanr trainmen. Its bad. but not
as bad as it looks. What do you
say" - -
Now, as everyone knows. 1t is not
! in the nature of operative railway men
to brook interference even of the help
fu! sort. But they are as quick as
other folk to recognize the man in esse.
as we'll as to know the clan slogan
when they hear ii. WintOn did. not
wait for objections. but took over the
cDmmand as one in authority. r
Think we can't do 1t? Ill show
you. Up on that tank. one of you,
and heave down the jacks and frogs.
Wen have her on the steel again be-
fore you can say your, prayers"
Al, the hearty command. churlish
reluctance vanished and everybody lent
a willing hand. In two minutes the
crew of the Limited knew 1t was
working Under a master. The frogs
were adjusted under the derailed
wheels, the jack-screwS were braced to
lift and push with the incest accuracy.
" and all was ready for the attempt to
back the engine In trial. But now the
engineer shook his head. =
= Il amt the artist to move her gently
enough with all that string o dinkeys
: behind her," he said unhOpefully.
Nor" said WintOn- Come up into
the cab with me and I'll show you how"
= And he climbed to the drivers footb0ard
with the doubling engineer at his heels
3, At the critical instant. when the en-
tire weight OF the forward half Of the
engine was poisinE for the drop upon the
rails, he gave the precise added impulse
The big ten-wheeler cOughed hoarsely
and spat fire; the drivingwheelsm made
quick half-turn backward; and cheer
E. from the onlookers marked the little
triumph of mind over matter
: ''You bet. he's no prentice" said the
fireman.
.: Not much!" quoth. the engineer
Hes an all-'round artist. that's about
what he is. Shouldn't wonder II he was
the trayelin' engineer for some road
back in Gods country"
=. "TEayelin' nothing" said the con-
ductsr. More likely he's a train mas
ter r p'raps a bigger boss than that.
CaIl In the nag, Jim. and we'll be get
ting a move"
Oddly enough, the comment on Win
ton did not pause with the encomiums
of the train crew. When the Limited"
wassonce more rushing on its way
through the night, and Virginia and he:
cousin were safely in the privacy of their
state-room, Miss Carteret added her