CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1906-03-08

can't, because Martin had absolutely
- basis Of beauty to start with. He
was parchmentlike and palish from
sitting night after night and night after
night over a sounder. Never sick day
m his life. but always over the sounder
until, sleeping or waking. resting or
working, the current purred and pur-
red through his great little head like a
familiarity-taking old tomcat. He could
guess more OF wire than most men
could catch after the whole thing had
tumbled in.
So up and up ladder he went. Mes
senger, Operator-up to assistant dis
patcher. up to regular trick dispatch
er, up to the orders and signing the
u. NJ. c." the letters that stood for
our superintendentS name and honor:
up to the trains and their movements,
up to the lives, then chief. with the
honor of the division all clutched in
Martin Duffy's three quick right I'm
gers on the key and his three quick
left fingers OH the pen at the same in
slant scratching orders across the clip.
Talk about ambidexterity! Martin
didn't know what 1t would be like to
use one hand at q time. II Martin
Duffy said right. trains went right; II
he said wrong. trains went wrong. But
Martin never said the wrong: he said
only the right. Giddings knows; he
copied for him long enough. Giddings
and plenty more of them can tell all
about Martin Duffy.
Bob didn't rise in the service quite 80
fast as Martin. He was rather for
having good time. He did more Of
the social act. and that pleased his
mother, who ON account of her bonnet
and-shawl complexion didn't achieve
much that way. Martin, too, was
proud Of his brother. and as soon as
Bob could handle wire-which was
very soon, for he learned things in no
dme-Martin got Callahan to put him
up at Grant as operator Bob got the
place because he was Martins brother;
nothing else. He held it about two
months. then he resigned and went TO
San Francisco. He was restless fellow.
1t was Bob up and Bob down. For
year he wandered around ont there.
telegraphing: then he bobbed up again
In Medicine Bend out of a job. He
wanted TO go to work. and-well, Cal
laban = Martins brother. you know
sent him up to Montair as night oper-
ator. Three months he worked steady
rs a clock: then one night the dispatch
ers at the Bend couldn't get Montair
for two hours. 1t laid out No. and
special with the general manager and
made no end Of row.
Martin said right of he ought to go,
but there was the little mother up
home. silent. expect. but pleading-like.
1t was left largely to Martin, for the
young fellow was already chief, and
that was the trouble. He hated to bear
down too hard. so he compromised by
asking his superintendent not to fre
Bob. but TO set him back. They sent
him up as night man to Rat River the
meanest place ON the whole system.
That was the summer OF the Templars'
conclave at San francisco.
We worked the whole spring getting
things up along the line from Omaha TO
the Sierras for that conclaye. Engines
were overhauled. rolling stock touched
up. roadbed put in shape, everything
shaken from end TO end. Not only were
the passenger records 10 be smashed.
but beyond that lot Of our big gen
eral ofiisers were way up Masons and
meant that oor line should get not
merely the cream OF the business. but
the cream OF the advertising out Of the
thing. The general tenor Of the in
structions was TO nickel plate every
thing. from the catalpas to the target
rods For three months before the con-
x.la Iat x-x
for 1t. and when tile big day drew near
moving and feeding ef 5000 people one
way on one track through the noun
tains the cartinks smoked crosscut and
the Russian section men began TO oil
their hair
Callahan was superintendent under
Bucks. then general manager. and Mar
tin Duffy chief dispatcher. Neighbor SUI
perintendent OF motive power and Dou-
bleday division master mechanic. and
with everything buttoned up on the
West End we went that Sunday morn
Ing on the firing line to take the frst OF
sha rem niar sra~isi-
Medicine Bend had the alkali pretty
well washed out of its eyes. and never
before In its history had II appeared
really gay. The old Wickiup was deco
rated till it looked like Il buck rugged
fol a ghost dance. Right after day
brSik the trains began rolling IN ON
Harold Davis trick. Duffy had ali
nullcd all local freights and all through
odds and evens. all stock tramps east
and all westbound empties thing
that could be had been suspended for
that Sunday. and with 1t all there were
still live times more trains than ever
before rolled through Medicine Bend in
twenty four hours.
1t was like festival day In the
Mountains Even the Indians and the