Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1906-11-14

was the yardmen who caught 1t, and 1t
grew SO bad they couldn't keep
switchman. About 10 o'clock at night,
after No. 20 had pulled In and they
were distributing a train load Of bridge
timber, switchman's lantern would
go up in signal, when-pist!--a bullet
would knock the lamp clean out of bis
hand and the nerve clean out of his
head. Handling a light in the Benkle-
ton yard was like smoking a celluloid
pipe-you never could tell when it
would go off.
Cowboys shot away the lamps faster
than acquisitions could be drawn for
new ones. They shot the signals off
the switches and the lights from the
tops of moving trains. Whenever
brakeman showed a flicker two cow
boys stood waiting to snuff it. If they
missed the lamp, they winged the
brakeman. 1t compelled Bucks after
awhile to run trains through Benkle-
ton without showing ever light. This,
though tough, could be managed, but
to shunt fats in the yard at night with
llO lHul VI " SCt u Whhh6
to play young Tell to Peg Leg Reynolds
William for any length of time was
impossible At last Bucks, on whom
the worry reflected at headquarters,
swore he would fight them with fire,
and he sent Shockley. Callahan still
sat speculating on what he would be
up against when Shockley arrived.
The impression Bucks letter gave
him, knowing Bucks to be frugal of
words, was that Shockley would rise
up with cartridges in his ears and
bowie knives dangling from his watch
chain. To live in fear of the cowboys
was one thing, but to live in fear of
the cowboys on the one hand and in
terror of a yardmaster on the other
seemed, all things considered, confus-
ing, particularly If the new ally got to
drinking and his fire scattered. Just
then train SO whistled. Pat Barlie's
corner began to sputter its salute. Cal
lahan shifted around behind his bomb
proof, lit his powderhorn and, looking
down the line, wondered whether
Shockley might be on that train.
1t was not till the next night, though,
that tall, thinnish chap, without yisi-
BILE reasons for alighting, got off SO and
walked tentatively down the platform.
At the ticket office he asked for hAa7n.
sistant superintendent.
"Out there on the platform talking
to the conductor"
The thin fellow emerged and headed
for Callahan. Callahan noticed only
his light, springy amble and his hatchet
face.
mir. Callahan
"Yes."
"Bucks sent me up to take the yard"
"Whats your manner?
"Shockley."
"Step upstairs. I'll be up in a min
ute."
Shockley walked back into the depot,
but he left the copper haired assistant
superintendent uncertain as to whether
it was really over, whether Shockley
had actually arrived or not. AS Cal
lahan studied the claimants inoffen-
sive appearance walking away he rath-
er thought 1t couldn't be over or that
Bucks was mistaken. But Bucks nev-
er made mistake.
Next morning at the new yardmas-
ter took hold. Callahan had intimated
that the night air in the yard, it being
low land, was miasmatic and that
Shockley had maybe better try for
awhile to do his switching in the day
time. Just before the appointed hour
in the morning the assistant had look
ed out on his unlucky yard. He thought
to himself that If that yard didn't drive
a man to drink nothing ever would.
Piled shanty high with a bewildering
array of material, it was enough to
take the heart out of a Denver switch
ing crew.
While he stood at the window he saw
their plug switch engine that had been
kicked out of every other yard on the
system wheeze out of the roundhouse,
saw the new yardmaster fiirt his hand
at the engineer and swing up on the
footboard, but the swing-it made Cal
lahan's heart warm to him. Not the
lubberly jump of the hoboes that had
worried the life out of him all summer,
even when the cattlemen didn't bother.
1t was the swing of the sailor into the
shrouds, of the Cossack into the saddle,
of the yacht into the wind. 1t was like
falling down or falling up or falling on
the grace of mastery of gravitation
that was Shockleys swing on the
footboard of the yard engine as it shot
snorting past him.
Hes all right" muttered Callahan.
1t was enough.
A man who fiipped a tender like that
was not like to go very wrong even in
that chaos of rails and ties and string
ers and coal.
"Now," continued Callahan to him
self, timidly hopeful, "if the cuss only
doesn't get to drinkingr He watched
apprehensively. dreading the first time
no ShouId seq him entering PAT RarlipS