Morris tribune., 1906-06-23
THE DlspATcHER's sToRY.--From page 2,

horsing me?' he exclaimed, raising his
voice angrily IF you are, ! want to
say I consider it mighty shabby
joke"
Bucks put up a hand and without a
word of comment repeated Black
burns story just as the dispatcher
had told it. ''In any event there's
nothing to do now; it's on Us or we're
past it. Let us wait for No. to re-
port"
Callahan pored over the order book
MAYBE" he asked after awhile
didn't you send the orders right and
copy them wrong in the book. Black
burn?"
The dispatcher shook his head. "They
went as they stand. The orders Tapped.
Callahan. Wait till we hear from No.
|. | feel sure she is safe. Wait"
Bucks was pacing the floor. Gala
han stuck silent to the key, taking
what little work came, for | saw nei-
Their of the chiefs wanted. to trust
Blackburn at the key. He sat looking,
for the most part, vacantly into the
fire. Callahan meantime had the orders
repeated back from Ames and Rose
bud. 1t was as Blackburn had said;
they did lap; they had been sent just
as the order book showed. There was
nothing for it but to wait for Rosebud
to hear from No. l. When the night
operator there called the dispatcher
again it brought Blackburn out Of his
gloom like a thunderclap.
"Give me the key!" he exclaimed.
"There is Rosebud" Callahan pushed
back, and Blackburn, dropping into
the chair, took the message from the
night operator at Rosebud.
mo. / in, 2:03 a. m.''
Blackburn answered him, and, strange
", with all the easy confidence of his
ordinary sending He sat and took and
sent like one again master of the sit
uation.
"Ask Engineer Sampson to come to
the wire," said he to Rosebud. Samp-
son, not Maize, but his brother Arnold,
was pulling No. l that night.
Engineer Sampson here came from
Rosebud presently.
"Ask Sampson where he met Special
2O2 tonight"
We waited, wrought up, for in that
reply must come the answer to all the
mystery. There was a hitch at the
other end of the wire; then Rosebud
answered:
Sampson says he will tell you all
about it in the morning"
''That will not do" tapped the dis
patcher. 'This is Blackburn. Superin-
tendent Bucks and Callahan are here.
They want the facts. Where did you
meet Special 2O2?"
There was another wearing delay.
When the answer came it was slowly,
at the engineers dictation.
"My orders were to hold at O'Fallon's
for Special 2O2," clicked the sounder,
repeating the engineers hating state
ment "NNhen we cleared Salt Rocks
siding and got down among the Quak-
ers / was cutting along pretty hard to
make the canyon when l saw or
thought l saw headlight fash be-
tween the buttes across the river 1t
startled me, for I knew the 2O2 special
could not be very far west of us. Any
way, I made quick stop and reversed
and backed tight as | could make it
for Salt Rocks siding. Before we had
got mile I saw the headlight again,
and l knew the 2O2 was against our
order. We got into the clear just as
the special went by humming. Nobody
but our train crew and my fireman
knows anything about this"
The three men in front of me made
no comment as they looked at each 9th
er. How was it possible for one train
to have seen the headlight Of another
among the buttes Of the Peace river
country?
1t was-possible. just possible. But
to figure once in how many times a
vista would have opened for single
second so one engineer could see the
light of another would stagger multi
plying machine Chance! Well, yes,
perhaps. But there were no sugges-
tons of that nature that night under
the dispatcher's lamp at the Wickiup,
with the storm driving down the pass
as it drove that night; and yet at
Peace river, where the clouds never
rested, that night was clear. Black
burn, getting up, steadied himself on
his feet.
go in there and lie down." said Cal
lahan to him. you're used up, old fell
low. | can see that. I'll take the key.
Don't say word"
mot word, Blackburn" put in
Bucks, resting his big hand on the dis
patcher's shoulder. There's no harm
done; nobody knows it. Bury the thing
right here tonight. You're broke up.
Go in there and lie down"
He took their hands, started to speak,
but they pushed him into Callahan's
room They didn't want to hear any
thing.