Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-06-26

can't, because Martin had absolutely
no basis of beauty to start with. He
was parchmentlike and palish from
sitting night after night and night after
night over sOunder. Never sick day
I'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
taking old tOmcat. He could
guess more off 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 dls'
patcler. up to regular trick dispatch.
er up to the orders and signing the
u. NJ. c." the letters that stood for
our supcrntendent's name and honor;
up to the trains and their movements.
up TO the lives, then chief. With the
honor of tie division all clutched In
Martin Duify's three quick right fin
gers on the key and his three quick
left fingers on the pen at the same in
stant scratching orders across the clip.
Talk about ambidexterity. Martin
didn't know what it would be like to
use one hand ut time. If 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 so
fast as Martin. He was rather for
having good time. He did more OF
the social act. and that pleased his
mother. who Oh 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 a wire-which was
very soon. for lie learned things In no
timc-Aiartin got Callahan to put him
uD Mt Grant rs operator. BOD got tne
place because he was Martins brother;
nothing else. He held it about Two
San Francisco. He was a restless fellow.
1t was Bob up and Bob down. For
year he wandered around out there,
teiegraphing: then he bObbed UP AGAIN
in Medicine Bend out Of n job. He
wanted to 20 10 work, and-well, Cal
lahan - Martins brother, you know -
sent him UP 10 MOntair as night oper-
ator. Three months he worked ste sdy
as clock: then one night the dispatch
ers at the Bend couldn't get Monta!r
for two hours. 1t laid out No. q and a
special with the general manager and
made no end Of a row.
Martin said right off he ought to 90,
but there was the little mother up
home. silent. expect, but pleadins-iIke.
1t was LETT largely TO Martin, for the
young fellow was already chief, ana
that was the trouble. He hated 10 beai
down too hard. SO he compromised by
asking his superintendent not to hre
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 ut San Francisco.
We worked the whole spring getting
things up along the line from Omaha to
the Sierras for that conclavc. Eng mes
were oyerhaulcJ, rolling stock tou>.!ed
up, roadbcd put in shape, everything
shaken from end to end. Not only were
the passenger records TO be smashed,
but beyond that a lot OF our big gen
eral officers were way up Masons anu
meant that our 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 III
structions was to nickel plate every
thing, from the catalpas to the target
rods. For three months before the con-
claye date we were busy getting ready
for 1t, and when the big day drew near
on which we were to undertake the
moving and feeding Of G,000 people one
way on one track through tie noun
tains the cartinks smoked crosscut and
tho Russian section men began to oil
their hair.
Callahan was superintendent under
Bucks. then general manager, and Mar
tin Duffy chief dispatcher, Neighbor su'
perntendent Of motive power and Dou.
bleday division master mechanic, ana
with everything buttoned " on tho
West End we went that Sunday morn.
Ing on the firing line to take the frst Of
the Tempiar specials.
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