West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-06-21


say l consider II u mighty shabby
| lokc"
Bucks put up a hand ana without a
word of comment repeated Black
burns story just rs the dispatcher
bad told IL. "ln any event there's
oothng TO 10 now; It's ON us or were
past IL. Let us walt for No. 20 re-
sort"
Callahan porcd over the order book.
Maybe" hC asked after awhile
didn't YOU send the orders right and
,opy them wrong IN the book. Black.
ournT
The dispatcher shook his head. "Thcy
went as they stand. The orders Tapped.
Callahan, Wait TIL we hear from No.
l. feel sure she IN safe. Wait"
Bucks was pacing the floor. Gala.
han stuck silent to the key, taking
what little work came, for saw mel.
thcr of tho chiefs wanted 10 trust
blackburn at tho key He sat looking,
for the most part, vacantly into the
fire. Callahan meantime had the orders
repeated back from Amcs and Rose.
bud. II was as Blackburn hud said !:
wv NhN AhIE Ah'N nttu kPlll JuNl
MS the order book showed. There was
nothing FOR IL but 10 wait for Rosebud
To hear from No. /. When the night
operator there called the dispatcher
again it brought Blackburn out OF his
gloom like q thundcrclap.
give me the keyw 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. BOB IA. m"
Blackburn answered him. and, strange.
ly, with nll the easy confidence OF his
ordinary sending. lie sat and took ana
sent like one again master of the sit.
untion.
ASK Engineer Sampson to come to
the WIRE" said he 20 Rosebud Samp-
son, not MAZE. but his brother Arnold,
was pulling No that night
Engineer Sampson here" came from
Rosebud presently.
ASK Sampson where he met Special
BOP 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 II In the morning"
THAT VIII not do" tapped the dis
patchcr. This is Blackburn. Superln-
tcndont Bucks and Callahan are here
They want the facts Whore did you
meet Special 202T
There was another wearing delay.
When the answer came II was slowly,
at the engineers dictation.
my orders were 10 hold at O'Fallon's
for Special 2O2." clicked the sounder,
repeating tile engineers halting state
mcnt. when we cleared Salt Rocks
siding and got down among the Quak-
crs ] was cutting along pretty hard TO
make the canyon when | saw or
thought ] saw IA headlight fash be.
tween The buttcs across the river 1t
startled me, for knew the 202 special
could not be very far west OF us. Any
way, made a quick stop and reversed
and backed tight as I could make Il
for Salt Rocks siding Before we had
got n mile ] saw the headlight again,
and knew the 202 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 Mt ench 9th
or. How was II possible for one train
TO have seen the headlight OF another
among the buttes OF the Pence river
country
II was-posslble. Just possible. But
20 figure once In how many times
vista would have opened for single
second 80 one engineer could see the
light OF another would stagger multi.
plying machine. Chancel Well. yes,
perhaps. But there were no sugges.
tions OF that nature that night under
the dispntcher's lamp at the Wicklup,
with the storm driving down the pass
ms II drove That night: and yet at
Peace river. where the clouds never
rested. that night was clear. Black
burn, getting up. steadicd himself ON
his feet.
Go In there and lie down" said Cal.
lnhnD TO him. you're used up, old fel-
low. I can see tnat I'll take the key.
Don't say n word"
"Not word. Blackburn" put I'm
Bucks. resting his big hand on the dis
patchcr's shoulder There's no harm
done; nobody knows H. Bury the thing
right here tonight You're broke up.
Go ia there and lic down"
lie took their hands started TO speak,
but they pushed him into Callahan's
room They didn't want TO hear any.
thing
All the night u stOrmcd at the Wicki-
up. In the morning the Irving special,
flying toward Chicago, was far down
the Platte. No was steoming west,
deep in the heart OF the Rockies
Blackburn lay I'm Callahnn's room. II
was . o'clock. and the sun was stream
Ing through the east windows when
Fred Norman opened the office door.
Fred could DO those things even whom
he was slckcst Have q hcmorrhage
one day. scare everybody 20 death, and
go back 10 his trick tho next lie asked
right away FOR Kit. as he called Black
burn. and when they pointed TO Gala
hams door Fred pushed II open and
went IN cry brought the operators
To him. Blackburn was stretched on
hls knees hnlf on the floor half face
downward on the sofa. His head had
fallen between hls arms, which were
stretched above g. In his hands. clasp.
ed tight they found his watch with the
picture Of his wife and bis baby Had
hc asked. when be first went into that
room that night when be wrestled. like
Jacob Of o'6 in his agony Of prayer
that his lif, bc taken n only their lives,
The iitcs or those in hls Keeping. might
be sporcd2 { do not know. They found
him dead
The railway detectives in cor.