Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-03-21

gan to creep slowly up the face Of
the steam gauge.
Jack pulled out the smoking bar.
tossed it on the tender and stoodin the
gangWay cooling his burning face in
the breeze. The Slaughtered and
speedy, which, with the more cum
brous 30, was to take No. l out Of
town-was impatientIy kissing and
sizzling while her fireman touched up
ner brass here and there. Beyond
her, far down the track, the headlight
or No. glimmered through the cot
tonwoods, fringing the Rattlesnake.
Faintly Monaghan's whistle reached
his ears blowing for a crossing, the
last one on the run.
While Jack was leaning there get
ting his breath, Barney had worked
around to the left hand, and paused.
torch in hand, to read a note, while
TWO young women and man stood at
his elbow. The fireman looked down
just as the engineer grumbled:
IF the old man says so it goes,
1 s'pose. Get up there on the left
hand side, and don't fall out of the
window"
Raising his voice, he called up to
Jack: Get your oil-cans out Of the
way so these folks won't get grease
on their clothes. They're going to ride
over the hill with u.s.
It had been a little over two years
since Jack had parted with Kitty Far.
ley-the dainty telegraph operator of
the uptown off1ce-in a foolish tiff,
and had left the city and county and
state without saying the word which
would have mended their difference.
Now here she was.
To quarrel with a charming girl,
leave her strong in a dignified sense of
his own righteousness, and never for
a minute forgetting, meet her face to
face months after on an unromanticaI
ly greasy engine which he was firing.
was situation calling for self-posses-
sion Jack lacked. He picked up the
cans, and, slipping out of the cubby
hole beside the boiler, made way for
his passengers by shrinking out of
sight in the shadow at the other side.
The same Kitty he had loved so
well-the slender, graceful figure, the
soft golden hair piled fluffy, the blue
eyes with long lashes that served the
merry glances in their game of hide
and-Seek-nOt five feet from him, and
he gazed, safely if hungrily, as she
stepped lightly to the engine deck. To
be sure, Dick Summers and Belle
Leonard were with her, but Belle was
her dearest friend, and Dick was
Bellies shadow. They made no differ
ence, and didn't count, except to show
that Jacks old place in the quartet
had not been filled. That thought gave
him glow of hope, but altogether it
was an exasperating state of affairs
for the soOty lover, and darkness
seemed his best friend.
Once or twice he thought that recog-
milton was at hand, but No. l pulled in
to save him. Passengers getting on
and off, the loading and unloading Of
baggage and express matter; changing
Of engines and testing the air, all
served to turn the trio's attention to
the station platform and away from
Jack. When, at last, Barney and Dag
gett came back from the dispatcher's
Office with their orders, and the lights
flashed "all aboard" down the length
Of the train, his sigh of relief an
swered the low whistles Of the en-
gines.
AS the first chugs Of the exhaust
sucked up the flames, he pulled open
the fire door and dropped scoopful
after scoopful Of coal where the white
glare shone fercest, then stepped into
the gangway to watch the black smoke
roll from the stack.
Barney had notched her up, and the
Swallowing coughs quickened into an
uninterrupted roar The town with its
lights dropped behind, and only an oc-
casional ranch-house shone like a
stray FREELY through the night. Not a
star was in sight in the overcast sky.
In the darkness of the cab, within
reach of his arm, was Kitty. What
would she say, or do, or think, If she
knew that he was standing there?
The black smoke changed to brown,
the brown thinned to white and once
more the door was pulled open with a
clang, and the cloud from the stack
glowed with the light Of the furnace
as it rolled out inky black again. Back