Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1906-10-24
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UHEHf1u When he began pas
senger braking the train
master put him on with Pat Francis.
The very first trip he made man In
the smoking car asked him where the
drinking water was. Bullhead, though
sufficiently gaudy In his new uniform,
was not prepared for any question that
might he thrown at him. He pulled
out his book of rules. which he had been
told to consult in case of doubt, and
after some study referred his inquirer
to the fire bucket hanging at the front
end of the car. The passenger happen
ed to be foreigner and very thirsty.
He climbed up on the Baker heater, ac.
cording to directions, and did at some
risk get hold of the bucket-but 1t was
empty.
"Iss no vater hier." cried the second
class man. Bullhead sat half way back
in the car, still studying the rules. He
looked up surprised, but, turning
around, pointed with confidence to the
fire pail at the hind end of the smoker
"Try the other bucket. Johnnie" he
said calmly. At that every man in the
car began to choke, and the German
thinking the new brakeman was max
ing funny of him, wanted to fight
Now. Bullhead would rather fight than
go to Sunday school any day, and with
out parley he engaged the insulted
homesteader. Pat Francis parted them
after some hard words on his part, and
Kenyon. the trainmaster, gave Bullhead
three months to study up where the wa
ter cooler was located in standard. A
pattern. smoking cars. Bullhead's own
mother. who did Callahan's washing
refused to believe her son was so stupid
as not to know. but Bullhead, who now
tells the story himself, claims he did
not know.
When he got back to work he tried
the freight trains. They put him on
the No. %, local, and one day they
were drifting into the yard at Goose
River Junction when there came from
the cab n sharp call for brakes In
stead of climbing out and grabbing a
brakewheel for dear life Bullhead
looked out the window to see what
the excitement was. BY the time he
had decided what rule covered the
emergency his train had driven stray
fiat halfway through the eating house
east of the depot. Kenyon, after hear
ing Bullhead's own candid statement
Of fact, coughed apologetically and
said three years, whereupon Bullhead
resigned permanently from the train
service and applied for a job in the
roundhouse.
But the roundhouse-for a boy like
Bullhead. 1t would hardly do. He
was put at helping Pete Beezer, the
boiler washer. One night Pete was
snatching his customary nap in the
pit when the hose got away from
Bullhead and struck his boss. In the
confusion Peter, who was nearly
drowned, lost set of teeth. That was
sufficient In that department of the
motive power; Bullhead moved on
suddenly. Neighbor thought he might
do for wiper. After the boy had
learned something about wiping he
tried one day to back an engine out
on the turntable just to see whether it
was easy. 1t was, dead easy, but the
turntable happened to be arranged
wrong for the experiment, and Neigh
Dor, before calling in the wrecking
gang, took occasion to kick Bullhead
out Of the roundhouse bodily.
Nevertheless Bullhead, like every
Medicine Bend boy, wanted to rail-
road. Some fellows can't be shut off.
He was offered the presidency of a
Cincinnati bank by private detective
agency which had just sent up the ac-
tive head of the institution for ten
years, but as Bullhead could not ar
range transportation east Of the river
he was obliged to let the opportunity
pass.
When the widow Lyons asked Gala
han to put jamie at telegraphing the
assistant superintendent nearly fell off
his chair. Mrs. Lyons, however, was
in earnest, as the red haired man soon
found by the way his shirts were
starched. Her son meantime had got
hold of a sounder and was studying
telegraphy, corresponding at the same
time with the Cincinnati detective
agency for the town and county rights
to all hidden and undiscovered crime"
on the mountain division, rights offered
at the very reasonable price of $40 by
registered mail, bank draft or express
money order; currency at sender's risk.
The only obligations imposed by this
deal were secrecy and German silver
star, and Bullhead, after holding his
trusting mother up for the ten, became
a regularly installed detective with
proprietary rights to local misdeeds.
Days he piled his sounder and nights
he lay awake trying to mix up Pete
Beezer and Neighbor with the disap
pearance of various punches of horses
from the Bar NJ ranch.
About the same time he became in
terested in dentistry. Not that there
is any obvious connection between rail
roading and detective work and filling
teeth, but his thoughts just turned