The Havre herald. [volume] (Havre, Mont.) 1904-1908, 1907-05-03

| ana just WHAT TO 90, no" TO 90 IL, anu
exactly how to do it: with the man
who sits shut in brick walls and hung
in Chinese puzzles, his ear glued to a
receiver and his finger fast to key
and his eye riveted on train chart
the man who orders and annuls and
stops and starts everything within 500
miles Of him and holds under his
thumb more lives every minute than
a brigadier does in a lifetime? For in
stance" asked Callahan, in his tired
way, whats the matter with Bucks"
Now, | myself never knew Bucks. He
| left the West End before / went on.
Bucks is second vice president-whch
means the boss-of a transcontinental
| line now and a very great swell. But
no man from the West End who calls
on Bucks has to wait for an audience,
though bigger men do. They talk Of
him out there yet. Not Of General Su-
perintendent Bucks, which he came to
be, nor of General Manager Bucks.
On the West End he Is just plain
Bucks, but Bucks on the West End
means whole lot.
'He saved the company 100000 that
night the Ogalalla train ran away"
unused Callahan. Callahan himself is
assistant superintendent now.
"Three hundred thousand dollars is a
good deal of money, Callahan" 1 OBJ
jected.
"Fgure it out yourself. To begin
with, fifty passengers lives - that's
$4,000 apiece, isn't it," Callahan had
cold blooded way Of figuring pas
senger's life from the company stand
point. cit would have killed over fifty
passengers if the runaway had ever
struck SO. There wouldn't have been
enough left Of SO to make a decent fu-
neral. Then the equipment, at least
$4,000 But there was a whole lot
more than 100000 in it for Bucks"
GLOW so?''
"1e told me once that if he hadn't
saved SO that night he would never
have signed another order anywhere
on any road"
"Why?"
"Why? Because after it was all over
he found out that his own mother was
aboard SO. Didn't you ever hear that?
Well. sir, it was Christmas eve, and
the year was 1884"
Christmas eve everywhere, but on
the West End it was just plain Dec.
"a
"High winds will prevail for ensuing
! twenty-four hours. Station agents will
use extra care to secure cars on sid
ings. Brakemen must use care to
avoid being blown from moving
trains"
That is about all Bucks said in his
\ bulletin that evening-not a word
about Christmas or Merry Christmas.
| In fact, If Christmas had come to Nc
| Cloud that night they couldn't have
| held it twenty-four minutes, much less
l twenty-four hours-the wind was too
\ high. All the week, all the day, all
! the night, it had blown-a December
1 wind, dry as an August noon, bitter
as powdered ice. It was in the early
days Of our western railroading when
we had only one fast train on the
schedule - the st. Louis-California
express-and only one fast engine or
the diyision-the 1O1-and only one
man on the whole West End-Bucks.
Bucks was assistant superintendent
and master mechanic and trainmastel
and chief dispatcher and storelzeeper-
and a bully good fellow. There were
some boys in the service, among then
Callahan Callahan was seventeen
with hair like a sunset and a mine
quick as an air brake. 1t was hi
first year at the key, and he had ;
night trick under Bucks.
| Callahan claims it blew so hard tina
night that it blew most of the colo
out Of his hair. Sod houses had sprun
up like dog towns in the buffalo gras
during the fall. But that day home
steaders crept into dugouts and smott
cred over buffalo chip fires. Horse
and cattle huddled into friendly poch
cts a little out of the worst of 1t Q
froze mutely in pitiless fence corner
on the divides. Sand drove griffin
down from the Cheyenne hills like
storm of snow. Streets Of the ra,
sky. Even cowboys kept their ranches
and through the gloom Of noon the su
cast a coward shadow. 1t was
wretcned day, and the sun went dow
with the wind tuning into gale an
all the boys In bad humor, exceI
Bucks. Not that Bucks couldn't e.
mad, but 1t took more than a cyclor
to start him.
No. SO, the California express, WE
late that night. All the way up tt
valley the wind caught her quartz
ing. Really, the marvel Is that o,
there on the plains such storms didn
blow our toy engines clear off IL
rails. For that matter, they might .
we'll have taken the rails, too, for mol
Of them went over sixty pounds. FIT
nine was due at IL o'clock. It w,
half past II when she pulled In and (
Callahan's trick. But Bucks hui
around the Office until she stagger'
uD under the streaked moonlight