The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-01-15

looked ahead through his frizzled eye
lids and gave her a full head for the
western bluffs of the valley; then look
ed at his watch.
1t was the one hundred and nine
tieth milepost just at her nose, and
the dial read $3.50 to a second. There
was an hour to the good and seventy
six miles and a water to cover. bat
they were seventy-six of the prettiest
miles under ballast anywhere, and the
Fiye-Nine reeled them of like a cylin-
der press. Seventy-nine minutes later
Sinclair whistled for the Denver yards.
There was tremendous commotion
among the Waiting engines. If there
was one there were fifty big locomo-
tives waiting to charivari the AfcWil-
liams Special. The wires had told the
story in Denver long before, and as
the Five-Nine sailed ponderously I'D
the gridiron every mogul, every con-
solidated, every ten wheeler, every
hog, every switch bumper, every air
hose screamed an uproarious welcome
to George Sinclair and the skyscraper.
They had broken every record from
McCloud to Denver, and all knew 1t,
but as the McWilliams Special drew
swiftly past every last man in the
yards stared at her cracked, peeled.
blistered, haggard looks.
what the deuce have you bit intop'
cried the depot master as the Five
Nine swept splendidly up and stopped
Ao%
depot clock.
''Mattaback bridge is burned. Had
to crawl over on the strlngers,' an
swered Sinclair, coughing up a Gin
der.
Where's McWiliiams ?"
Back there sitting on his grief, l
reckon"
While the crew went up to register
two big four horse trucks backed up to
the baggage car, and in a minute @
dozen men were rolling specie kegs
out of the door, which was smashed
in, as being quicker than to tear open
the barbados.
Sinclair, MacElroy and Francis with
his brakeman were surrounded by q
crowd of railroad men. AS they stood
answering questions a big prosperous
looking banker with black rings under
his eyes pushed IN toward them, ac-
companied by the lame fellow, who
had missed the chance of a lifetime to
die rich, and by Ferguson, who had
told the story.
The banker shook hands with each
one of the crew. you've saved US.
boys. We needed it, There's a mob
of 5000 of the worst scared people in
America clamoring at the doors, and
by the eternal, now we're fixed for
every one of them. Come up TO the
bank. l want you to ride right up with
the coin, all of you
1t was an uncommonly queer occa-
sion, but an uncommonly enthusiastic
one. Fifty policemen made the escort
and cleared the way for the trucks to
pull up across the sidewalk so the por-
tiers could lug the kegs of gold into the
bank before the very eyes of the rat
tied depositors.
In an hour the run was broken. But
when the four railroad men left the
bank after all sorts of hugging by ex-
cited directors they carried not only
the blessings Of the officials, but each
IN his vest pocket check, every one
of which discounted the biggest vouch-
er ever drawn on the West End for a
months pay, though l violate no con-
fdence in stating that George Sin
clair's was bigger than any two of the
others. And this Is how it happens
that there hangs in the directors room
Of the Sierra Leone National a very
creditable portrait of the kid engineer.
Besides paying tariff on the specie,
the bank paid for new coat of paint
for the McWilliams Special from ca
boose to pilot She was the last train
across the Mattaback for two weeks.