The Greeley tribune., 1907-01-31

The wind tore frantically around the
station. but everything else was SO
still. 1t was l o'clock now and not
soul about but Callahan. D-i, D', j.
clicked sharp and fast. "Tweye or
fourteen cars passed here-just-noW
east-runnlng AHA" Callahan sprans
ND like n tiash-llstened. What! Run
ming away?
If was the Jackson operator calling
Callahan jumped to the key. whats
that?" he asked quick as lightning
could dash 1t.
"Twelve or fourteen cars coal pass
ed here, fully forty miles an hour
headed east. driven by the WI
That was all could send, for Ogal-
ALA broke in. Ogalalla is the station
lust west OF Jackson. And with Gala
hans copper hair raising higher at ev'
ery letter, this came from Ogaalla,
"Heavy gust caught twelve coal cars
on side track; sent them out on main
line off down the grade"
They were already past Jackson
eight miles away, headed east and run
like hares to the train sheet Fifty
nine, going west. was due that minute
to leave Calendar. From Calendar to
Griffin is a twenty miles run, There
Is a station between. but in those days
no night operator. The runaway coal
train was then less than thirty miles
west of Griffin, coming down forty
AcI
could be stopped at Callendar, she
could he laid by in five minutes out of
the way of the certain destruction
ahead of her on the main line. Gala
han seized the key and began calling
"Cn." He pounded until the call burn
ed into his fingers. 1t was an age be-
fore Calendar answered. Then Gala
hans order fled:
Hold 80. Answer quick"
And Calendar answered: "Fifty-nine
just pulling out Of upper yard Too
late to stop her. What's the natter"
Callahan struck the table with his
clinched fist, looked wildly about him,
then sprang from the chair, ran 10 the
window and threw up the sash. The
sand, but there was not a soul in sight
There were lights in the roundhouse
hundred yards across the track. He
pulled a revolver-every railroad man
out there carried one those days-and
covering one of the roundhousc win
dows, began firing. 1t was risk.
There was one chance, maybe. 10
nf hi l. frybt
But there were thousand chances to
one that whole train load of men and
women would be killed inside of thirty
minutes if he couldn't get help. He
chose window in the machinists' sec
tion, where he knew no one usually
went at night. He poured bullets into
the unlucky easement as fast as pow
idly, he watched the roundhouse door.
and, sure enough, almost at once. it
was cautiously opened. Then he fired
into the air-one, two, three, four FIVE.
six-and he saw a man staf Tor the
station on the dead run. He Hiew, too,
by the tremendous sweep of his legs
that it was Ole Anderson, the night
foreman, the man of all others he
wanted.
"Ole," cried the dispatcher, waving
his arms frantically as the giant Swede
leaped across the track and looked up
from the platform below, "go get
Bucks. I've got runaway train 60
ing against 80. For your life, Ole,
rum
The big fellow was into the wind
with the word. Bucks boarded four
blocks away. Callahan, slamming
down the window. took the key and
began calling Rowe. Rowe is the first
station east Of Jackson. 1t was now
the first point at which the runaway
coal train could be headed.
"R-o. R-o," he ratified The operator
must have been sitting on the wire,
for he answered at once. As fast as
Callahan's fingers could talk he told
Rowe the story and gave him orders to
get the night agent, who, he knew,
must be down to sell tickets for SO,
and pile all the ties they could gather
across the track to derail the runaway
train. Then he began humping for
Kolar, the next station east Of Rowe
and the second ahead of the runaways.
He pounded and he pounded and when
the man at Kolar answered Callahan
could have sworn he had been asleep
just from the way he talked. Does it
seem strange? There are many strange
things about dispatcher's senses.
SEND your night man to west switch
house track and open for runaway
train. Set brakes hard on your empties
on siding to spill runaways il possible.
Do anything and everything to keep
them from getting by you. Work
| quick"
Behind Kolar's o. X. came a frantic
call from Rowe "Runaways nassed
here like streak. Knocked the ties
into toothpicks. Couldn't head them"
Callahan didn't wait to baor anv
more. He only wiped the sweat from
his face. 1t seemed forever before
kolar spoke again. Then 1t was onIv
to say, "Runaways went by here be.