The Havre herald. [volume] (Havre, Mont.) 1904-1908, 1907-04-05

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Burns heard tho cry. 1t ncrued him to
a supreme effort.
the coal to the fire, the fire to the wa
ter, the water to the gauge, the gauge
to the stack and back again to the coal
that was Burns. Neither eyes nor
ears nor muscles for anything but
steam.
Such firing as the West End never
saw till that night; such firing as the
old engine never felt in her choking
fiues till that night; such a firing as
Dad Sinclair, king Of all West and
East End tiremen, lifted his hat to-
that was Burns firing that night on
Soda Water Sal, the night she chased
the Acton runaways down the line to
save George Sinclair and No. /.
It was frightful pace-how fright
full no one ever knew; neither old mar
Sinclair nor Dick Burns ever cared.
Only, the crew Of freight, side track.
ed for the approaching flier, saw an
engine flying light; knew the hunter
and the quarry, for they had seen the
runaways shoot by-saw then, min
ute after, star and streak and a
trail of rotten smoke fly down the
wind, and she had come and passed
and gone.
1t was just east of that siding, SO
Burns and Sinclair always maintain
ed, but it measured 10000 feet east,
that they caught them.
A shout from Dad brought the drip
ping fireman up standing, and, looking
ahead, he saw in the blaze Of their
own headlight the string Of coalers
standing still ahead Of them-so it
seemed to him-their own speed was
so great, and the runaways were al
most equaling it. They We're making
forty miles an hour when they dashed
past the paralyzed freight crew.
Without waiting for orders-what Or
ders did such man need?-without a
word Burns crawled out Of his window
with a pin and ran forward on the
footboard, clinging the best he could as
the engine dipped and lurched, climbed
down on the cowcatcher and lifted the
pilot bar to couple. It was crazy
thing to attempt. He was much like
lier to get under the pilot than to sue
coed, yet he tried it.
Then it was that the fine hand of
Dad Sinclair came into play. To tenn
per the speed enough, and just enough,
to push her nose just enough and far
enough for Burns to make the draw
bar Of the runaWay-that was the
nicely Of the big scanned hands on the
throttle and on the air, the very magic
Of touch which on a slender bar OF
steel could push a hundred tons Of fly
ag metal up and hold it steady in q
play of six inches on the teeth Of the
gale that tore down behind him.
Again and again Burns tried tc
couple and failed. Sinclair, straining
anxiously ahead, caught sight Of the
headlight of No. rounding O'Fallon's
bluffs.
He cried to Burns, and, incredible
though it seems, the fireman heard
Above all the internal din, the tearing
Of the fanges and the roaring Of the
wind Burns heard the cry. It nervec
him to a supreme effort. He slipped The
eye once more into the draw and man
aged to drop his pin. Up went bis
hand in signal.
Choking the steam, Sinclair threw
the brake shoes flaming against The
big drivers. The sand poured on the
rails, and with Burns up on the coalerE
setting brakes the three great run
Always were brought to with jerl
that would have astounded the mos
reckless scapegraces in the world
While the plucky fireman crept along
the top Of the freight cars to keel
from being blown bodily through tht
air, Sinclair, with every resource tina
brain and nerve and power could ex
ert, was struggling to overcome thu
terrible Roadway of pursuer and pur
sued, driving now frightfully into the
beaming head of No. 1.
With the johnson bar over and thu
drivers dancing a gallop backward
with the sand striking fire and the rail!
burning under it; with the old sky
scraper shivering again in d terrific
struggle and Burns twisting the head:
off the brake rods; with every trick Of
old Sinclair's cunning and his boy du
plicating every one Of them in the
cab Of No. 1-still they came together
It was too fearful momentum II
overcome, when minutes mean mile:
and tons are reckoned by thousands.
They came together, but instead Of
an appalling wreck, destruction ane
death it was only bump. No. .hat
the speed when they met, and it wal
car of coal dumped bit sudden ane
nose on Georges engine like full
backs after center rush. The pilo
doubled back into the ponies, and th'
headlight was secured with nut, pes