La Junta tribune., 1907-11-16

Just west OF Jsckson. And with Calla-
hans copper hair raising higher at ev.
cry letter. this cas.e from Osalalla.
'HeaTy gust caught twelve coal cars
on side track: sent them out ON main
line on down the grade
| They were already past jackson.
eight miles away. headed east and run
ming dow, hill. Callshan's eyes turned
| ike hare~ to the train sheet. Fifty,
nine. going west. was due that minute
TO leave Calendar. From Calendar to
0rimn ix twenty niles run. There
II q station between. but In those days
| no night operator. The runaway coal
train was then less than thirty miles
| west OF Grimm. coming down a forty
| mile grade like cannon ball. II So
could he stopped at cailentiar. she
could be laid by ID ave 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 he.
fore Calendar answered. Then Gala
hans order He'd:
Hold 80. Answer quick"
4 Anu
| jnst pulling ont Of upper yard. Too;
late to stop her. What's the matter"
! Callahan struck the table with his
clinched fist. looked wildly about him.
then sprsng from the chair. ran to the
window and threw up the sash The
moon shone bit through the storm Of
sand. but there WAS not n sonl in sight.
| There We're lights In the roundhouse u
hundred yards across the track. He
pulled = revolver every railroad man.
out there carried one those days-and.
\ covering one Of the roundhouse Win
dows. began firing. 1t was risk,
4 There was onr chance. maybe. to n
! thousand of his killing night man.
| But there were Il thousand chances to.
| one that n whole train load of men and
| women would he killed inside of thirty
4 minutes. IL he couldn't get help. He.
chose window in the machinists see
ton. where he knew no one usually
went at night He poured bullets into
| the un!ucky easement as fast as pow
der ,coilid carry them. Reloadlng rap
idly. he watched the ropndhouse door,
and. sure enough. almost ut once, it
was cautiously opened. Then he fired
i INV ahcfhh tNb. 'it-f- iphi, iiN'sl
six-and he saw man start for the.
station OH the dead run He knew. 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 frantic;lly as tlie giant Swetle
| !eaped across the track and looked up
from the platform below, .'go get
Bucks. I've got runaway train go
ing against 90. For your life. Ole,
rum
The big fellow was into the wind
| with the word. Bucks boarded four
blocks away. Callahan. stunning
down the window. took the key and
began calling Rowe. Rowe Is the first
station east Of Jackson. 1t was now
the first point mt which the runaway
| coal train could he headed.
'R-o. R-o." he ratified. The operator
must have been sitting on the wire.
for he answered Mt 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 80.
1 uuu BtiC tuC ttS lucy GOuIu ShtuCE
across the track to dcraIi the runaway
train. Then lie 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 1t
seem strange? There ARE many strange
things niOut 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 frantic
call from Rowe. "Itunaways passed
here like a streak. Knocked the ties
into tootlipIcks. Couldn't head them"
Callahan didn't wait to hear any
more. He only wiped the sweat from
his face. II seemed forever before
Kolar spoke again. Then 1t was only
to say. "Runaways went by here be-
fore night man could get to switch and
| open It,"
Would Bucks never come? And IL
he did come. what ON earth could stop
the runaway train now! They were
heading into the worst grade on the
4 West End. 1t averages ! per cent
from Kolar to Griffin. and there we get
down on the Cheyenne hills with long
reverse curve and drop into the canyon
Of the Biackwood with per cent
| grade. Callahan. almost beside him
self, threw open IA north window to
look for Bucks. Two men were flying
down Main street toward the station.
He knew them: 1t WAS Ole and Bucks.