Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-01-30

pirates were sent out on the plank so
many good men had walked at their
command. and a great and public
spirited man took control of the sys-
TEN, Ed Peeto kicked his little water
spaniel in a frenzy of delight. Now.
Sport, old boy" he exclaimed riotously.
"we'l get the bridge''
So there were many long confer
ences at division headquarters between
Bucks, superintendent. and Callahan.
assistant and Hliiey superintendent
Of bridges. and after Haley went once
more to general headquarters Juggling
all his estimates revised and all his
plans refgured All his expense esti-
mates outside the Spider bridge and
one other point were slight. because
HALEY could skin along with less
money than anybody ever in charge of
the bridge work. He did it by keeping
everything up not sleeper. not a
spike-nothing got away from him.
The new president. rs beftted very
big man, was no end of a swell and
received HALEY with a considerate dig
nifty unknown on our end. He listened
carefully to the superintendent's state
ment of the necessities at the Big San
dy river. The amount looked large, but
the argument, supported by mass
of statistics, was convincing. Three
bridges in ten years, and the California
fast freight business lost twice Hal
ley's budget called, too, for new
bridge at the Peace river-and good
one. Give him these, he said in effect
and he would guarantee the worst
stretch on the system for lifetime
against tie-up disasters. HALEY stayed
over to await the decision, but he was
always in hurry, and he haunted the
general offices until the president told
him he could have the money. To Hal
ley this meant, particularly, the bridge
of his dreams. The wire flashed the
word to the West End. Everybody at
the Wickiup was glad, but Ed Peeto
burned red fire, and his little dog
Sport ate rattlesnakes.
The old shack of a depot building
that served as division headquarters at
Medicine Bend we called the Wickiup.
Everybody in it was crowded for room,
and HALEY, whose share was what
was left, had hard work to keep out Of
the wastebasket But right away now
it was different. Two extra offices
were now assigned to HALEY, and he
took his place with those who sported
windows and cuspidors-in word, had
departments in the service. Old Denis
HALEY went very near crazy. He re-
signed as section boss and took place
at smaller wages in the bridge carpen-
ter's gang so he could work on the
boys bridge, and Ed Peeto, savage
with responsibility, strutted around the
Wickiup like a cyclops.
For wonder the bridge material
came in fast, the Spider stuff first, and
early in the summer HALEY, very quiet,
and Peeto, very profane, with all and
several their traps and slaves and be-
longings, moved into construction head
quarters at the Spider, and the first
air lock ever sunk west of the Missouri
closed over the heads of tall HALEY and
big Ed. Peeto. Like a swarm Of 422tS
the bridgeworkers cast the refuse up
out of the Spider bed. The blowpipes
never slept; night and day the sand
streamed from below, and Hailey's
caissons, like armed cruisers, sunk foot
by foot toward the rock. By the mid
die of September the masonry was
crowding high water mark and the fol-
lowing Saturday HALEY and Peeto ran
back to Medicine Bend to rest up q bit
and get acquainted with their families.
Peeto was so deaf he couldn't hear
himself swear, and HALEY looked rag
ged and thin, like the old depot but
immensely happy.
Sunday morning counted little even
then in the mountains. 1t was at least
day to get your feet on the tables up
in Bucks office and smoke Callahan's
tobacco, which was enough to make
man bless Callahan if he did forget
his Maker. Sunday mornings Bucks
would get out the dainty, pearl handled
Wostenholm that Lillienfeld, the big
San Francisco spirit shipper, left an
nually for him at the Bend, and open
the II. Il. B. mail and read the news
aloud for the benefit of Callahan and
HALEY and such hangers on as Peeto
and an occasional stray dispatcher.
"Hello! exclaimed Bucks, chucking
nine inch official manila under the
table. Here's a general order-No.
H.
The boys drew their briers like one.
Bucks read out lot of stuff that
didn't touch our end, and then he read
this paragraph:
"The mountain and the intermoun-
| tain divisions are hereby consolidated
under the name of the mountain di-
vision, with ]. f. Bucks as superin-
tendent, headquarters at Medicine
Bend. G. I. Callahan is appointed as
sistant superintendent of the new di-
vision"
Good boyr' roared Ed Peeto, strain
ing his ears