Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1907-01-02

and holding the page open with his
left hand, lie plugged Callahan's house
wire and began drumming his call.
Callahan's Aye, aye" came back in
side of minute, and Blackburn tap
pee right at him, Come down." And
began to wonder what was up.
There was an interval; then Gala
han asked, whats the matter?"
l got up and walked over to the wa.
1er tank for drink. Blackburn again
pressed the key and repeated to Gala
han precisely the words he had used
before, "Come down."
His face was drawn into the very
shape of fear, and his eyes, bent hard
on me. were booking through me and
through the shivering window--I know
it now-and through the storming night,
horror set. into the canyon of the Peace
river.
The sounder broke, and he turned
back, listened moment, but it was
stray stuff about time freight. He
pushed the chair from behind him,
still, like man, listening, listening;
then with an effort plain even to me
he walked across the Office, pushed
open the door of Callahan's private
room and stood with his hand on the
knob, looking back at the lamp. 1t
was as If he still seemed to listen, for
he stood undecided a moment; then he
stepped into the dark room and closed
the door behind him, leaving me alone
and dumb with fear.
The mystery lay, | knew, in the Or
der book. Curiosity gradually got the
better of my fright. and | walked from
the cooler over to the counter to get
courage and showed the train register
around noisily. l crossed to the dis
patchers' table and made pretense of
arranging the pads and blanks. The
train order book was lying open where
he had left it under the lamp. With
my eyes bulging l read the last two
orders copied in it:
C. and e. No. 1, Ames:
No. 1, Eng. s71, will hold at Fallon's
for Special 2O2.
C. and II. Special 202 Rosebud:
Special 202. Eng. &c. will run to Salt
Rocks regardless of 40. 1.
Salt Rocks! l glared at the words
and the letters of tine words.
reread the first order and read again
the second. O'Fallon's for No. l. That
was right O'Fallons it should be foI
the Special POP, of course, to meet her.
But it wasn't; it was the first station
east of O'Fallcn's he had ordered the
special to run to. 1t was lap order.
My scalp began to creep. A lap order
for the Irving special and the No.
head on somewhere between O'Fallon's
and the Salt Rocks, in the Peace river
canyon.
My mouth went sticking dry. The
sleet outside had deepened into a hail
that beat the west glass sharper. and
the window shook again in the wind.
| asked myself, afraid to look around,
what Blackburn could be doing In Cal
lahan's room. The horror of the wreck
impending through his mistake began
~ o. iS.low ~nal SUI
fered; ask myself now what he suf-
fered inside, alone, in the dark.
Young as | was | realized that night
the meaning of the career to which my
little ambition urged me. The soldier,
the officer, the general, the statesman,
the president, may make mistakes, do
make mistakes, that cost life or cost
10000 lives. They redeem them and
live honored. 1t is the obscure dispatch.
er under the lamp who for single
lapse pays the penalty of eternal dis
grace. l felt something of it even then,
and from my boys heart, in the face of
the error, in the face of the slaughter,
pitied Blackburn.
Callahan's room door opened again,
and Blackburn came out of the dark.
l had left the table and was standing
In front of the stove. He looked at me
almost eagerly; the expression of his
face had completely changed. l never
in my life saw such change in so few
minutes on any mans face, and, like all
the rest, it alarmed me. 1t was not for
me to speak If | had been able, and he
did not He walked straight over to the
table, closed the order book, plugged
Callahan's house wire again and began
calling him. The assistant superintend-
ent answered, and Blackburn sent him
just these words:
"You need not come down."
l heard Callahan reply with a ques
tion "What is the matter?"
Blackburn stood calmly over the key,
but he made no answer. Instead, he re-
peated only the words, "You need not
come down"
Callahan. easily excitable always,
was wrought up. Blackburn" he ask
ed over the wire impatiently, "What in
Gods name is the matter?" But Black
burn only pulled the plug and cut him
out and sunk into the chair like man
wearied.
"A1r. Blackburn I said, my heart
humping like an injector, MIR. Black
burnW He glanced yacantly around
seemed for the first time to see me. "Is
there anything" faltered, 81 can doY
Even If the words meant nothing. the