The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1907-02-07
@ SEE a good deal

exactly how to do 1T; with the man
who sits shut In brick walls and hung
In Chinese puzzles, his ear glued to a
receiver and his finger fast to key
and his eye ryeted OH a train chart
the man who orders and annuls aud
stops and starts everything within 500
miles OF him and holds under his
thumb more lives every minute than
brigadier does in a lifetime? For In
stance" asked Callahan, in his tired
way, whats the matter with Bucks
Now, / myself never knew Bucks. He
left the West End before | went on.
Bucks is second vice which
means the boss OF transcontinental
line now and very great swell. But
no man from the West End who calls
on Bucks has to wait for All audience.
though bigger men do. They talk Of
him out there yet. Not Of General Su-
perintendent Bucks. which he came to
be, nor OF General Manager Bucks.
On the West End he is just plain
Bucks. but Bucks OH the West End
means whole lot
"He saved the company S3O0.000 that
night the Ogalala train ran away"
mused Callahan. Callahan himself is
assistant superintendent now.
",rhree hundred thousand dollars IL a
good deal OF money, Callahan" | OBJ
jected.
Figure it out Yourself TO begin
with. fifty passengers lives that's
$1,000 apiece, isn't it?" Callahen had
a cold blooded way of figuring a pas
senger's life from the company stand
point. ut would have killed over fifty
passengers if the runaway had ever
struck 80 There wouldn't hnye been
enough left OF ~ To make a decent fn-
neral Then the equipment, AT least
$4,000 But there was IL whole lot
more than $3OOOOO in it for Bucks"
How So?'
-He told me once flat If he hadn't
saved - that night he would never
have signed another order anywhere
on any road"
why"
'Why? Because after 1t was all over
he found out that his own mother WAS
aboard 80. Didn't you ever hear that?
Well, sir, 1t was Christmas eve, and
the year was 1854
Christmas eve everywhere but on
the West End it was just plain Dee.
"a.
High winds will prevail for ensuing
twenty-four hours. Station agents will
use extra care 10 secure cars on sid
lngs. Brakemen must use care to
avoid being blown from moving
trains"
That Is about all Bucks said in his
bulletin that evening not word
about Christmas or Merry Christmas.
In fact If Christmas had come to Nc
Cloud that night they couldn't have
held it twentyfOur minutes. much less
twenty four hours wind was too
high. All the week all the day, all
the night. it had blown-a December
wind. dry as an August noon. bitter
as powdered ice II was in the early
days Of our western railroading. when
we had only one fast train on the
schedule the st. Iouis-Californa
eypress-and only one fast engine on
the division the 101 and only one
man on the whole West End Bucks
Bucks was assistant superintendent
and master mechanic and trainmaster
and chief dispatcher aud si0releerer
AMI bully good fellow. There were
some boys in the service, among Them
Callahan. Callahan was seventeen
with hair like sunset aud n mind
quick as an air brake 1t was his
first year at the key, and he had q
night trick under Bucks.
Callahan claims it hIew so hard that
night that il blew most of the color
out of his hair. Sod houses had sprung
up like dog towns in the buffalo grass
during the fan. But that day home
steaders crept into dugouts and smoth
cred over buffalo chip fires Horses
ana cattle huddled into friendly pock
cts a little out OF the worst Of it or
froze mutely in pliless fence corners
on the divides Sand drove grlttng
down from the Cheyenne hills like a
storm of snow. Streets Of the raw
prairie towns stared deserted at the
sky. Even cowboys kept their ranches,
and through the gloom OF noon the sun
cast coward shadow II WAS a
wretched day. and the sun went down
with the wind tuning into n gale and
all the boys In had humor. except !
Bucks. Not that Bucks couldn't get |
mad, but 1t took more than cyclone
10 start him.
No. 80. the California express, was
late that night. All the way Mp the !
valley the wind caught her quarter
Ing. Really. the marvel is that ont |
there ON the plains such storms didn't /
blow our toy engines clear on the |
rails. For that matter, they might as
well have taken the rails, too, for none
OF them went over sixty pounds. Fifty /
nine was due at II o'clock II was
half past 10 when she pulled in aud on
Callahans trick But Bucks hung
around the office until she staggered
up under the streaked moonlight as
frowsy looking train as ever choked
ON alkal
There WAS always crowd down at
the station TO meet 50 She was the
big arrival or the day at McClOud even
II she didn't get In until IL o'clock at
night She brought the mail and the
express aud the landSeekers and the
travelling men ard the strangers gen
orally. so the NeClond livery men and
hotel runners and prominent citizens
and prominent loafers aud the city
marshal usually came down TO meet
her Bat Il Was not so that night
The platform Was bare. Not even the
hardy CHIEF of police. who WAS town