The San Francisco call., 1908-11-01

1T was the same way last month, "
ragged the major twisting his fierce
white mustaches and looking as IL he
would like to blot the name OF Mac
manity. It'll. take a full week
to get them into swing again
and MacMorrogh will be up with
his estimates just the same as II ne
had been working full time I'll cut
'em; by the gods, I'll cut EN-! And you
must stand by me, Mr.. Ford"
There was the same story to be
listened to at ;Brissac's tie camp; and
again at young Benson's headquarters
which were on the mountain section.
This last was on the third day, how
!. ever when the madness was dying
down Some of the rcck men were
back on the job, but ma ~ of the gangs
were still grievously short handed
Ford said little to Kenneth. The pan
demonium spoke for itself But on the
third night. when the long ride was
ended, and Pietro; Ford's cook and man
of all work, was. serving supper In
the cabeose office on wheels. some of
the bitterness in Ford's heart slipped
into speech.
."Can you see: now how it takes the
very marrow out OF a mans bones,
Kenneth? You may think of an engi-
neer as man of purely bullheaded
purposes, merely trying. in Grass. ma
terialistic way, to get material thing
done. l want to do big thing, and
I'd like to do it in a big way. 1t is a
big thing-the building of this eXten-
sion. If it doesn't add another star to
the flag it will at least make one
state twice as populous. twice as pros
perous. 1t will add it's quota to the
fnhabitable surfaces; and it's good
quota&a land that some future genera
tion will love, and swear by. and tight
for, if need be. And to think that for
one mans. narrow mindedness and an.
others greed we've got to christen it in
blood and muck and filth and dishon-
esty--it makes me sore, Kenneth; sore
and disheartened.s
Il don't bfame you," said the law
yer, reveling. though he would never
have admitted it, in the comfort of the
. caboose headquarters journeys end:
your railroad, and the mistakes. that are
made won't be your mistakes. It's a
horrible state of: affairs, that in the
, MacMorrogh camps; blot on. our
boasted civilization. But. you can't
help. it. Or rather you Will help 1T IF.
and when, you can" -
Ford was shaking his head deject-
edly.
Il don't know. Kenneth. It's getting
next to me, even at this early stage Of
the game Have you ever stood on the
front car. platform of train nearest
to the engine and watched the juggling
drawbar? 1t, is apparently loose; its
hold on the engine seems to be no more
than that of the touch of clasped- hands
in a gypsy dance. Yetit never let's go,
and the drag of It is always there. BY
and by, when the .coal:is all burned. and
the fire is out, and the water is drained
from the tank. those gentle little null
tiplied jerks will pull the big engine
down-kill it-make it mere mass OF
inert metal blocking the way. Of prog
ress." =.
'.Well?' said the attorney.
It's an auegory. I'm beginning to
feel the drawbar pull. Sooner or later
North and his clique will draw me
down. can't fight the under dog-I
never learned how; and they've fixed 1T
SO that 1 can't fight any other way"
Kenneth had lighted his cigar and
was lying back against the cushion OF
the car seat After a little he said
last week 1 told you I had notion,
Ford I've got 1t yet, and I've been
turning it over in my mind and Won
dering If I'd better explode it on you
On the whole. think I'd better not.
It's a case of surgery. II the patient
lives, you'll know about It.. II the
patient dies. you'll be no worse off than
you are now. Shall we let it rest at
thatT'
Ford acquiesced. He was too utter
ly disheartened to be curious. But If
he could have foreseen the results of
Kenneths notion it is conceivable that
he would have been aroused to some
effort of protest. as even in deep waters
one prays sometimes to be delivered
ffrom his friends.
1t was a week after this farewell
supper in the caboose hotel at Saints
Rest when Ford went down to Denver
to borrow on his p. S.-W. stock, sthe
$4,000 to be deposited to, the credit of
the Bank of Copah. Following him,
and only one train behind. came Fris-
: bic. new from a confirmatory survey of
the extension beyond the Copah dis
trict.
On his return from the Green Butte
end of the proposed line the little man
with the diabolical fashion of beard
trimming had spent week in and
around Copah, picking up yard rights
of way. surveying approaches and set
ting grade stakes for the outlying Mac
Morrogh gangs. During that week he
had made a discovery, and since. he
believed 1t to be all his own. he jour
llCyCQ CdoNW dA - ~ SAAe~A = - 4AAOAAJ Win
his chief.
Ford was dining alone at the Brown
Palace when Frisbie. coming straight
from the Plug mountain train, found
him. There: was an entire western
desert to be talked over during the
courses, and Frisbie held his discovery
in reserve until they had gone to smoke
in a quiet corner of the great rotunda.
Even then he approached 1t indirectly.
In taking up the line down the Pan
nikfn we have followed the old s L.
& w. survey pretty closely all the way
from start to finish. What were your
reasons. Stuartg' he asked. St
There didn't iseem to be any good
reason for not following it. Brandreth
made the s. l.. & W. preliminary. and
there isn't a better locating. engineer
in this country"
Il know" said Frisbie. But the best
of us make, mistakes now and then
Brandreth made pretty sizable one,
think"
How is that?'
you know where the big rock cut
ting is to be made in the lower
canyon. about 10 miles this side
of the point where we begin to
swing south for the run to
Conaf-a r,i1a and n hale of baor-,-